Health and Bioinformatics Program Courses
Curriculum Outline
Overall requirements for the MS in Health Informatics and Bioinformatics consist of 36 credits, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
Consistent with Grand Valley policy, all courses must be completed within 8 consecutive years from entry into the first graduate course.
Common courses are shared among the five PSM programs to encourage interdisciplinary team work. The specific course requirements include:
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Four Common Core Courses (12 credits)
- CIS 661 Introduction to Health & Bioinformatics
- CMB 501 - Scientific Communication for the Life Sciences and Professional Science Master's
- PSM 650 Ethics and Professionalism in Applied Science
- Introduction to Biostatistics - choose one of the following:
Common Seminar Course (2 credits)
Five Directed Courses (15 credits)
- CIS 635 Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
- CIS 660 Information Management and Science
- CIS 671 Information Visualization
- Choose either sequence 1. or 2. (2-Course Sequence)
-
Health Informatics Focus
CIS 665 Clinical Information Systems, and either: -
Bioinformatics Focus
CIS 677 High-Performance Computing and
CIS 678 Machine Learning
-
Internship (4 credits)
Capstone (3 credits)

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training
The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training for Graduate Students Policy is a training that ensures ethical and professional standards for all graduate students while at GVSU. Click here for more information on GVSU RCR Standards.
All graduate students at GVSU will be required to comply with the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) policy. Students are also required to complete the training by the time they finish 50% of their program credits. If you are not enrolled in PSM 650 during your first year (including summer semester) OR if you participate in a research project before you took PSM 650, you must complete the online CITI Program training. Health Informatics and Bioinformatics students can choose either the Biomedical Sciences or the Engineering and Technology course.
Recommended Course Schedules
Year #1
Fall Semester: (9 credits)
Course Period : (August - December)
- Statistics Course:
- STA 610-01: Applied Statistics for Health Professions (only section 01 with “R”) OR
- STA 622: Statistical Methods for Biologists (Please Discuss with Advisor Prior to Registration)
- CMB 501-03: Scientific Communication for the Life Sciences and Professional Science Master's (only section 03 Health Campus)
- Programming Class:
- CIS 500: Fundamentals of Computer Science OR
- CIS 161: Computational Science
Winter Semester: (9 credits)
Course Period : (January - May)
- CIS 661: Intro to Health and Bioinformatics
- CIS 635: Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
- One Elective:
- CIS 678: Machine Learning (Bioinformatics Concentration) OR
- PNH 630: Health Administration and Service (Health Informatics Concentration) OR
- PNH 635: Hospital Organization and Management (Health Informatics Concentration)
(Optional) Summer Semester: (3/4 credits)
- PSM 650: Ethics & Professionalism
- PSM 691: Internship
Year #2
Fall Semester: (9 credits)
Course Period : (August - December)
- CIS 660: Information Management and Science
- PSM 662: Seminar in Professional Science plus 1 Internship credit
- One Elective:
- CIS 677: High-Performance Computing (Bioinformatics Concentration) OR
- CIS 665: Clinical Information Systems (Health Informatics Concentration)
Winter Semester: (8 credits)
Course Period : (January - May)
- CIS 691: Medical and Bioinformatics Capstone
- CIS 671: Information Visualization
- PSM 650: Ethics & Professionalism
(Optional) Summer Semester: (4 credits)
- PSM 691: Internship
Fall Semester Courses
Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
Course Offered |
---|---|---|---|
CIS 161 |
3 cr |
Mon, Wed, Fri 11-11:50AM |
|
CIS 500 |
3 cr |
Online Asynch |
|
CMB 501 |
Scientific Communication for the Life Sciences and Professional Science Master's |
3 cr |
Mon 1-4:50 pm |
CIS 660 |
3 cr |
Tue, Thu 4-5:15PM OR Thu 6-8:50PM OR Online Async |
|
CIS 661 |
3 cr |
Mon 6-8:50PM OR Mon,Wed 4-5:15PM OR Online Async |
|
CIS 665 |
3 cr |
Wed 6-8:50PM |
|
CIS 677 |
3 cr |
