MS in Health Informatics Degree
MS in Health Informatics Degree
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At GCU, we strive to make higher education more accessible to working professionals. You can choose to enroll in master’s-level courses online.1 Complete your coursework from virtually anywhere on a schedule that works best for you. Our online students can benefit from the same quality of education as our on-campus students. All courses are taught by knowledgeable faculty who are here to support you throughout your program. Furthermore, our online learning platform allows for peer interactions, enabling learner exposure to a broad spectrum of perspectives.
The master’s degree at GCU integrates faith, work and learning. The curriculum, taught by specialized faculty, introduces GCU’s Christian worldview. It teaches students the ethical duty of health informatics professionals to respect patient confidentiality and uphold all laws, regulations and standards related to health information.
You are not required to have a specific undergraduate degree to apply to this program. Any bachelor’s degree is acceptable for enrollment. For questions about standard admission requirements into GCU graduate programs, visit the graduate admission page.
1 Clinical, practicum and immersion hours completed locally.
2 Indeed. (2023, Oct. 23). 10 Jobs for Health Informatics Professionals with Master’s Degrees. Retrieved Feb. 29, 2024.
3 PublicHealthDegrees.org. (n.d.). Health Informatics Careers and Jobs. 2U, Inc. Retrieved Feb. 29, 2024.
The health informatics curriculum teaches you competencies and skills that can be immediately applicable in healthcare information technology settings. GCU strives to graduate health informatics professionals who are prepared to develop and implement ethical, progress-oriented IT initiatives with the goal of benefiting both patients and the healthcare system.
The final 16 weeks of this health informatics MS program include a practicum that incorporates a project plan related to a major area of health informatics, such as health information management or information systems. The project is grounded in current informatics research and methods.
This master’s degree course study includes:
Healthcare research analysis
Ethics, policy and finance
Healthcare information systems
Project evaluation and development
Healthcare innovation
Healthcare data management
Electronic health records
Research and population health management
Leadership and informatics
Database management using SQL and Python
GCU has compiled the following frequently asked questions and answers to provide guidance as you reflect upon your career pathway and degree options.
This degree can be a valuable addition to your resume when seeking health informatics positions. A graduate degree in this field strives to teach both technical competencies and soft skills, such as communication and leadership skills, all of which can be impactful assets to health informatics professionals. Furthermore, a graduate degree may empower you to position yourself to potentially pursue various advanced, specialized positions within the field beyond entry-level opportunities.
Health informatics professionals need a varied skill set that may sometimes but does not always include computer programming. Although not all related positions require computer programming, health informatics experts do generally need to know how to design, evaluate and maintain health databases and similar IT systems.3
Even though not all positions require computer programming, most informatics employers want students to have a basic understanding of programming such as SQL and Python. The MS health informatics degree includes a basic course in SQL and a basic course in Python.
Different subfields within the health informatics field include the following:
These different specialties focus on specific components of the healthcare informatics field, providing additional areas of interest for you to explore. Learn more about the types of health informatics available.
Those looking to get involved in developing and advancing healthcare information systems, improving IT security measures or managing healthcare databases may find health informatics to be a rewarding career. Because of the dependency of the healthcare industry on technology, this career area is important for using technological advances to improve patient care. With this comes the importance of educated healthcare informatics professionals.
The Master of Science in Health Informatics program is in candidacy status, pending accreditation review by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). To learn more about CAHIIM, please visit our accreditation page.
GCU is proud to be an institutionally accredited university — a reflection of our commitment to providing quality education that can prepare our graduates for future-oriented careers. The Higher Learning Commission has continually accredited GCU since 1968. The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions shares the university’s commitment to upholding the principles and standards established by our accrediting bodies.
Health informatics encompasses a wide range of activities, including electronic health records (EHR) management, health information exchange (HIE), clinical decision support systems, telemedicine, medical imaging, health data analytics, and health information privacy and security. By leveraging technology and data-driven insights, health informatics aims to streamline healthcare processes, facilitate communication among healthcare providers, empower patients, and ultimately advance the delivery of healthcare services.
The Master of Science in Health Informatics from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions at Grand Canyon University is designed to help you use information technology, both hardware and software, for better decision-making and patient outcomes.
This health informatics program is designed to prepare graduates to tackle a range of modern healthcare challenges and projects, such as automating clinical care, building new operational data systems, training healthcare workers in the use of computer systems, and collecting and analyzing data to improve patient care. The work you perform as a health informatics professional has the potential to improve outcomes for those receiving medical treatment, as well as shape the vision and operations of healthcare facilities.
Career Settings:2
Career Opportunities:
Up to 12 credits or 1/3 of the total program requirements in transfer (whichever is less)
Credits: Fill out the Lopes Eval to find out what will transfer
Admission Requirements (Master's)
OR 2.5+ Unweighted GPA and
Admission requirements may differ based on degree level, program and modality, or transfer status. Some programs of study may require a higher GPA and/or other qualifying criteria for admission. Please review full admission and program requirements in the University Policy Handbook.
* Degree must be from an accredited college or program that has been approved by GCU.
** Combined verbal/quantitative, after August 2011 (1,000 combined verbal and quantitative, prior to August 2011).
Use technological innovations to improve the delivery of healthcare services. Apply today for enrollment in the health informatics master’s degree program.
