ONC Financial Aid Programs
At this time, we are no longer accepting applications for the Graduate Certificate program for Summer quarter with the ONC tuition assistance. If you are still interested in the Graduate Certificate as a self paying (financially responsible for your own tuition) student, the application will close on May 1, 2012. Tuition Assistance Details for Clinical Informatics Educational Programs
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has been awarded $5.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to advance the widespread adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT) by educating professionals in this rapidly growing field. The intent of this funding is to increase the Health IT workforce by bringing new people into the field.
This funding will support the education of 148 students over the next three years in OHSU's Biomedical Informatics Graduate Program to meet the ongoing needs of an expanded clinical informatics work force.Upon completion of a program, graduates will be able to pursue a career in Health IT.
These funds will offer tuition assistance for about 45 new students per year to enroll in and complete the university's online Graduate Certificate Program in Biomedical Informatics.
The funding also enabled two cohorts of 6-7 students to enroll in OHSU's on-campus Master of Biomedical Informatics (MBI) Program, including tuition assistance, a stipend and student health insurance. This funding is provided via a training grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). At this time, we are no longer accepting applications to the MBI program under this training grant. We are still accepting applications to the self-pay MBI program. Please visit the Prospective Students page for more information on the self-pay program.
There are some restrictions on this funding beyond the usual program requirements:
- Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
- Students that have been enrolled in ANY HIT training program at a institution of higher education on or after 12/2009 are ineligible to part in the UBT funding. For official documentation from the ONC, please visit: http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_3951_1808_17807_43/http%3B/wci-pubcontent/publish/onc/public_communities/_content/files/ubt_pin_002_final.pdf. This restriction does not apply to students who have completed only the OHSU-AMIA 10x10 program.
- Students pursuing the Graduate Certificate Program must be able to commit 20 hours per week to coursework in order to complete the program within one academic year. Funding is contingent on maintaining a 3.0 GPA and satisfactory progress toward completion. Students will be required to complete 3.0 credits of BMI 509/BMI 588 – Practicum while in the program.
- Students pursuing the Master of Biomedical Informatics (MBI) Program must enroll as full-time on-campus students to receive the tuition assistance, stipend and student health insurance. Funding is contingent on maintaining a 3.0 GPA and satisfactory progress toward completion. Students will be required to complete 6.0 credits of BMI 581 – Capstone Project, which includes a 6 month internship, while in the program.
ONC Program Details
OHSU‘s eight-course Graduate Certificate Program is entirely online and can be completed in two to four academic quarters. Students accepted to this program will receive tuition assistance and must complete all program requirements within one calendar year(The Health Information Management Track Health Information Management Track of the Graduate Certificate Program requires additional courses which will receive tuition assistance to complete requirements of this program.)
The Master of Biomedical Informatics (MBI) degree program requires about 1 1/2 years of full-time study. The funding provides MBI students with tuition assistance, a stipend and student health insurance. ONC Master's Curriculum and Class List.
Students receiving financial aid will be required to choose among six career paths defined by ONC:
| UBT Role | Trainee Minimum Qualifications for UBT funding |
|---|---|
| Program Desiderata |
|
| Clinician Leader |
Physician OR current enrollment in an accredited program leading to a degree qualifying them for practice as a physician -OR 1)Possession of other clinical professional baccalaureate degree, with at least 2 years of management experience, or 2) a master’s degree, or current enrollment in an accredited program leading to a degree (master’s level or higher) qualifying them for practice as a clinical professional |
| Public Health Leader |
1) Possession of a bachelor’s degree in public health or a closely related field, and at least 2 years of management in a public health setting, or 2) a master’s degree, or current enrollment in an accredited program leading to a degree (masters level or higher) qualifying them for practice as a public health professional |
| HIM & Exchange Specialist |
Possession of a bachelor's (or higher) degree in a clinical health profession or in a recognized Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field -OR Current enrollment in a program leading to at least a bachelor's degree in a STEM field |
| HI Privacy & Security Specialist |
Possession of a bachelor's (or higher) degree in a clinical health profession or in a recognized Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field -OR Current enrollment in a program leading to at least a bachelor's degree in a STEM field -OR Possession of or current enrollment in a program leading to an advanced degree in the areas of law, health policy, or others with approval of the HHS program officer. |
| Research & Development Scientist |
Physician if training for a Type II master’s program
For other health professionals: A research focused doctoral degree OR current enrollment in a research focused doctoral program. If doctorate is a practice, not research focused doctorate (e.g., Pharm.D., DNP, DPT, Psy.D.), must also possess a masters degree OR current enrollment in a program leading to a masters degree in a STEM field For non-clinicians: A doctorate degree OR current enrollment in a doctoral program in a recognized STEM field as described above. |
| Programmer & Software Engineer |
Possession of a bachelor's (or higher) degree a recognized STEM field -OR Current enrollment in a program leading to at least a bachelor's degree in a STEM field |
| HIT Sub-specialist |
1) Possession of a bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of management experience, or 2) a master’s degree or higher, or 3) current enrollment in a graduate program, in a non-technical discipline that can inform technology or policy development. Such fields may include: ethics, economics, business policy and planning, anthropology, or others with approval of the HHS program officer. |
Admissions Timelines
|
Program |
Tracks |
Quarter |
Opens |
Closes |
Notification |
|
Graduate Certificate in Biomedical Informatics Program |
|||||
|
Distance Learning |
Clinical Informatics |
Winter |
September 2 |
November 1 |
December 1 |
|
Spring |
December 2 |
February 1 |
March 1 |
||
|
Health Information Management |
Winter |
September 2 |
November 1 |
December 1 |
|
|
Spring |
December 2 |
February 1 |
March 1 |
||
ONC FAQs
Direct any questions regarding the program to:
Lauren Ludwig
ludwigl@ohsu.edu
503-494-2252
More About Our Program
OHSU offers a full range of graduate programs in biomedical informatics for cutting-edge and rewarding careers using information and associated technologies to advance individual health, healthcare, biomedical research, and public health.
There are two main tracks in the program: clinical informatics and bioinformatics/computational biology. The clinical informatics track, with the exception of the PhD program, is available via distance learning.
Other forms of financial aid, such as our National Library of Medicine Training Grant, are available for full-time on-campus PhD or postdoctoral master's students in both tracks.
