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PhD in Health
Informatics Program
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What is the PhD in Health informatics?
The PhD in Health Informatics program at UNC Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) prepares graduate students to contribute to the field of biomedical and health informatics studies through research, teaching and exposure to practical biomedical and health informatics challenges.
The Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) PhD program trains scholars for careers in research and instruction as well as leadership roles in the industry. CHIP provides students with research experience, familiarity with biomedical and health informatics concepts, theories and methods.
In addition, the program supports an active research community at UNC-CH and strong connections to the thriving biomedical and health informatics industry in the Research Triangle Park, NC area.
Program Details
Number of currently enrolled PhD students: 24
- 46% Female; 54% Male
- 50% International students
Program Structure
The PhD in Health Informatics degree is a 100% residential doctoral degree program. The program is structured to support interdisciplinary research training, teaching experience, and administrative knowledge acquisition. It includes rigorous coursework prior to dissertation research and is designed to adapt to the diverse needs of program students. Full-time students typically complete the Health Informatics PhD program within 5 years, while part-time students typically complete the program within 8 years.
The coursework portion of the program is based upon five content pillars:
- Core & Frontier
- Tools & Infrastructure
- Research Methods
- Project Management & Leadership Skills
- Implementation Science & Research Translation
CORE & FRONTIER
These courses expose students to the foundational concepts in informatics. Courses in this pillar will cover advanced data modeling; data management and warehousing; data integration and networking; data presentation and visualization principles; data governance and data ethics.
TOOLS &
INFRASTRUCTURE
This pillar will offer opportunities for students to gain experience in manipulating wide varieties of data occurring in diverse health care contexts. The courses in this pillar will cover advanced training in statistical analysis; data mining; system analysis and design; data interpretation and data quality.
RESEARCH METHODS
These courses focus on constructing sound research studies concentrated on various aspects of health care. Coursework covers gathering research data; analysis of research data; drawing conclusions from research data; presenting research data; and identifying limitations based on gaps present in research data.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP SKILLS
These courses examine current techniques and methods of leading and sustaining research projects. Emphasis will be placed on project management skills in the context of developing and maintaining research projects that span a several year period.
IMPLEMENTATION
SCIENCE & RESEARCH TRANSLATION
These courses emphasize developing research projects with key outcomes that will have a direct impact on health care. Coursework covers understanding intellectual property rights; collaboration with stakeholders; dissemination of research; and ensuring long-term sustainability of outcomes/solution.
The coursework is followed by comprehensive examinations, consisting of a written portion and an oral defense. After successful completion of comprehensive examinations, the student will prepare and defend a dissertation proposal before engaging in the dissertation research project, followed by a public dissertation defense. Additionally, students are expected to actively participate in scholarly writing and dissemination of research through presentations at regional and national conferences, as well as publications in high impact scholarly journals.
Who Should Apply?
Individuals seeking advanced health informatics training for a broad range of research and leadership roles in academic, corporate, non-profit, and governmental settings.
Applicants with research exposure and the following educational backgrounds tend to have the most success in our program:
- Computer Science
- Information Science
- Public Health
- Life Sciences
- Statistics
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Vibhor Gupta, PhD student
“What I enjoy most about the Health Informatics Ph.D. program is its truly interdisciplinary nature. The program brings together faculty from diverse backgrounds including the School of Medicine, Data Science, and Library Science, among others. This diversity gives me the unique opportunity to learn about healthcare challenges from multiple perspectives.” – Gupta