What are the Prerequisites for a Master of Informatics?
To enter into a Master of informatics program you must have a desire to learn about technology, have interests in software, hardware, computer engineering, information management, or the intersection of computer science with another discipline, and have decent math and science skills.
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in order to enter into a Master of informatics degree program. Some programs require you to have a bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, information systems, or management of information systems.
Other programs don’t necessarily require an undergraduate degree in informatics or computer programming though, but will be helpful if you have taken courses in computer science and math or have some related work experience.
You also may be asked to submit your scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Most schools also require letters of recommendation and a personal statement with a distinctive focus on your professional and academic pursuit in informatics.
Programs accept a student who have thought through their career options and know what they want to accomplish with their master’s degree, therefore making your personal statement direct and to the point is advised. Often along with the personal statement you can send a resume with your achievements and work experiences.
If you wish to enter the field of health informatics, you may be required to have an undergraduate or bachelor’s degree in a health care field. For example, a Bachelor of Science in nursing may be required to enter a master’s in nursing informatics degree program.
Courses in computer programming or computer science may also be required to begin your master’s degree program. It’s important to know your school’s prerequisites before applying to programs.
Degree Concentrations for Master of Informatics Degrees:
The general track of the informatics concentration allows students to pursue a broad-based program of inquiry into the design, development, application and implications of information and communication technologies, exploring the nature of the relationship between technology design and practice, especially in emerging research areas such as ubiquitous computing.
Informatics covers such a wide range of study though that most Master of Informatics degree programs have you choose a concentration, track, or specialization before entering the program. This narrows the study of informatics down so it’s more focused on a specific career you want in the future. Some examples of master’s concentrations and tracks of informatics include:
- Software engineering
- Interactive & collaborative technology
- Human-computer interaction
- Computer-supported collaborative work
- Computer-enabled social relationships
- Educational & assistive technologies
- Information retrieval & management
- Programming languages
- Security & privacy
- Environmental informatics
- Ubiquitous computing
There are also more specific degrees, such as informatics in computer science, information science, informatics engineering, informatics technology, biodiversity informatics, business informatics, community informatics, development informatics, disease informatics, education informatics, health informatics, social informatics, technical informatics, music informatics, and many others.
Prospective Careers with Master of Informatics Degree
As a master’s graduate in informatics you will be able to design and coordinate the implementation of software systems within your specific specialization. In an array of advanced positions you can interact with customers, listen to programmers and other technical personnel, assess and discuss the quality of designs, devise the best implementation techniques in a given situation, do quality control and adapt to changing requirements.
Health informatics: With a specialization in health informatics your doors are open to both healthcare and IT or software development within the healthcare field. You can act as a bridge between technology and the world of medicine, and work to integrate the two disciplines. With knowledge in medical data management, patient care, and information technology systems, you can work as a chief information officer, information technology vice president, director of clinical informatics, informatics researcher, project manager, and more for an array of different healthcare facilities and organizations including:
- Hospitals
- Health Systems
- Ambulatory Care sites
- Long Term Care facilities
- Home Health Care
- Mental and Behavioral Healthcare Facilities
- Medical Groups and Physician organizations
- Government Agencies
- Insurance Companies-CIO/Data Analysts/Sales
- Managed Care Plans
- Health Care Related Software Companies
- Health Care Consulting Firms
- Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies
- Health Care Associations
- Academia/Education
- Start-up companies in health care IT
Computation Informatics (Technology): Since the IT/informatics field is growing and changing, it’s predicted that in the next 5 years there will be 3.2 million available positions for IT professionals. Businesses and computer technology databases are constantly improving and expanding their services. They need people to research, conceptualize, build, develop and create, market, maintain, respond, and manage their programs and processes. With a general Master of Informatics degree, you can do any of those things for a company. Some current career options with a general informatics master’s degree in technology and computation include:
- Biology/chemistry informaticist
- Business technology analyst
- Database developer/manager
- Digital artist
- Digital library specialist
- E-commerce specialist
- Human-computer interface designer
- Information architect
- Interaction designer
- IT consultant
- Multimedia specialist
- Network manager
- Software developer
- Stage and lighting designer
- System administrator
- Technical writer
- Technology management
- Technology support/customer service
- Usability tester
- Web designer/webmaster