Health informatics programs in California prepare students to manage health data, improve clinical information systems, support electronic health records, and use analytics for better organizational decisions.
Graduate options are available at the University of San Diego, Loma Linda University, National University, San José State University, and the University of California, Davis. These programs differ in delivery format, credit requirements, research expectations, and technical emphasis, giving students several ways to study healthcare technology at an advanced level.
California students can choose online, campus-based, or research-focused study while developing skills in databases, security, analytics, information exchange, project management, and clinical systems leadership.
Popular Health Informatics Programs in California
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University of San Diego
Master of Science in Health Care Informatics
The University of San Diego offers a Master of Science in Health Care Informatics that prepares graduate students to work with healthcare information systems, clinical data, electronic records, analytics, and technology management.
The program is offered through the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science and is intended for healthcare professionals, information technology professionals, administrators, analysts, and career changers who want graduate education related to digital healthcare operations.
The standard Master of Science in Health Care Informatics requires 30 units and consists of 10 required 3-unit courses completed across 5 terms. Students generally finish the degree in approximately 20 months, allowing them to complete graduate study in less than 2 years while following the university’s established course sequence. A 36-unit dual-track option is also available for students who want additional coursework in both Health Care Informatics and Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Students may complete the standard program either online or on the San Diego campus, although the scheduling model differs between the 2 formats. Online students complete accelerated 7-week courses throughout the year, normally taking 1 course at a time within each term, while campus students complete longer courses during evening schedules. The online format provides additional flexibility for professionals who intend to remain employed while completing graduate study.
The academic content addresses clinical documentation, electronic health records, database management, population health analytics, data modeling, healthcare ethics, statistical methods, and information governance. Students also study how healthcare organizations assess technology requirements, manage information resources, improve workflows, protect sensitive data, and use health information to support patient care and administrative decisions.
The program is classified as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degree and is an approved education program of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Its academic model gives students access to both managerial and technical subjects rather than limiting study to a single technology function, which can be useful for professionals who expect to work between clinical, administrative, analytical, and information technology departments.
Students selecting the Health Care Informatics specialization complete the common program requirements along with courses that concentrate on systems analysis, healthcare technology leadership, organizational values, and responsible information management.
Those who select the Data Analytics and AI option receive additional instruction related to analytical methods and modern computing applications, while the dual-track structure provides access to both areas through the expanded 36-unit curriculum.
Courses and Curriculum
The curriculum combines healthcare operations with technical methods so that students can understand both the information requirements of clinical organizations and the systems used to manage those requirements.
Rather than treating technology as an isolated business function, coursework examines how databases, electronic health records, analytics, governance, and organizational decisions affect the delivery and administration of healthcare services.
Database and knowledge-management study introduces students to methods for organizing healthcare information and maintaining information that can support operational or clinical analysis.
Related coursework in data modeling and visualization examines ways to prepare healthcare datasets and communicate findings in formats that support informed decisions by clinicians, administrators, analysts, and other professionals.
Clinical documentation and electronic health record coursework addresses digital records, workflow processes, and decision-support functions that have become central to modern health organizations.
Students also examine population health analytics, which can help organizations study groups of patients, identify patterns in health information, and evaluate factors associated with healthcare utilization and outcomes.
Research, biostatistics, ethics, law, and AI governance provide another academic component of the degree. These subjects help students evaluate evidence, interpret quantitative findings, consider privacy and legal obligations, and assess responsible uses of newer technologies within organizations handling sensitive health information.
The 30-unit degree contains 8 common courses and 2 courses associated with the selected specialization, while students completing the 36-unit dual option add the courses from both specialty areas. Required coursework is periodically updated, so students should review the university catalog for the curriculum that applies to their entering term.
Some of the core courses that you may take include:
- HCIN 540 – Introduction to Health Information, Healthcare Delivery, and Artificial Intelligence
- HCIN 543 – Database Design and Knowledge Management
- HCIN 546 – Health Care Informatics Capstone
- HCIN 552 – Clinical Documentation, Decision Support, and Electronic Health Records
- HCIN 571 – Population Health Analytics
- HCIN 572 – Healthcare Data Modeling and Visualization
- HCIN 580 – Research Fundamentals and Biostatistics
- HCIN 585 – Healthcare Ethics, AI Governance, and the Law
Practical Experience
Applied work appears throughout the curriculum through case analysis, healthcare data assignments, systems activities, and work involving electronic health record concepts. Students examine operational problems that may require them to consider users, workflow requirements, information quality, data access, organizational policy, and technical capabilities together rather than evaluating each issue separately.
