Program of Study
The Master of Health Information Management offered by the College of Business Administration comprises (i) a 12-unit certificate in Healthcare Information Technology (HIT), (ii) a 14-unit certificate in Healthcare Information Management (HIM), and (iii) a 4-unit Practicum serving as the CSU’s required culminating experience project.
The objective of the master’s program is to develop healthcare leaders who excel at using data to transform healthcare outcomes. The program emphasizes (1) best practices in and theoretical underpinnings of data analytics, (2) genomic data management, (3) health risk assessment, (4) information systems for big data, (5) project management, and (6) strategic thinking and leadership. With the wide adoption of electronic health record systems, the healthcare industry will be entering a new era in which disease prevention, diagnosis, and management are based on predictive analyses of health and genomic data. This program will equip students with the knowledge needed to meet the challenges of this new healthcare era.
Developed and taught by faculty and industry experts, the HIT certificate program provides participants with a broad introduction and overview of healthcare structure and process, as well as impactful healthcare technologies. This is followed by discussions of healthcare data analytics, process re-engineering, and management of change. The goal is to shape the vision of the future of healthcare and provide the knowledge needed to encourage healthcare evolution. The program prepares students to become agents of change, innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs in healthcare.
The HIM certificate will take an in-depth approach to preparing students as domain specialists in data analytics, an area that will fundamentally alter the landscape of the healthcare industry and provide promising career opportunities for students. This certificate will address the needs of the “big data” era and will focus on “transforming and mining” data for healthcare innovation and process improvement. This will expand on and reinforce the HIT certificate in developing each student’s strategic thinking and leadership ability in adopting and integrating new emerging technologies into the existing healthcare system.
The Practicum is the culminating experience for the master’s program in the form of a project for a healthcare organization. Supervised by a faculty advisor and an industry mentor, a project must address a real need in the HIT/HIM arena. The deliverables include a proposal approved by the faculty advisor and the industry mentor, a final written report meeting the master’s project requirement, and an oral defense.
The M.S. in Health Information Management is offered through the Office of Extended Learning.
Admission Requirements and Application
HIT Certificate
- A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution;
- Mathematical proficiency at a minimum level of college algebra;
- Online HIT Program Application (http://www.csusm.edu/HIT);
- Personal statement;
- Current resume; and
- Hard copy transcripts mailed directly from each college and university attended to:
California State University San Marcos, Extended Learning
333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd.
Attn: Student Services/HIT Program
San Marcos, CA 92096
HIM Certificate
- A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution;
- Completion of the HIT Certificate with overall minimum GPA of 3.0 and no course grade below C;
- An essay identifying three significant HIT issues, analyzing how various healthcare organizations address these issues, and summarizing your perspective and recommendations for resolving these issues. A grade of C or better on this essay will satisfy the graduate writing assessment requirement.
Advancement to Candidacy
The student will advance to Master’s Degree candidacy upon the completion of 23 semester credit hours, satisfying the Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR), and approval of the Practicum proposal.
Continuation
Graduate students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 and earn at least a C (2.0) in each course. Any student whose overall GPA falls below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters will be dropped from the program. This is a cohort-based program. Students must enroll in the predetermined course schedule. Except in special circumstances, the practicum report must be submitted, defended, and approved at the end of the HIM 690 experience. In all situations the practicum requirements must be completed within six (6) months under the guidance of the faculty advisor.
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