Doctor of Philosophy program overview

The School of Health Information Sciences at UTHSC-H strongly believes that healthcare increasingly will be a cooperative interaction among the health disciplines. The result will be a need for health practitioners to better understand the technology, data, information, knowledge, assumptions and decision making of others as they attempt to design, provide and evaluate health care in the 21st century.

About the Doctoral Degree Program

The Doctoral Degree

The doctoral degree program requires 93 hours at the graduate level. Students may be enrolled full-time or part-time. Full-time students usually take 4 years to complete the program. Part-time students usually take about 6 years to complete the program. Part-time enrollment in the PhD program is not recommended nor easily approved.

Classes are offered either face-to-face or online. Face-to-face classes are scheduled to meet one day a week for three hours, usually, Monday or Wednesday.  Students can come one day a week or both days.

Some of our classes are available online. This gives the student more flexibility in completing the coursework. Online courses do not require face-to-face meetings. Faculty have electronic office hours. They are also available by appointment for conferences in person, by phone, or by video. The School uses web-based software called MOODLE to deliver courses to the students.

Many classes require participation in the end of semester poster symposium.  Students in online classes may meet that requirement through synchronous audio and video connection.  The school will assist each student in participating in the poster symposium.

Curriculum

The Doctor of Philosophy in Health Informatics is a research based degree. The student works with a mentor and an advising committee in a specific area of research interest. This research is related to the mentor's area of research. Students will take didactic courses in basic, advanced and research informatics. See course matrix for specific courses. Each student will work with their mentor and advising committee to develop a degree plan to steer their research and courses.

Course Requirements

• Matrix of Courses (Effective Fall 2007)

• Previous Matrix of Courses (For students who began study prior to Fall 2007)
  

Students who began study prior to Fall Semester 2007 will automatically continue under the previous Matrix of Courses or may choose to satisfy the new matrix. If you choose to use the new matrix, please contact Debbie Todd to make a formal change to your degree requirements.

The Advisory Committee

Each doctoral student has an advisory committee consisting of at least three faculty members from the school along with an outside member.  The advisory committee guides the student through advancement to candidacy and defense of dissertation.

Advancement to Candidacy

Doctoral students must complete an Advancement to Candidacy prior to full admission to the doctoral program.  The candidacy exam consists of the written and oral presentation of the student's proposed research topic.  For details regarding the rules and procedures, please consult the Advance to Candidacy page.

Program Completion

Successful completion of the program requires passing each course with a grade of either A or B grade and defending your dissertation.  Upon completion, students will receive a diploma with Doctor of Philosophy in Health Informatics engraved.

Informatics Competencies

Health Informatics has three areas of competencies. They are biomedicine, computer science, and mathematics. You need to be proficient in each of these areas to successfully do informatics.

If you have little or no computer science and programming skills, you should take HI 5006 Information Technology for Biomedicine and HI 5007 Data Structures and Algorithms in Biomedicine.

If you do not have a biomedical background, you should take HI 5004 Introduction to Clinical Healthcare and HI 5003 Molecules to Man in Health Informatics.

If you have not taken college calculus, you should take HI 5005 Essential Mathematics in Biomedicine.

Technical Writing proficiency is required of all students. If your verbal GRE score is below 640, you must take HI 5000 Technical Writing in Healthcare. If your MAT score is below 432, you must take HI 5000 Technical Writing in Healthcare.

Cost of the Program

For details see Program Costs.

Admission to the Doctoral Degree Program

New PhD students are admitted only in the Fall semester. Application deadline for Fall is February 1.

How to Apply

All Applicants must submit the following official documentation and test scores to the Registrar's Office.

1. A completed online application form.
2. A $30.00 non-refunable application fee.
3. A Miller's Analogy Test (MAT) or Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required.
4. A student criminal background check  if offered admission.
   
5. A baccalaureate degree or higher
   
6. A Grade Point Average (GPA) in previous degree with a minimum of 3.0.
7. Submit a brief (no more than 3 pages single-spaced, 12 point font size) personal statement that addresses the following items:
   
   1. A brief summary of your background in all relevant fields, such as biomedicine, mathematics, and computer science. Describe your research experience and any results that were generated in your research work. Provide dates, research advisors, project titles, and references to publications. 
   2. A statement of your educational goals and how they would be advanced through the PhD program.
      
   3. A statement of your short- and long-term career objectives. With respect to your short-term objectives, be specific about any projects you may have in mind for your PhD work. Be sure to include how your objectives fit the opportunities provided by the SHIS educational and research environments.
      
8. At least three letters of recommendation from people who are qualified to evaluate the applicant's health informatics work related experience, academic or professional  performance, ability, motivation and character. Must use our form.
9. A resume and/or curriculum vitae.

Evaluation of Application Portfolio

As part of the admission process, applicants are to submit relevant materials to the Registrar's Office. The Director of Admissions prepares the portfolios that are then forwarded to an admission committee for review. The admissions committee will look at various factors including but not limited to:

1. Prior academic preparation (depth, breadth, and performance)
   

2. Relevant work experience, particularly practice in the field of study
   

3. Career Goals
   

4. Motivation
   

5. Integrity
   

6. Scores on GRE or MAT and TOEFL (if required)
   

7. Theses, publications and other scholarly works
   

8. Overcoming social, economic, and educational disadvantages: interview, goal statement, and resume, supplemental documents supplied by the applicant demonstrating first time in college or in a medical or dental profession in the family, qualifying and receiving financial aid, region of residence and the comparative availability of members of the applicants chosen professional program in that region, non-academic responsibilities, including employment, child rearing, elder care, multilingual proficiency, region of residence at the time of application, military service.

No portfolio will be reviewed unless it is complete.

Interview

The second component for admission is a personal interview. Applicants will interview with a prospective mentor and two other faculty members. Separate interviews may be conducted due to scheduling. The interview is expected to focus on the applicant's goals and how they can be achieved in the doctoral program, communication skills, and understanding of the program. After all applicants for the fall admission have been interviewed, the entire faculty of the school meets to make final admission decisions.

If the faculty recommends admission to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs accepts the recommendation to admit the student, the interviewers will become his/her advising committee.

International Applicants must also submit the following:

1. Test score of English as a foreign language TOEFL. A minimum paper-based test of 550, a minimum computer-based test of 213, and an internet-based score of writing 24, speaking 23, reading 21, listening 17, and total of 87.

2. All outside USA college transcripts must be evaluated on a course by course basis by an independent organization such as Educators Credential Evaluators or World Evaluation Services prior to application.

Contact Information

For more information or questions about the doctoral program, contact the Coordinator of the Doctoral program.

Craig.W.Johnson, Ph.D.
Coordinator Doctoral Program
Voice: 713-500-3923


For further information about the Doctoral Program please contact the Director of Admissions.

Debbie Todd
Director of Admissions
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
School of Health Information Sciences
7000 Fannin, Ste.600
Houston, TX 77030
Voice: 713-500-3903
Fax: 713-500-3907

Juanita Williams
Sr. Staff Assistant
Voice: 713-500-3910