The Health Care Informatics Capstone serves as a culminating academic experience in which students apply knowledge developed across previous courses to an informatics problem or project.
This culminating requirement can strengthen the connection between academic study and professional practice because students must integrate analytical, managerial, information, and healthcare concepts while completing graduate-level project work.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate healthcare information systems in relation to clinical, administrative, and organizational requirements.
- Organize and analyze healthcare data through appropriate database, statistical, and visualization methods.
- Assess electronic health record processes and clinical information workflows within healthcare organizations.
- Apply ethical, legal, privacy, security, and governance principles when working with sensitive health information.
- Use research and biostatistical methods to evaluate healthcare information and support evidence-informed decisions.
- Communicate technical and analytical findings to clinical, administrative, and information technology audiences.
- Plan and evaluate informatics initiatives while considering organizational goals, users, resources, and healthcare operations.
Career Preparation & Outcomes
Graduates can prepare for positions such as clinical analyst, informatics analyst, electronic health record administrator, electronic health record trainer, healthcare information technology project manager, health data analyst, systems analyst, or healthcare technology consultant. Professional opportunities can be found in hospitals, medical groups, health systems, insurance organizations, consulting companies, public agencies, and healthcare technology businesses.
The program’s HIMSS relationship can also be useful for students interested in professional credentials associated with healthcare information and management systems. Career preparation combines technical understanding with healthcare administration, data analysis, communication, and project work, which supports positions requiring coordination between clinicians, executives, analysts, vendors, and technical teams..
Admissions Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited university is required.
- Applicants should have basic computer and information-management skills, including familiarity with common office software.
- A basic understanding of medical terminology is expected, although students without a healthcare background can complete the required online medical terminology course by the end of their first term.
- Approximately 1 year of professional work experience is preferred but is not required for admission.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not required for admission.
- Applicants must submit official college or university transcripts.
- A current resume or curriculum vitae is required as part of the application.
- A personal statement addressing professional interests, career goals, and familiarity with health informatics work is required.
- At least 1 professional recommendation is generally required, with additional recommendations required in certain circumstances.
Loma Linda University
Master of Science in Health Informatics
The Loma Linda University Master of Science in Health Informatics is offered through the School of Allied Health Professions and combines information management, technology, analytics, leadership, project management, and healthcare operations. The degree is intended to prepare graduates for informatics responsibilities within hospitals, clinics, research organizations, technology companies, government agencies, rehabilitation facilities, consulting organizations, and other healthcare settings.
This graduate program requires 48 units and normally takes 2 years, or 6 academic quarters, of full-time enrollment to complete. The curriculum follows a structured sequence across the 2 academic years, allowing students to progress from healthcare information systems and data management into analytics, security, systems implementation, leadership, professional portfolio development, and a culminating informatics project.
Loma Linda University gives substantial attention to the management of information as an organizational resource. Students learn how health organizations collect, organize, exchange, protect, analyze, and use information while also considering operational performance, regulatory responsibilities, technology selection, human interaction with systems, and the management of projects that affect clinical or administrative services.
The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), which provides an external academic standard specifically related to health informatics and health information education. The curriculum therefore addresses technical competencies alongside communication, leadership, project planning, data management, and performance evaluation.
Students also study healthcare from a broader organizational perspective through coursework addressing the United States healthcare system, professional communication, leadership, and regulatory matters. This combination is particularly relevant for students who want informatics positions that require regular work with administrators, clinicians, vendors, technical professionals, and organizational leaders instead of work focused solely on programming or data analysis.
Courses and Curriculum
The 48-unit curriculum includes a substantial sequence of required courses rather than relying heavily on open electives. During the first part of the program, students study healthcare information systems, the United States healthcare system, data management, human-computer interaction, technical infrastructure, professional writing, information management, and system development processes.
Data-management study includes database concepts, data integrity, information integration, data architecture, data warehousing, analytics, and knowledge-management methods. These areas are paired with coursework examining standards and health information exchange so that students can understand how information is represented and moved among systems and healthcare organizations.
