The following abbreviations are used below:

ME = School of Medicine
PH = School of Public Health
B = Carey School of Business
W = Whiting School of Engineering
N = School of Nursing

The Curriculum

All programs follow the School of Medicine's standard for minimum grade requirements*, and include core, selective and elective coursework, the seminar, and a capstone project. All courses are 3 credits, unless otherwise stated. Semester-long courses are denoted Q1+Q2 or Q3+Q4.

* Grading Policy

• At most, two courses with grades less than B– may be counted towards the coursework requirements. No course with grades less than C- may be counted. The overall grade point average of the courses counted towards the coursework requirements must be a 3.00 or higher (B average). At most, two independent study courses can be counted towards the course requirements.

• Other than independent study courses, no courses with grades of S or Pass/Fail can be counted towards the coursework requirement. Courses with grades of S or Pass/Fail will not be included in the grade point average calculation.

• At most, two courses (4 quarters) could be transferred from graduate programs of other institutions to be counted towards the degree requirements. Such transfer courses would have to be approved by the student's faculty advisor and the department. It will be the obligation of the student to provide all necessary data to the Division of Health Sciences Informatics regarding the course(s) for which transfer credit is being requested. 

• A grade of D or F will result in probation; a second D or F would be cause for being dropped from the program.
  

Regarding “semesters” and “quarters.”

• An SPH 3-credit 2-quarter course "counts" as 6 credits for the HSI program

• A Homewood (or other semester-based programs) 3-credit  semester course "counts" as 4.5 credits for the HSI program (or 2.25 per quarter). A 2-credit semester couse "counts" as 3 quarter credits.

Academic Calendar 2012-2013

• Quarter 1 (Q1) Sept. 4 - Oct. 26 - Sept. 17, 2012 - Last day to drop course/program with full refund
• Quarter 2 (Q2) Oct 29-Dec 21 - Nov. 12, 2012 - Last day to drop course 
• Quarter 3 (Q3) Jan 22-Mar 15 - Feb. 5, 2013 - Last day to drop course 
• Spring Break Mar 18-Mar 22
• Quarter 4 (Q4) Mar 25-May 17 - Apr. 8, 2013 - Last day to drop course 
• Summer Term May 14 - August 22

Courses

Courses divide into Core, Selectives, and Selective/Electives.

Check courses via ISIS (all schools, except School of Medicine).

The catalog for SPH (School of Public Health) gives more details. The most recent catalog for SOM (School of Medicine) is a pdf; it is most useful for bio courses. The MS for Information Systems at the Carey School of Business lists courses in that program (use ISIS for details). The Department of Computer Science at WSE provides a pdf of the official catalog. WSE also offers courses for its Entrepreneurship & Management minor (and masters).

While SPH and other Schools' grades are posted on ISIS, SOM grades are not.

Core Courses

*Indicates Online

The following core courses (15 credits) are to be taken by all students.

• 600.903 *(ME) Introduction to Public Health and Biomedical Informatics Q1
• 600.902* (ME) Leading Change through Health IT (formerly, Planning and Evaluation) Q1
• 600.900* (ME) Health Information Systems: Design to Deployment Q3 
• 600.904* (ME) HIT Standards and Systems Interoperability Q3
• 600.901* (ME) Health Sciences Informatics: Knowledge Engineering & Decision Support Q4

Selectives

At least 1 in each section, must be taken or placed out (seek Director's approval).

