Program in Biomedical Informatics
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Degree Programs | Training support | Application Process | Glossary
2.5
Graduate degree
programs
A number of graduate degree programs are offered at Harvard and MIT with informatics emphases or aspects.
2.5.1
HST MS degree in BMI for
health care professionals (MIT degree)
A Master’s degree program in Biomedical Informatics is offered by HST through MIT. This program requires that admitted students already hold an advanced degree in a health profession, or be concurrently enrolled as a medical student at Harvard.
The degree program normally takes 2-3 years to complete during the fellowship. The research projects that fellows conduct as part of their fellowship typically form the basis for their theses. Thesis work may be carried out at research facilities of the participating informatics groups. The fellows usually also do clinical work (perhaps one day per week) during this time, to maintain their clinical skills.
This program started in September, 1996, and has had 15
graduates to date. One graduate elected to continue her education in medical
computing through the EECS Ph.D. program at MIT. Another is pursuing a doctoral
degree at the Harvard Dental School, focusing on bioinformatics. Nine other
graduates have positions at academic centers such as Harvard Medical School
(6), University of Vermont, University of Washington, and Keiyo University
(Japan). One graduate is serving in the military, in a position related to
medical informatics. Our first two graduates, Dr. Halamka, 1998, and Dr.
Nigrin, 1999) are CIOs of BIDMC and CHMC, respectively; Dr. Halamka is also now
Associate Dean for Educational Technology at HMS. A paper derived from Dr.
Halamka’s masters thesis received the Martin Epstein award at AMIA’98.
2.5.2
HST PhD in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics
(MEMP), with concentration on
Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG)
The HST Division has a highly competitive Ph.D. degree program, which is unique in that it provides, for those students who come from pure science or engineering backgrounds, courses in human biology and introduction to clinical medicine. The MEMP Ph.D. also requires dual qualification, in a traditional department at Harvard or MIT as well as in HST. It is a quite flexible degree program beyond those requirements, and has met the needs of a few of our students who have sought a Ph.D. in BMI. Beginning in 2002, a special track has been offered with a focus on bioinformatics and integrative genomics (known as BIG).
2.5.3
HSPH MPH degree
Postdoctoral fellows have the option of pursuing a Master of Public Health at HSPH part-time, over the two-year period. The MPH offers concentrations in Clinical Effectiveness, in Health Care Management, or in Quantitative Methods. With regard to the HSPH M.P.H. Quantitative Methods area of concentration, we have proposed a specialization of this to provide more formal education in informatics. This would include certain courses now part of the HST M.S. degree, such as HST 952, Computing for Biomedical Scientists, and HST 950, Medical Computing.
2.5.4
M.S. and
Ph.D. in Medical Computing/EECS
Trainees with MIT appointments normally pursue a degree program leading to a Ph.D. in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Admission to this program is part of the ordinary admission process to the CS graduate program in EECS, and is highly competitive. EECS typically admits 35 students each year from a pool of over 700 applicants. Predoctoral fellows whose highest degree at entry is a Bachelor’s are required to obtain a Master’s en route to the Ph.D. The doctoral degrees (M.D., D.V.M., etc.) of postdoctoral fellows excuse them from needing to obtain a Master’s, although fellows may choose to get it by fulfilling the MIT requirements. These consist approximately—the possible variations and details are complex—of a total of 6 classes, 4 of which must be at the graduate level, and a dissertation.
2.5.5
Ph.D. in Health Policy (Health
Decision Science emphasis)
Predoctoral
candidates in Health Decision
Science may pursue 1 of 2 doctoral degree options (see Appendix D). Most students elect the Ph.D. in Health Policy, offered by the
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences but administered by a joint
faculty committee including the Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Government. Dr. Milton Weinstein and Dr. John Graham
represent the HDS faculty on that committee.
Within the Ph.D. in Health Policy, students select a disciplinary area
of concentration, one of which is HDS. Two years of course requirements are followed
by a written qualifying examination, a dissertation proposal, and a dissertation. Most fellows require 2-3 years after their
predoctoral traineeship to complete the dissertation, usually supported by one
or more research grants under direction of a faculty member.
The
other doctoral option available for HDS fellows is the decision science track
in the Department of Biostatistics.
This program, which offers a Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree, has
distinct course and examination requirements from the Biostatistics program,
and is directed by Dr. Weinstein. Requirements for this degree are similar to
those for the Ph.D. in Health Policy, although this degree is administered directly
by the HSPH.
Tracks and areas of concentration
Formal coursework is available to students from a variety of sources throughout Harvard and MIT. See courses that we believe are particularly appropriate to both predoctoral and postdoctoral students in BMI programs. These are selected primarily from HSPH, Harvard’s Business School, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Division of Engineering and Applied Science; and MIT's EECS Department, HST, and Sloan School of Management. Students are encouraged, with the advice of their advisors, to select among any other classes suitable to their educational and career objectives.
Formal tracks within a degree program have generally not been designed, but rather certain courses are recommended for particular areas of concentration. The latter are encouraged, which can be constructed from the wide range of course offerings, and, for example, may be in decision science, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, large-scale systems integration, and imaging informatics.
2.6
Seminars/discussions/workshops/guest
speaker series
Besides formal courses, a large number of other educational events, such as seminars, colloquia, and workshops are also offered. Fellows from all centers are welcome to attend seminars and workshops at other institutions.
A weekly BMI Grand Rounds is jointly organized by the BWH DSG and CHMC CHIP.
The MIT CDMG sponsors biweekly seminars throughout the academic year, given by fellows or guest lecturers.
Among the many seminars available to students and fellows in HDS, that most relevant to this program is the core seminar on Risk and Decision Science, which meets twice monthly. Other seminars include series on cancer outcomes and decision making, quality of care evaluation, pharmacoepidemiology, and a variety of seminars on biostatistics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, and health policy.
A program-wide discussion of “hot topics” in BMI is offered twice a year through HST.
Degree Programs | Training support | Application Process | Glossary