Later coursework addresses biostatistics, quality improvement, decision support, information security, vendor management, and project management. Students learn to consider the technical requirements of health information systems while also evaluating organizational performance, contractual relationships, implementation activities, cybersecurity requirements, and regulatory responsibilities.
Leadership study examines organizational culture, management practices, ethics, personnel considerations, governance, group behavior, and organizational change. This managerial component supports graduates who may progress into roles that require supervision of informatics initiatives or participation in technology decisions involving several departments and professional groups.
The final curriculum also includes a professional portfolio and a capstone experience, both of which require students to demonstrate accumulated knowledge rather than completing the degree only through classroom examinations. The portfolio can contain professional goals, major academic projects, employment materials, and other evidence of professional development, while the capstone requires a more concentrated informatics application.
Practical Experience
Professional application is developed through system-focused assignments, data work, project-management activities, the professional portfolio, and the final capstone requirement. Students can connect classroom concepts with healthcare information problems involving system implementation, analytics, quality improvement, security, vendor relationships, and organizational decision-making while documenting their professional development throughout the program.
The Capstone Project and Special Topics in Health Informatics course requires students to complete either a systems-application business plan or a data-analytics project using competencies acquired during previous coursework.
Projects may be facility-based or theory-based, and students are expected to prepare and present completed work that demonstrates their ability to apply graduate informatics knowledge to a substantial problem.
Career Preparation & Outcomes
Loma Linda University identifies employment possibilities in hospitals, outpatient organizations, health information exchanges, long-term care settings, research facilities, government organizations, software companies, rehabilitation services, and consulting firms.
Relevant positions may involve system development, healthcare databases, electronic health records, clinical decision support, project management, data analysis, information security, or higher-level informatics administration.
The CAHIIM-accredited curriculum can be valuable for professionals seeking graduate preparation that combines information systems with healthcare management rather than concentrating on only 1 technical discipline. The professional portfolio and capstone also give students materials and project experience that can be discussed when seeking informatics, analytics, system, consulting, or management positions.
For an institutional measure, College Factual reports a 6-year graduation rate of 94% for Loma Linda University based on the completion data presented by that source. The figure applies at the university level and is not a program-specific graduation percentage for Health Informatics students.
Admissions Requirements
- Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited United States college or university or an accepted foreign equivalent.
- A minimum undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 is normally required.
- The GRE is generally not required for applicants meeting the GPA standard, although it may be requested when an applicant’s GPA is below 3.0.
- Applicants must provide 3 letters of recommendation addressing academic preparation and professional readiness.
- An interview may be required when the program determines that additional applicant review is appropriate.
- Applicants must satisfy applicable Loma Linda University and School of Allied Health Professions graduate admission requirements.
- International applicants must meet university requirements concerning foreign academic credentials and English-language proficiency.
National University
Master of Science in Health Informatics
The National University Master of Science in Health Informatics is an online graduate degree designed for students who want to connect healthcare services with information systems, health data, and technology management. National University is based in San Diego and has a long history of serving adult students, which is reflected in the flexible format and year-round admission structure of this program.
Students must complete at least 33 semester credit hours of graduate study, and the university lists an average completion time of approximately 13 months. The accelerated structure can be particularly suitable for working adults who prefer to make steady progress through focused courses instead of following the longer semester schedules commonly found at traditional residential universities.
The degree draws from healthcare administration, information systems, statistics, research, and health information technology. Students study electronic health records, information exchange, system planning, healthcare organizational requirements, information systems, analytical methods, and strategic uses of technology while also considering the regulatory and operational requirements of healthcare delivery.
The program is multidisciplinary because informatics professionals frequently need to understand clinical and administrative requirements without functioning as clinicians themselves. Coursework therefore examines how health information can support safety, efficiency, coordination, organizational management, and the quality of healthcare services while preparing students to communicate with professionals who have different technical and healthcare backgrounds.
National University specifically positions the degree for advancement into mid-level and leadership work within healthcare organizations, technology companies, and consulting firms.
Students with previous experience in healthcare can add information-management and technical knowledge, while students with technology experience can gain more familiarity with health systems, terminology, regulatory requirements, and the operational use of clinical information.
