Biomedical Informatics, PhD

Program Overview

This doctoral program in Biomedical Informatics provides students with a comprehensive foundation in biomedical informatics methods, biostatistics, and clinical environments. Students can customize their program through a wide range of electives and focus on their specific interests in the field. Graduates are in high demand in various sectors, including healthcare, academia, and biotechnology.

Program Outline

Outline:

Required Core (22 credit hours)

• BMI 502 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics Methods I (3)
• BMI 504 Introduction to Clinical Environments (3)
• BMI 505 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics Methods II (3)
• BMI 515 Applied Biostatistics in Medicine and Informatics (3)
• BMI 540 Problem Solving in Biomedical Informatics (3)
• BMI 560 Teaching in Biomedical Informatics (2)
• BMI 570 BMI Symposium (2)
• BMI 601 Fundamentals of Health Informatics (3)

Electives (32 credit hours)

Students can choose elective courses from a wide range of options to customize their program and focus on their specific interests in the field.

Research (18 credit hours)

• BMI 792 Research (18)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours)

• BMI 799 Dissertation (12)

Careers:

Professionals with advanced training in biomedical informatics are in high demand across a variety of sectors and industries, including:

• Academic institutions
• Governmental and public health agencies
• Health care organizations
• Biotech and pharmaceutical industries

Career examples include:

• Bioinformatics scientist
• Biostatistician
• Data scientist
• Deep learning engineer
• Public health informatics scientist
• Research scientist
• Senior analyst
• Software engineer
• University faculty

Other:

• The program fosters collaborations among academic researchers, healthcare providers, and industry partners.
• Students learn at the leading edge of the field through specialized coursework in an area of focus and independent research.
• Students should note that some courses and faculty offices are located at the Health Futures Center building in North Phoenix.
• Students entering the doctoral program with a master's degree in a related discipline may count up to 30 credit hours from the master's degree toward the total credit hours, with program approval.
• Prior bachelor's or master's degrees in biology, computer science, engineering or statistics, or postbaccalaureate training as a health professional in medicine, nursing or pharmacy is preferred.
• Applicants who have earned degrees in other unrelated fields with appropriate academic backgrounds are also considered.
• All applicants must have basic competencies in general biology (BIO 181 or equivalent), statistics (HCD 300 or STP 226 or equivalent) and computer programming (BMI 110 or CSE 110 or equivalent).