Admission Requirements

• IBHE Certificate

Degree Requirements

• IBHE Certificate

Technical Requirements

• PC
• Mac

Mailing Address:
Office of Graduate Programs (MC 530)
Biomedical and Health Information Sciences
1919 West Taylor Street
Chicago, IL 60612-7249

Campus Location: 250 AHSB
Program Code: 20FS1304CERU
Telephone: (866) 674-4842
E-mail: p.rocha@healthinformatics.uic.edu
Web Site: http://healthinformatics.uic.edu
Director of Graduate Studies: Dr. Larry Pawola
Academic Program Director: Karen Patena, RHIA

UIC's online Postbaccalaureate IBHE Certificate in Health Information Management provides opportunities for self-motivated, experienced healthcare, IT, or business professionals who have already attained at least a bachelor’s degree, to attain a solid foundation in the application and management of computers within the healthcare setting, as well as eligibility to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification exam.
All courses will be delivered using online instruction that provides quality learning in a structured environment. Field work at a location convenient to the student is also required.

The Postbaccalaureate IBHE Certificate in HIM signifies that graduates are conversant in the planning, implementation, operation, and control of health data and information systems, and are eligible to sit for the RHIA exam. Course work emphasizes development of a state of the art skill set and knowledge base grounded in healthcare information sciences.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

IBHE Certificate

• Prior Degrees At minimum, an earned bachelor's degree from any accredited college or university is required.
• Transcripts An official transcript sent in a signed, sealed envelope from each postsecondary institution attended.
• Grade Point Average A cumulative GPA of 2.75/4.00 or above for the last 60 semester hours of the undergraduate degree OR a cumulative GPA of 3.00/4.00 or above for a minimum of 12 hours of graduate level course work beyond the baccalaureate.
• Minimum English Competency Test Score
• TOEFL If the applicant has taken the paper-based TOEFL, minimum scores in the range of 585–600 will be considered; in addition, the applicant must take the Test of Written English and submit scores in the range of 5–6. If the applicant has taken the computer-based TOEFL, minimum scores in the range of 240–250 will be considered. In this case the Test of Written English is not required. Applicants taking the iBT Internet-based TOEFL must have a minimum score of 95, with subscores of Reading 24, Listening 22, Speaking 24, and Writing 24. OR
• IELTS 7.0, with subscores of 6.5 for all four subscores.
• Personal Statement The statement should address the applicant’s desired outcomes and benefits from completion of the certificate program.
• Interview Applicant must interview by phone to determine eligibility, interest, and purpose of graduate study.
• Resume Applicant should submit a resume that highlights education and work experience.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

IBHE Certificate

• Prerequisites This certificate requires completion of the following prerequisite courses (or equivalent course work or professional experience). These courses are most typically taken upon admission to the certificate program.
• KN 251 and 252—Human Physiological Anatomy I and II
• PSCH 242—Introduction to Research in Psychology
• IDS 200—Introduction to Management Information Systems
• Minimum Semester Hours Required 23–39. While 39 hours are required for the full program, a minimum of 31 hours may be taken if proficiency can be demonstrated in up to eight hours of specific core courses (see Note below) for students seeking the Postbaccalaureate IBHE Certificate in HIM only. While 31 hours are required for the full program concurrently with the MS in Health Informatics, a minimum of 23 hours may be taken if proficiency can be demonstrated in up to eight hours of specific core courses. (In this case, the Postbaccalaureate IBHE Certificate in HIM is awarded only upon completion of both the 23 or 31 hours required for the certificate and the 45 hours required for the MS in Health Informatics degree.) Proficiency will be demonstrated through reviewing the student's petition, personal statement and experience, and completion of a written exam.
• Course Work
• Required Courses for students completing the full 39 hours for the IBHE Certificate in HIM only: HIM 410, 432, 433, 481, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455; BHIS 405, 460, 580.
• Required Courses for students completing the full 31 hours for the IBHE Certificate in HIM concurrently with MS in Health Informatics: HIM 410, 432, 433, 481, 451, 452, 453; BHIS 405, 580. Additional courses taken as part of the MS in Health Informatics curriculum—11 hours. Note: These courses count toward the MS in Health Informatics degree and are substituted for courses in the Postbaccalaureate Certificate in HIM program: BHIS 500, 517, 535, and 546.
• Note: Upon satisfactory demonstration of proficiency in HIM 410, 453, or BHIS 405, students may waive up to 8 hours. In addition, students may substitute up to 4 hours from the following: BHIS 437, 515, 517, 525, 528 for required course work. Proficiency will be demonstrated though reviewing the student's petition, personal statement and experience, and completion of a written exam. Students completing the certificate concurrently with the MS in Health Informatics may substitute only BHIS 528, as all other courses are existing requirements of the MS with concurrent certificate.

Technical Requirements

• Computer Literacy All students enrolled in this program are expected to have working knowledge of computers to use the following minimum requirements.

PC Users

• Processor: Minimum Pentium III
• Memory: 1GB RAM minimum
• Hard Drive: 40 GB or more with 8 GB free space preferred
• Modem: A cable or DSL connection is preferred
• CD-ROM: A CD-ROM reader
• Sound Card: SoundBlaster 32-bit compatible
• Video Card: SVGA 1024 x 768 resolution
• Monitor: 15 inch SuperVGA color monitor
• Operating System: XP, Vista   
• Software: An active antivirus program and an office suite such as Microsoft Office.  
• Other: High speed broadband access and a standard microphone.

Mac Users

• Processor: Mac G4 or G5 running OS 10 (or higher)
• Memory: Minimum of 1 GB RAM
• Hard Drive: 40 GB hard drive
• Other: High speed broadband access and a standard microphone.