The online program also uses case studies, research activities, simulations, and a culminating capstone rather than relying entirely on conceptual instruction. This approach allows students to apply information-system and healthcare concepts to realistic organizational problems, including decisions involving technology resources, health data, interoperability, organizational priorities, and system planning.
Courses and Curriculum
The Master of Science in Health Informatics requires 9 core courses together with 1 program elective, producing at least 33 semester credit hours of graduate study. The academic sequence begins with the United States healthcare system and information-systems principles before moving into electronic records, statistical analysis, information exchange, system planning, case analysis, and culminating project work.
Electronic health record coursework examines digital clinical record systems and their role in care coordination and healthcare quality. Information-exchange study addresses data standards, terminology, interoperability, privacy, security, clinical data, and policies that affect communication of health information within and between healthcare organizations.
Students also complete statistical or research-oriented study, depending on the approved course option used in the degree plan. Quantitative preparation supports work involving healthcare information because analysts and managers must frequently interpret data, assess evidence, evaluate performance, and communicate conclusions without overstating what available information demonstrates.
System Management and Planning considers the lifecycle of healthcare information technology and the strategic management of informatics resources. Students examine planning, staffing, support functions, technology implementation, and organizational value, allowing them to consider not only whether a system can perform a technical function but also whether it can serve the organization’s operational needs.
The final portion of the sequence includes a health informatics case study followed by a 2-month capstone project. Students must integrate human, financial, technical, and organizational considerations, which creates an academic progression from introductory healthcare and information-system knowledge toward independent analysis of a significant informatics topic or practice problem.
Some of the core courses that you may take include:
- HCA 600 – U.S. Healthcare System
- HTM 552 – EHR Meaningful Use
- CIS 601 – Principles of Information Systems
- COH 602 – Biostatistics
- HTM 660 – System Management and Planning
- HTM 520 – Health Information Exchange
- HTM 680 – Health Informatics Case Study
- HTM 692 – Health Informatics Capstone
Practical Experience
National University incorporates experiential learning through case studies, research assignments, simulations, and applied analysis of healthcare technology decisions. The HTM 680 Health Informatics Case Study requires students to examine complex combinations of human resources, financial considerations, technical requirements, organizational behavior, and market factors while preparing recommendations within a simulated healthcare environment.
The HTM 692 Health Informatics Capstone follows the case-study course and requires a 2-month project addressing a relevant question in health informatics theory or practice. Students may complete a data-based research project or another approved scholarly or creative activity, giving them an opportunity to demonstrate independent planning, analysis, professional communication, and application of prior coursework.
Career Preparation & Outcomes
The degree prepares graduates for roles involving healthcare information systems, health data, electronic records, system planning, healthcare technology management, and consulting.
Depending on previous professional experience, graduates may seek work as health informatics specialists, informatics analysts, clinical information analysts, healthcare systems analysts, health information technology consultants, project managers, or technology-focused healthcare administrators.
Because National University’s student population contains many working and adult learners, career preparation places considerable emphasis on using graduate study in current or future professional settings. The combination of healthcare administration, information systems, quantitative study, applied cases, and a capstone can support career advancement for professionals who need knowledge extending beyond either general healthcare management or general information technology.
National University reports an 8-year graduation rate of 56% for first-time, full-time undergraduate degree, credential, and certificate-seeking students. The university explains that this federal-style measure does not represent much of its nontraditional adult population, and it should not be treated as the graduation rate for the graduate Health Informatics program.
Admissions Requirements
- Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an institutionally accredited college or university.
- An overall undergraduate GPA of at least 2.5 normally satisfies the academic admission requirement.
- Applicants may also qualify with a GPA of at least 2.75 in the final 60 semester credit hours of undergraduate study.
- Applicants with an undergraduate GPA from 2.0 through 2.49 may be considered through specified testing or probationary admission procedures.
- Standardized graduate admission testing is not required for applicants who satisfy the regular GPA requirement.
- Applicants must provide preliminary documentation of previous education during the admission process.
- A completed university application and enrollment agreement are required.
- Applicants should review any additional requirements that may apply to their individual academic or international status.
