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University of Michigan School of Information

Master of Health Informatics curriculum

MHI Student clinical setting

The Master of Health Informatics (MHI) curriculum prepares you to harness the power of information to transform individual health and health care.  

You’ll build a foundation in health systems, policy, emerging technologies, and behavioral and organizational science — then apply those skills through a hands-on, interdisciplinary capstone. You’ll graduate ready to enter — and lead — in the growing field of health informatics.

Degree structure

The MHI degree consists of 45 credits that draw upon the expertise of world-class faculty at the U-M School of Information, U-M School of Public Health and Department of Learning Health Sciences at U-M Medical School. 

Coursework includes core courses, foundational classes, advanced topics, a capstone course that challenges you to apply your skills in context, and electives. You can tailor your degree to specialize in areas of career interest like Big Data Analytics or Management and Leadership in Health Informatics. You will also have the option to complete internships for academic credit, connecting classroom learning with real-world practice.

All courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted in the list below. Some required courses offer a waiver option. Waivers do not reduce the 45 credits required for the degree but enable you to choose other courses of interest.

Current MHI students: Please refer to the MHI Academic Advising Resource site for your cohort’s specific degree requirements.

MHI core courses (18 credits)

All core courses must be completed: 

  • SI 500: Problem-Solving with People, Information, and Technology
  • SI 506: Programming I
  • HMP 600: The Health Services System
  • HMP 668: Introduction to Health Informatics
  • LHS 650: Introduction to Health Infrastructure
  • LHS 660: Evaluation Methods in Health Informatics and Learning Systems

Area 1: Foundational topics, tools and methods in health informatics (9 credits) 

Complete 9 credits from the following course options:

  • SI 504: Servers, the Shell, and Git AND SI 564: SQL and Databases — 1.5 credits 
  • SI 507: Intermediate Programming
  • SI 544: Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis
  • SI 554: Consumer Health Informatics
  • SI 582: Introduction to Interaction Design
  • SI 588: Principles of User Experience Design
  • SI 618: Data Manipulation and Analysis
  • BA 523: Comprehensive Healthcare Strategies — 2.25 credits
  • HMP 601: Healthcare Quality, Performance Measurement and Improvement
  • HMP 637: Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare Policy
  • HMP 669: Data Management and Visualization in Healthcare
  • BIOSTAT 601: Probability and Distribution Theory — 4 credits
  • BIOSTAT 625: Computing with Big Data
  • LHS 610: Exploratory Data Analysis for Health

Area 2: Advanced topics, tools and methods in health informatics (9 credits)

Complete 9 credits from the following course options:

  • SI 642: Population Health Informatics
  • SI 644: Advanced SQL & Databases — 1.5 credits
  • SI 649: Information Visualization
  • SI 654: Critical Policy Issues in Health IT
  • SI 661: Management in Health Informatics
  • SI 670: Applied Machine Learning
  • SI 672: Applied Clinical Informatics
  • LHS 621: Implementation Science in Health I
  • LHS 641: Quality Improvement in Healthcare Systems
  • LHS 712: NLP for Health
  • BIOSTAT 626: Machine Learning for Health Sciences

Capstone mastery course (3 credits)

The capstone is the culminating experience of the MHI program, so your core courses and Area 1 requirement must be completed prior to taking this course. 

  • SI 699: MHI Mastery Course

Electives (6 credits)

Complete 6 additional credits from graduate-level courses of your choosing.

Other requirements

Foundations of Public Health Practice Online Module: This four-part module is required of all students enrolled in graduate programs at the U-M School of Public Health. You will hear from U-M faculty and local practitioners about the core philosophies of public health, the importance of evidence-based practice, the various factors that influence health and the necessity of taking an ecological perspective to population health. The module is hosted on Canvas and can be completed any time before you graduate.

Credit-based internship courses

As an MHI student, you have the opportunity to build experience, a portfolio and a professional network by completing internships for academic credit. Internships give you a better understanding of opportunities and challenges in the field, while creating connections that often lead directly to employment. You may earn up to 9 credits from approved internship(s), which are counted toward the total UMSI credits needed for graduation. 

Typically, students participate in an internship during the summer between the first and second years of the program, but there is flexibility to earn credit during fall or winter of their second year. 

Self-initiated dual degrees

MHI students may pursue a self-initiated dual degree with any other U-M master’s degree program. Dual degrees allow some credits to be double-counted, shortening the completion time for both programs. Students must apply and be admitted separately to each program. If you have already been admitted to the MHI program and are interested in pursuing a self-initiated dual degree with another U-M program, please refer to the Dual Degrees page on the MHI Academic Advising Resource site for next steps.