Students in our MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics program have two pathways to choose from when developing their academic plan of study: Thesis OR Internship/Practicum. The primary difference between the two pathways is that each requires a different culminating project for the degree. Additional differences include, time to degree completion and number of electives.
Thesis Pathway
For our MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics students who are interested in continuing into a PhD program after completion of the program, we offer the Thesis pathway. This pathway requires 24 credits of coursework and 6 credit hours of thesis work. Students will work with a faculty mentor, create a mentoring/advisory committee to guide and evaluate the thesis, and will present the thesis prior to completing the program. Full time students in the MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics program should expect to complete the program in 16 - 24 months depending. Due to the nature of a thesis project, there is no 11 month intensive plan of study option for students completing a thesis project.
Students will work with their faculty mentor to develop and plan a thesis project. Then the mentoring/advisory committee will guide students in identifying the appropriate domain required and elective courses to provide them with the foundational knowledge required for their thesis topic in the areas of biomedical & health informatics, computation & system design, and data analytics with applications in public health, clinical research, or basic biology.
Note: When applying for the MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics program, if you are interested in the Thesis pathway, you need to select “Research/Thesis” as your plan.
Internship / Practicum Pathway
For our MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics students who are interested in entering the field immediately after completion of the program, we offer the Internship/Practicum pathway. This pathway offers students the chance to to complete as part of the program an internship or practicum (at least 160 hour long) for their culminating experience. We work with our students to identify opportunities that align with their interests and specialization with our faculty and community partners, such as the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, and University Hospitals. Students are also encouraged to pursue opportunities outside of Cleveland with other regional or national organizations. Our curriculum is designed to allow students to complete their internship/practicum anywhere in the world and still complete the program in as short as 11 months. Students completing the internship/practicum pathway are required to take 3 credits of PQHS 602 - Internship/Practicum and are able to take an additional 3 credit elective.
The internship / practicum experience is focused on providing students the chance to gain professional experience serving as either a consultant or collaborator on a project. The objectives of this mentored experience are: to learn the role of and accompanying responsibilities of being a consulting informaticist, experience the life cycle of a project, develop and apply the interpersonal and communications skills necessary for the field, strengthen skills learned in the program, and to gain insight into the life and career of a biomedical professional. This experience helps prepare our students for future job interviews and jobs, and may lead directly to a job. All students are required to produce a professionally written report in the format of a report to a client or a research paper at the end of the internship or practicum.
Note: When applying for the MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics program, if you are interested in the Internship/Practicum pathway, you need to select “Project/Comprehensive Exam” as your plan.