San José State University
Master of Science in Informatics – Health Career Pathway
The San José State University Master of Science in Informatics offers a Health Career Pathway for students seeking an online graduate program that combines broad informatics education with specialized healthcare study. The program is offered through the School of Information and gives students preparation in information technology, analytics, electronic records, security, project management, human-centered design, and health-focused informatics subjects.
The Master of Science in Informatics requires 30 units and is offered 100% online. Students can follow different course loads according to their schedules, with faster plans allowing completion in approximately 18 months and other plans extending study to approximately 24 months or longer. Fall and spring entry points are available, giving working professionals more than 1 opportunity each year to begin the degree.
Unlike a curriculum composed only of health courses, the SJSU model first develops broad informatics knowledge that can be applied across professional settings. Required study covers informatics fundamentals, technology foundations, information security, big data analytics, human-centered design, project management, electronic records, digital asset management, and a culminating project before or alongside career-pathway coursework.
The Health Career Pathway adds 9 units that concentrate on healthcare applications. Students normally complete Health Informatics, Epidemiological Methods, and Health Data and Analytics, although approved special-topic courses may periodically provide additional choices related to healthcare organizations, public policy, artificial intelligence, machine learning, health outcomes, or economic evaluation.
The online format can be useful for students already employed in hospitals, technology companies, public agencies, pharmaceutical organizations, insurance operations, analytics groups, or related businesses because relocation to San José is not required. At the same time, the program expects students to have sufficient technical readiness for graduate informatics coursework, making previous technology education or relevant employment particularly important.
Courses and Curriculum
The 30-unit curriculum combines a common informatics sequence with 9 units in a selected career pathway. Students following the Health Career Pathway receive the same core technical preparation as other informatics students while directing the specialized portion of their graduate education toward healthcare data, healthcare information systems, and epidemiological analysis.
Early coursework introduces informatics principles, technical foundations, and information security before moving to big data management, human-centered design, and project management. This sequence helps students understand how information systems are planned and evaluated from several perspectives, including technology, users, information resources, organizational requirements, and security responsibilities.
Electronic Records Foundations and related information-management coursework provide preparation for working with records in organizations that depend on accurate digital information. For health-pathway students, that general knowledge is later connected to electronic health records, healthcare standards, technology governance, clinical data, and the specific regulatory demands that affect healthcare information.
The 3 pathway courses provide the primary health concentration. Health Informatics addresses healthcare information, standards, electronic health records, data management, and governance, while Epidemiological Methods introduces the research methods used to study health patterns and outcomes. Health Data and Analytics then requires students to apply data-management and analytical methods to practical healthcare business and clinical intelligence questions.
Every student also completes an Informatics Culminating Project, which provides a final setting for integrating knowledge acquired across the degree. Because the program includes both informatics fundamentals and healthcare-focused work, graduates can develop skills that remain applicable to health organizations while retaining knowledge that can transfer to other information-intensive industries.
Practical Experience
Applied activities occur throughout courses involving analytics, records management, human-centered design, project management, and health data. Students work with problems that require practical interpretation of information, assessment of user requirements, project planning, analytical reasoning, and consideration of security or governance, which can help them connect theoretical informatics concepts with professional responsibilities.
The INFM 211 Informatics Culminating Project serves as the program’s principal final experience and requires students to apply their graduate knowledge through project work. Health-pathway students can draw on healthcare analytics, epidemiology, electronic records, information security, project management, and informatics concepts when developing or evaluating a problem appropriate for graduate-level professional study.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply informatics methods to information and data problems in healthcare and other professional environments.
- Analyze large datasets and communicate useful findings through appropriate analytical approaches.
- Evaluate electronic records, information governance, and security requirements affecting digital information.
- Use human-centered design principles when considering technologies intended for professional users and organizations.
- Apply project-management methods to the planning and completion of informatics initiatives.
- Use epidemiological and health-data methods to investigate healthcare questions and support informed decisions.
- Integrate technical, analytical, ethical, organizational, and communication skills in a culminating informatics project.
Career Preparation & Outcomes
The Health Career Pathway can prepare students for positions involving healthcare analytics, clinical data, digital records, information systems, data governance, and technology projects.
Potential titles include clinical data analyst, health informatics analyst, health records manager, informatics specialist, healthcare data analyst, information systems professional, or healthcare technology project manager, depending on previous education and professional experience.