1. Budgeting
   • 300.610 (Multiple Locations) Information Systems Financial Management (Multiple Quarters) (2 credits)
   • 551.601* (PH) Managing Health Services Organization Q1 or Q3 (4 credits)
   • 551.603* (PH) Fundamentals of Budgeting and Financial Management Q2 or Q3 (no prerequisites)
   • 312.623 (PH) Financial Management in Health Care I Q3 (check prerequisites)
2. Organizational/Strategic Issues
   • 380.681 (PH) Strategic Leadership Principles and Tools for Health Health System Transformation in Developing Countries Q2 4 credits
   • 312.615 (PH) Organizational Behavior and Management Q4 (550.601 is a pre-requisite)
   • 312.621 (PH) Strategic Planning Q4
   • 551.610 (PH) Foundation of Leadership Q2 or Q3
3. Project management
   • 300.620 (Multiple Locations) Project Management [+] (Multiple Quarters; 2 credits)
   • 605.708 (APL) Tools and Techniques of Software Project Management Q1+Q2
     605.708.71 (Montgomery County) Q1+Q2
     Prerequisite: 3-5 years technical work experience is recommended.
   • 595.460.31 (APL) Technical Management Q1+Q2
     595.460.91 (Dorsey) .71 (Montgomery)
     Prerequisite: An engineering, science, or mathematics degree and two years' work experience in science or engineering.
   • 605.408.31 (APL) Software Project Managment Q3+Q4: full semester
     605.408.71 (Montgomery County) Also Q3+Q4
     Prerequisite: 3-5 years technical work experience is recommended.
   • 595.460.31 (APL) Introduction to Project Management Q3+Q4
   • 595.460.71 (Montgomery County) .91 (Dorsey Center) .46 (Southern MD) Q3+Q4
     Prerequisite: An engineering, science, or mathematics degree and two years' work experience in science or engineering.
4. Domain Informatics
   

   Each student commits to a domain track with an obligation for 1 of the following 3 areas. Take at least 2 courses in the domain track. If you take more than 2, the extras "count" towards your selectives/electives.

   • Clinical
     • 600.905* (ME) Clinical Informatics Q2
     • 300.602* (SON) Human Factors in Health Information Technology Q3
     • 309.732 (PH) Organizational and Human Factors in Patient Safety Q4
     • 300.601* (SON) Principles and Applications in Telehealth for Chronic Disease Management Q4
     • 600.711 (ME) Health Informatics for Disease Prevention and Management Q3+Q4 (2 quarters, 2 credits each quarter)
     • 600.907 (ME) Database Querying in Heath Q3
     • 600.914 (ME) Analysis of Electronic Health Records Q4
   • Public Health
     • 221.637* (PH) Health Information Systems Q2
     • 221.649 (PH) E-Health and mHealth in Low and Middle Income Countries Q3
     • 600.906* (ME) Real-time Disease Surveillance Q3 (online)
   • Biology
     • 800.707 (ME) Introduction to Bioinformatics
     • 120.608.01 (PH) Genomics for Public Health (Q4)

Selectives/Electives

A wide variety of relevant courses are available. Course selections will be approved by the Program Director and should be consistent with the study plan as outlined in the student's learning contract. (see ME 600.903 Introduction to Public Health and Biomedical Informaticscourse description). Electives are divided into the following categories: Expertise, Methodology, Informatics, Computer science, Communication, Business, Evaluation, and Domain.

Search for classes throughout the university via ISIS (behind VPN firewall).

M, ME=School of Medicine
P, PH=School of Public Health
E, WSE=Whiting School of Engineering
B,C=Carey School of Business
SON=School of Nursing

ME 600.704 HSI Fellows SEMINAR

A weekly seminar (Fridays 10-12) covering a range of topics and activities. Topics include ethics and professionalism, as well as ontologies and advanced informatics tools. Activities include student presentations of research in progress and journal club. Specific activities and topics are determined by the students.

ME 600.803 HSI GRAND ROUNDS (SEMINAR)

A weekly seminar (Fridays, 12:15-1:15, generally at Chevy Chase Hall, New Clinical Building) for students, faculty, and invited guests to present ongoing research and work in informatics. The weekly schedule is listed here. Attendance at 90% or more of DHSI Grand Rounds presentations is required.

ME 600.808 HEALTH SCIENCES INFORMATICS CAPSTONEThe purpose of the Capstone is to provide students an opportunity to:

• Demonstrate the ability to translate competencies established in classes and in prior experience into a real-world setting
• Enlarge their portfolio of completed documents or projects

The Capstone Project will generally last at least 2 quarters. Students will join an active work group, supervised directly or indirectly by the practicum preceptor. The student will be responsible for spending about 20% of his/her time at the Capstone site, with the specific timing to be negotiated with the practicum preceptor. Attendance may include attending project and staff meetings, as well as front-line activity, such as working with clients.

The student is responsible for submitting a Capstone report to the Director within 2 weeks of completing the project. The final report shall document attendance, how (or whether) the learning objectives were met, and shall include the report generated for the preceptor. A presentation will be made of the final report at a Capstone Presentation Seminar, with students, faculty, and capstone preceptors in attendance.