Wed 6-8:50PM OR Online Async |
|
PNH 635 |
3 cr |
Thu 6-8:50PM Hybrid |
|
PSM 650 |
3 cr |
Mon OR Tue OR Wed 6-8:50PM |
|
PSM 662 |
2 cr |
Mon, Wed 4-4:50PM OR 5-5:50PM OR Tue,Thu 5-5:50PM |
|
PSM 691 |
1-9 cr |
N/A |
|
STA 610-1 |
3 cr |
Tue 6-8:50PM |
|
STA 622 |
3 cr |
Tue, Thu 11:30AM-12:45PM |
Winter Semester Courses
Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
Course Offered |
---|---|---|---|
CIS 161 |
3 cr |
Mon, Wed, Fri 1-1:50PM |
|
CIS 500 |
3 cr |
Online Async |
|
CIS 635 |
3 cr |
Mon, Wed 4-5:15PM OR Wed 6-8:50PM OR Online Async |
|
CIS 661 |
3 cr |
Tue 6-8:50PM |
|
CIS 671 |
3 cr |
Mon, Wed 4-5:15PM OR Thu 6-8:50PM OR Online Async |
|
CIS 678 |
3 cr |
Mon OR Tues 6-8:50PM |
|
CIS 691 |
3 cr |
Mon 6-8:50PM |
|
CMB 610 |
3 cr |
Mon 6-8:50PM |
|
PNH 630 |
3 cr |
Thu 6-8:50PM Hybrid |
|
PSM 650 |
3 cr |
Online Async |
|
PSM 662 |
2 cr |
Mon, Wed 5-5:50PM OR Online Async |
|
PSM 691 |
1-9 cr |
N/A |
|
STA 610 |
3 cr |
Tuesday AND Thursday 11:30AM-12:45PM |
Spring/Summer Semester
Course Number |
Course Title |
Credits |
Course Offered |
---|---|---|---|
CIS 161 |
3 cr |
Online - Both Summer Sessions (12 Weeks) |
|
CIS 500 |
3 cr |
Online - Both Summer Sessions (12 Weeks) |
|
CIS 661 |
3 cr |
Online - Second Summer Session (6 Weeks) |
|
PSM 650 |
3 cr |
Online - First Summer Session (6 Weeks) |
|
PSM 662 |
2 cr |
Tuesday and Thursday 6-8:50PM - First Summer Session (6 Weeks) |
|
PSM 691 |
1-9 cr |
N/A |
Course Descriptions
CIS 161 - Computational Science
Computational science is the field of study concerned with using computers to analyze, model, simulate, and solve problems in various mathematical and scientific disciplines. Offered winter semester.
Credits: 3
CIS 500 - Fundamentals of Software Practice
Focuses on advanced programming concepts, common data structures and collections, concurrency, software modeling, searching and sorting algorithms. Elements of discrete mathematics are integrated through lectures and programming projects. Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: Admission to the CIS program.
Credits: 3
CIS 661 - Introduction to Health and Bioinformatics
A survey of fundamental concepts of medical and bioinformatics methods and techniques involved in the integration of computer systems in medical centers and life science industries. Introduction to biomedical information systems; data representation, modeling, management and mining; systems evaluation; project management practices for biomedical decision-making. Legal and ethical considerations. Offered fall and winter semesters.
Credits: 3
CMB 610 - Foundations of Biotechnology
Introduction to the methods and strategies used for the manipulation of biological systems to produce food, drugs, and other products. Topics include experimental systems, gene and protein analysis, genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, transgenic organisms, gene therapy, and plant biotechnology. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: Admission to a professional science master's program.
Credits: 3
PSM 650 - Ethics and Professionalism in Applied Science
Ethical and professional issues and problems facing practicing scientists. Emphasizes the role of scientists in public and private sectors, their responsibilities, and emerging ethical and professional issues. Offered every semester. Prerequisite: Admission to a professional science master's (PSM) program.
Credits: 3
STA 610-01 - Applied Statistics for Health Professions - only section 01 with "R" qualifies
Project-oriented overview of major statistical techniques commonly used in problems encountered in health professions. Students will learn to use a major statistical computing package. Hypothesis testing, t-tests, regression, analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, categorical data analysis, nonparametric statistics. Offered fall semester.
Credits: 3
STA 622 - Statistical Methods for Biologists
Design of experiments and application of statistical techniques commonly used by biologists. Emphasis on techniques for count data, correlation, and regression, analysis of variance, multivariate analysis, and nonparametric methods using biological data. A computing package will be utilized throughout the course. Offered fall semester. Please check with your advisor before enrolling in this course.