Studying within a broad informatics degree can also support professionals whose work crosses industry boundaries, particularly in Silicon Valley and other California technology markets where healthcare organizations, software companies, insurers, pharmaceutical businesses, research organizations, and data companies may require similar technical and analytical competencies.
Admissions Requirements
- Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, and the undergraduate discipline does not have to be informatics or computer science.
- A minimum overall GPA of 2.8 in the bachelor’s degree or the final 60 semester or 90 quarter units is required.
- Admission to the Master of Science in Informatics is based primarily on satisfying the published GPA requirement and university admission standards.
- Applicants must demonstrate technical readiness through previous coursework or work experience involving HTML5 and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), a programming language, or information systems.
- A general understanding of computers and technology is expected before students begin graduate coursework.
- Official academic transcripts must be provided as required by the university.
- Students need access to a computer, reliable internet service, and software appropriate for online graduate study.
- International applicants must meet applicable English-language proficiency and university graduate admission requirements.
- The program does not require the GRE or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) for regular admission.
University of California, Davis
Master of Science in Health Informatics
The University of California, Davis offers a research-oriented Master of Science in Health Informatics through its Health Informatics Graduate Group and Department of Public Health Sciences. The program is delivered in person and is particularly appropriate for students who want advanced preparation in biomedical information, clinical data, health information systems, research methods, and the development or evaluation of computing applications used in healthcare.
The Master of Science requires at least 48 units. University program guidance describes a normal full-time completion period of approximately 1.5 to 2 years, while part-time study has historically taken longer. Students work with graduate faculty to develop an individual academic plan that includes required health informatics coursework, research units, and approved domain courses selected according to professional and research interests.
Students may complete the degree through Plan I or Plan II. Plan I requires a thesis and at least 48 units, including a minimum amount of core study and substantial MHI 299 Research in Health Informatics credit. Plan II also requires at least 48 units but concludes with a supervised capstone report rather than the traditional thesis requirement, allowing students to select the option that better supports their research and professional objectives.
The program gives considerable attention to research because students are expected to investigate a significant health informatics problem under faculty supervision. Areas of possible work include digital health, consumer health, clinical decision support, health data science, clinical information architecture, privacy, security, standardization, information exchange, electronic medical records, and other subjects involving the use of computing within healthcare or biomedical settings.
UC Davis also provides access to a major academic health system, medical researchers, public health faculty, computing resources, and professionals working across several health-related disciplines. This setting can support students who want to connect technical study with healthcare research and who may later work in academic medicine, research organizations, healthcare information technology, health systems, biotechnology, or data-intensive health services.
Prospective students should note that the Master of Science in Health Informatics has temporarily suspended admissions for the 2026-2027 academic year. The university states that the program remains fully operational for currently enrolled students, and future admission updates will be posted by the program, so prospective applicants should check the official admissions page before planning a future application.
Courses and Curriculum
The UC Davis curriculum differs from highly prescribed professional degrees because students complete a combination of central health informatics courses, research, and approved domain electives. Both degree plans require a total of at least 48 units, but the allocation of research and core coursework varies according to whether the student completes the thesis or capstone option.
Required academic study introduces electronic health records, decision support, databases, health information systems, seminars, and independent research. Students learn how clinical information is represented, stored, exchanged, analyzed, and used in healthcare while considering standards, terminology, workflows, data visualization, security, privacy, and evidence-based practice.
Database coursework addresses relational data, modeling, Structured Query Language (SQL), information organization, and knowledge-management concepts, while programming coursework can help students work directly with health datasets. Security study examines how privacy and computer-security principles apply to electronic records, telemedicine, health research, and other information-intensive healthcare activities.
Students can also select approved domain coursework according to research needs and faculty guidance. Current offerings include consumer digital health, clinical knowledge for informatics professionals, programming, biostatistics-oriented topics, project management, security, and specialized seminars, giving students considerable control over the technical or health emphasis of the final degree plan.
Research remains central regardless of the degree option because students complete supervised work and must produce either a thesis or capstone report. The curriculum therefore places greater emphasis on investigation, scholarly writing, analysis, and faculty mentorship than programs designed primarily around professional classroom coursework.
Practical Experience
Practical academic work is closely connected with research and project development. Students identify an area of interest, work with faculty mentors, complete research credit, analyze relevant information, and produce graduate-level work related to a healthcare or biomedical informatics problem.
