2023 Best Bachelor’s in Health Informatics Programs
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Deciding which college to attend can be a daunting task. For many, it will be the most important decision that they make in their lives. To make an informed decision, you have to consider a lot of variables, such as cost of attendance, financial aid, student/teacher ratio, academics, student life, and more. These factors will either positively or negatively impact the quality of education that you receive.
Do you want to acquire a bachelor’s degree in health informatics, but don’t know what institution you should attend? Well, if you are as ambitious as I was in my late teens, then you want to attend a top school, instead of an average or mediocre one. Fortunately, we have already done the legwork for you. To help you find the right school for your interests and goals, we’ve compiled a list of 2022’s best bachelor’s in health informatics programs.
What institution did we forget? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
- Regis University, Weston, MA
Regis University’s bachelor of science in health information management entails the completion of 24 credit hours of foundation classes, 27 credit hours of upper-division classes, and 12 credit hours connected to the area of concentration. To graduate, learners must complete 120 credit hours of undergraduate classwork, which includes 45 hours of general core classwork in concepts such as human anatomy and ethics in health care services. Core classes in the major consist of human disease & pharmacology, disease classification systems, and introduction to database concepts.
Candidates to the degree program should have a GPA of at least 2.5 in their high school classwork. Learners entering the degree program can obtain credit for professional credentials/certificates, such as being a Certified Coding Specialist or Project Management Professional.
- Louisiana Tech University, Baton Rouge, LA
Louisiana Tech’s Department of Health Informatics and Information Management has a bachelor of science degree. Learners take major classes and milestone exams to advance via the degree program, and each milestone exam is tied to a specific sequence of classes. This helps to ensure that learners have the necessary skills to progress in the degree program. Major core classes consist of health records professional practice, coding/class diseases and procedures, and health care systems. The degree program also readies learners to receive and sustain a Registered Health Informatics Administration licensure by requiring them to finish six hours of continuing education before graduation.
Along with the bachelor’s degree program, Louisiana Tech has minor and graduate programs in health information. The minor degree program’s classes are determined by whether or not the learner is a nursing learner or a non-nursing learner. The graduate degree program gives learners the chance to receive a master of health informatics degree.
- University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
The University of Central Florida is the largest institution in the United States by total enrollment, with more than 66,000 learners. The Orlando, FL-based school is situated 35 miles west of Cape Canaveral, which is why UCF is also a “space-grant institution.” This means that UCF helps to carry out outer space-related research.
UCF’s degree program is a bachelor of science degree in health informatics and information management. The coursework is intended to deliver an unusual balance between classroom theory and real-world experience. The prerequisite and general education classes require learners to finish 53 credit hours of classwork. Major classes begin in the learner’s junior year with classes such as medical terminology. During the summer term of their final year, learners intern at an associated health care facility, which gives them real-life experience in the health informatics field. Learners who graduate from the degree program can qualify to become a Registered Health Information Administrator.
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
UIC is home to a bachelor of science degree in health information management. Learners finish 63 credit hours of health information management classwork, which contains classes such as systems analysis and health care financial management. The degree program culminates with a clinical practicum intended to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace.
- East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
East Carolina University was established in 1907 as a teachers’ training school. It earned institution status in 1972 and swiftly became a part of the North Carolina state institution system. East Carolina’s bachelor of science in health information management is offered on campus and via the school’s online learning service. Graduates of the degree program are qualified to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator credentialing exam. The degree program entails a total of 120 credit hours of classwork. The degree plan contains the following classes: leadership in health care, health care finance & accounting, and health data structures.
Most of the classes in the degree program are predetermined, but there is a choice for a health information management elective in a learner’s final semester. One of the primary components of the degree program is the required internship. ECU has several partner agencies that offer real-world experience to learners; these are intended to pair them with highly motivated mentors and internship supervisors. The degree program even has an internship database for learners who wish to investigate previous learners’ experiences.
- Clarkson College, Omaha, NE
Clarkson has a bachelor of science in health information administration. Classes in the degree program are offered entirely online, and learners can take classes either full- or part-time. The degree program is intended to prepare learners to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator exam. The degree program also incorporates early testing into its coursework, which enables learners to receive the RHIA licensure before they graduate. The degree program entails the equivalent of 10 semesters of full-time classwork. A maximum of 70 transfer credit hours may be accepted. Start dates for the degree program are available in January, May, and August.
- Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, OR
The Oregon Institute of Technology has an online Bachelor of Science degree program in health informatics that readies learners to be information and computing specialists in the health care field. The degree program classwork contains a background in business management, information systems, computing science, and health care. The degree program has online classes and adaptable schedule alternatives to meet the needs of working learners. Classes offered consist of database design, computer networks, system analytics, and computer programming. Learners also get skills in digital security, data analytics, health care IT, and medical terminology.