Credits: 3
PSM 662 - Seminar in Professional Science Practice
A seminar course designed to broaden the student's professional foundation in the practice of applied sciences following industry "best practices." Project management practice; intellectual property and proprietary issues; industrial policies and procedures; and governmental regulatory issues are examined. Focus on team building, networking, and communication and presentation skills. Offered fall and spring/summer semesters. Prerequisites: Admission to one of the five PSM M.S. programs: M.S. in cell and molecular biology-biotechnology emphasis; M.S. in biostatistics; M.S. in health informatics and bioinformatics; M.S. in applied statistics; or M.S. in data science and analytics.
CIS 635 - Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
A survey of computational methods for knowledge discovery in bioinformatics and medicine. Topics covered are dynamic programming (sequence alignment, BLAST search engine), Hidden Markov Models (phylogenetic trees, structure prediction), clustering and discriminations models for micro-array analysis (Gene Expression Data), selected data mining software, and working with biological databases. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: CIS 500.
Credits: 3
CIS 660 - Information Management and Science
An introduction to information modeling, retrieval, analysis, visualization, and science as applied to large-scale content. Information access and utilization within the context of commonly used management and analysis methodologies. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: CIS 500 or CIS 661.
Credits: 3
CIS 671 - Information Visualization
Concepts of information visualization, principles in vision and perception, algorithms for building information spaces, and principles of user interface design. Case studies demonstrate information visualization used to solve specific retrieval and decision problems for biological data. Evolution of visual user interfaces and visualization tools, visual information retrieval, and knowledge representation. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: CIS 500 or CIS 661 or equivalent.
Credits: 3
CIS 677 - High-performance Computing
Introduction to parallel and high-performance computing using programming languages like C++. Coverage includes modern scalable parallel and distributed architectures, design and analysis of algorithms, communication and synchronization issues, software development environments, and performance evaluation. Case studies include applications in bioinformatics, evolutionary computing, data mining of biological and clinical databases, and knowledge-based systems. Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: CIS 500 or CIS 661 or equivalent.
Credits: 3
CIS 678 - Machine Learning
Broad introduction to machine learning computer programs that improve their performance with experience. Topics include decision trees, neural networks, statistical methods, genetic algorithms, Bayesian learning methods, explanation-based goal regression, reinforcement learning, and learning frameworks. Includes an applied machine learning component that provides exposure to established algorithms and machine learning programs. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: CIS 500 or CIS 661 or equivalent.
Credits: 3
CIS 665 - Clinical Information Systems
Introduction to Clinical Information Systems (CLIS) important to the health care delivery process. The course covers the entire range from laboratory systems to electronic health records. Other topics covered are CLIS and health informatics, components and examples of CLIS, telemedicine, public health information systems, and modern developments. Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: CIS 500, or CIS 661, or PNH 630.
Credits: 3
PNH 630 - Health Administration and Service
Overview of the current management, organization, and delivery of U.S. health care. Current management and organization theories are compared in relation to the health care system. Major system components are defined and studied. Included are discussions of staffing, dealing with internal and external constituencies, and identification of hospital types. Offered every other year.
Credits: 3
PNH 635 - Hospital Organization and Management
Discussions of various types of hospitals. Study of their organization and management, including clinical, support and administrative functions, analysis of special operational problems, and administrative ethics. Requirements of the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Hospitals and other accrediting agencies are emphasized. Offered on sufficient demand. Prerequisite: PNH 520 or PNH 630 (may be taken concurrently).
Credits: 3
PSM 691 - Internship
Full-time or part-time, on-the-job work performed at a sponsoring entity while under the supervision of an approved mentor in an area related to applied sciences. Offered every semester. Prerequisites: Satisfactory completion of PSM common course requirements and completion or enrollment in PSM 662.
Credits: 1 to 9
CIS 691 - Medical and Bioinformatics Capstone
An integrative Capstone that synthesizes topics covered in medical/bioinformatics. Promotes advanced writing and broad perspectives of issues in contemporary information systems. Students will demonstrate ability to integrate concepts to a practical situation by leading discussions and presenting a paper on a current topic. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: Completion of directed courses in medical and bioinformatics.
Credits: 3