Coursework may also include database exercises, programming activities, security applications, project planning, and educational use of clinical information systems.
Plan I students complete a thesis and oral defense, while Plan II students complete a written capstone report based on a supervised project. Both options require students to move beyond standard classroom assignments by defining a problem, selecting appropriate methods, evaluating evidence or data, communicating results, and demonstrating the ability to complete sustained professional or scholarly work in health informatics.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate clinical and biomedical information systems using technical, healthcare, and research perspectives.
- Apply database, information-management, and analytical methods to healthcare and biomedical data.
- Assess electronic health records, clinical decision-support systems, interoperability, terminology, privacy, and security.
- Use programming or computational methods appropriate for selected health informatics research and professional problems.
- Plan and conduct supervised graduate research using appropriate academic and analytical methods.
- Communicate research findings through professional writing, presentations, a capstone report, or a defended thesis.
- Integrate knowledge from healthcare, information science, technology, and research when evaluating informatics problems.
Career Preparation & Outcomes
The research emphasis can prepare graduates for health informatics positions in academic health centers, hospitals, research groups, health technology companies, biotechnology organizations, public health institutions, government agencies, and universities. Career possibilities can include clinical informatics analyst, health data analyst, research informatician, clinical systems specialist, data manager, informatics consultant, research coordinator, or other positions involving health information and computing.
Students who select the thesis option may also gain preparation for doctoral study or research-intensive employment because the degree requires extensive independent work under faculty supervision. The capstone option can be useful for professionals who want a substantial applied project while retaining the analytical and research preparation associated with a university-based Master of Science curriculum.
Admissions Requirements
- Admissions to the Master of Science in Health Informatics are temporarily suspended for the 2026-2027 academic year, although the program remains operational for enrolled students.
- Applicants normally must hold a bachelor’s degree or accepted equivalent before beginning graduate enrollment.
- UC Davis normally requires a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for graduate admission.
- The Health Informatics program does not require the GRE or another additional graduate entrance examination.
- Applicants are expected to demonstrate preparation in healthcare, technology, biology, information science, computer science, or another background suitable for their intended informatics work.
- Applicants without healthcare preparation need appropriate knowledge of human diseases and health conditions.
- Applicants without an information technology background need preparation in object-oriented programming and relational databases or equivalent knowledge approved by the admissions committee.
- Applicants normally submit 3 letters of recommendation through the university’s online application system.
- A Statement of Purpose addressing preparation, motivation, academic interests, career goals, and program fit is required.
- An essay discussing previous research, current projects, and intended research interests is required for the Health Informatics program.
- A current resume or curriculum vitae is required.
What Degree Is Best for Health Informatics Programs in California?
A Master of Science in Health Informatics is a common choice for graduate-level preparation because it combines healthcare information, technology, analytics, systems management, and applied study, although students should compare each program’s technical emphasis, research expectations, format, and career focus before selecting a degree.
How Long Do Health Informatics Programs in California Take?
Graduate health informatics programs in California commonly require about 13 months to 2 years of full-time study, although completion time varies by university, credit load, delivery format, research requirements, and whether the student follows a part-time schedule.
Can You Complete a California Health Informatics Degree Online?
Yes, several California universities offer online graduate study in health informatics or informatics with a health pathway, including the University of San Diego, National University, and San José State University, while other programs use campus-based instruction or provide different delivery choices.
How Many Credits Are Required for Health Informatics Programs in California?
Credit requirements vary substantially because California universities use different academic calendars and degree structures, with programs in this article requiring from 30 semester-style units or credits to 48 quarter-based units, along with any research, capstone, thesis, or specialty requirements specified by the university.
What Jobs Can You Get With a Health Informatics Degree in California?
Graduates may qualify for positions involving health data analysis, clinical information systems, electronic health records, healthcare technology projects, information management, data governance, decision support, consulting, or informatics administration, although specific job requirements depend on the employer and the applicant’s previous professional experience.
Do Health Informatics Programs in California Require the GRE?
Many California health informatics programs do not require the Graduate Record Examination for regular admission, including programs discussed at the University of San Diego, San José State University, and the University of California, Davis, although applicants should confirm current requirements before submitting an application.
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