Real-life learning experiences are included in many classes, to give learners skills that will be relevant and valuable when they hit the post-graduation job market. Learner-to-teacher ratios are kept low to ensure that learners get the focused attention they need to succeed. Faculty members are also directly involved in learner counseling and advising.
- Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Texas State University has a bachelor of science degree in health information management. The degree program contains alternatives for learners who are seeking a second bachelor’s degree, who have already earned an associate’s degree in health information technology, or who are merely looking to receive their first bachelor’s degree. Program classwork is delivered in a “two-two” format, which splits prerequisites across two years of prerequisites and two years of major classes. Learners finish major classes, including legal aspects of health information management, coding and classification systems, and disease and medical science. The degree program culminates with learners taking a professional practice experience class, along with a health information management practicum.
- Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI
Ferris State University has a health information management bachelor’s degree program that contains online learning opportunities that allow learners to finish their major classes online. The online class choice is available to learners who have already finished a relevant associate degree and to those who are already certified as Registered Health Information Technicians.
The institution is situated near the Medical Mile, a health care corridor in Big Rapids consisting of several institutions and offices connected to the health care field. Learners may also take classes off-campus at FSU’s community college partners across the state of Michigan. Candidates to the on-campus degree program are expected to have transfer credit covering prerequisite classwork.
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
KU has a two-year bachelor of science degree program based at its Medical Center Campus. Learners finish their first two years of undergraduate prerequisites on the primary KU campus, or at a similarly sanctioned institution before they begin the health information management degree program. Along with the bachelor’s degree program, KU enables learners to receive a master’s degree or undergraduate minor in the field.
The degree program’s coursework contains classes such as health care delivery systems, pharmacology concepts for health information management, and pathophysiology for health professionals. Learners end the degree program by completing a management internship during their final semester, along with classes such as leadership in health care and information governance in health care. Some learners select to work on a minor in business, in part because the programs’ curricula have some overlap. The health information management degree program is intended to help learners pass the Registered Health Information Administrator exam. The current pass rate for KU learners is 93%.
- Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA
Loma Linda has a bachelor of science in health information administration degree program. Candidates for admission to the degree program must have finished 96 quarter units at a sanctioned college or institution, including prerequisite classwork in religion, the humanities, scientific inquiry, communications, health, and wellness. Classes in the BS degree program consist of clinical classification systems, introduction to data analytics, and pharmacology for health information administration. Learners may also take a coding seminar or a class in quality improvement in health care. Loma Linda also has a bachelor certificate in health information management and a master of science in health informatics.
Temple is home to a bachelor of science degree program in health information management (HIM). The degree program is billed as having small class sizes and a tight-knit community of learners. The degree program also has its learner association, which seeks to build connections among learners and cohorts.
This is a two-year degree program that learners finish during their junior and senior years of undergraduate study. Learners apply to the BS in HIM during their sophomore year. After being accepted, they finish 61 credit hours of professional health information management classes, which includes a professional internship.
First-year students interested in this degree are strongly urged to enter the pre-HIM degree program, to prepare for applying, and to maximize their chances of admission to the major degree program. The pre-HIM degree program gives learners access to focused advising connected to the HIM field and ensures that they can take specific classes that teach them the fundamentals they will need to succeed in the major.
Western Kentucky University has a 100% online bachelor’s degree in health information management. The degree program’s coursework is intended to focus on the management of information and people, along with budget preparation and the administration of computerized health information systems.
Learners can select among a regular bachelor’s degree program or a degree-completion degree program, which is intended for learners who have already finished a related associate degree.
To qualify for the degree-completion degree program, the learner’s associate degree must be sanctioned by the Commission on Accrediting Body for Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The major coursework contains core classes such as health data management and the capstone professional real-life experience. Learners select from elective classes such as business analytics, systems development, or data mining. Learners may test out of a maximum of 21 credit hours of certain core degree program classes.
The University of Louisiana’s bachelor of science in health information management is intended to give learners a mixture of classwork and professional practice experience. Learners can also receive a minor in health informatics as a part of the degree program. Classes covers a cross-section of content areas, including business, management, and technology functions.
Classes in the major consist of management and leadership, health care statistics and research models, health care reimbursement, and procedural coding in health care. Learners who work on the minor in health informatics also take classes such as health data management tools and health information technology.
St. Joseph’s College of Maine is home to an online bachelor of science degree. The degree program is intended for learners from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds, including learners who are just starting their first bachelor’s degree program and those who have already finished some college-level classwork. The 128 credits for the degree comprise 36 credit hours of general education classes, 51 credit hours of HIM core, and 38 credit hours of elective classes, along with a 3-credit advanced practicum class. Learners can also utilize some of the degree program’s credits to take a fast path to earning a master’s in public health.
Faculty have professional experience in the field of health information management, which enables them to give learners real-world insight and applications for their classwork. Learners are also urged to incorporate work experience into their studies, and classwork is available at all times for maximum flexibility.
