Certificate Programs

Biomedical Informatics Training Certificate Program

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MS/PhD Certificate in Intelligent Systems Program

Biomedical Informatics Training Certificate Program

The Biomedical Informatics Certificate Program is a 15 credit (minimum) experience.  The Certificate program will serve students with a wide variety of goals and backgrounds. For this reason, each certificate trainee’s program of study will be developed in collaboration with, and with the approval of, his/her biomedical informatics advisor.

Biomedical Informatics Training Certificate Program Curriculum

The curriculum of all students in this program will have the following general structure:

Foundations (10 required credits)

BIOINF 2070 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics 1 (3 credits)

BIOINF 2071 Foundations of Biomedical Informatics 2 (3 credits)

CS 1501 Algorithm Implementation (3 credits)

BIOINF 2032 Biomedical Informatics Journal Club (1 credit)

Research (3 credits)

BIOINF 2480 Research Project (3 credits) 

Elective Courses (2 or more credits)

Electives are chosen by the trainee — which must be approved by the trainee’s advisor — and consist of 2xxx or higher level courses that address trainee’s educational and career goals. 

Additional Requirements

  • Biomedical Informatics Colloquium (0 credit): The colloquium will showcase presentations from DBMI researchers and invited speakers from across campus and beyond. It will meet weekly for one hour during the Fall and Spring terms. Minim 75% attendance is required of all trainees.
  • Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research: This Web-based set of instructions and evaluation modules may be accessed at https://www.citi.pitt.edu/.
  • Attendance at and participation in the Department Biomedical Informatics’ invited lectures, symposia, conferences, etc., e.g., and the Annual Training Program Retreat.

     

    Projects/Thesis

    Projects/Thesis

    Research Project

    There are several ongoing projects in Bioinformatics in which trainees can become involved upon entering the program. There is ample opportunity for trainees to interact with Biomedical Informatics Training Program Core Faculty. We have organized university-wide groups of to come together for research discussions aimed toward initiating new collaborative projects. Such educational experiences will enable trainees to formulate research questions and also understand how to develop the right kind of collaborations necessary to develop approaches to answer these questions.

    A key element of the program is a research project with two key deliverables: (1) the writing and submission of a paper of publishable quality based upon the research and (2) the completion of an oral examination on its contents.  Your research mentor will oversee the student’s research progress, including the oral comprehensive examination.

    Comprehensive Examination

    Successful completion of the oral examination on the research project (see previous paragraph) satisfies the comprehensive examination requirement of the University’s Committee on Graduate Studies and will include the student’s research mentor and the Training Program Director.

    MS/PhD Certificate in Intelligent Systems

    Individuals who currently hold a MS degree may choose rather to obtain a Master’s or Doctoral degree in Intelligent Systems with special certification in Biomedical Informatics.

    The specific requirements of the Biomedical Informatics Track of the Intelligent Systems Program (ISP) can be found on the ISP website at www.isp.pitt.edu. Applicants to this program must submit application material to both the ISP Program (refer to their website’s application process) and to the Department of Biomedical Informatics (see How to Apply on this website.)

    What the Graduate Program in Intelligent Systems Includes
    The graduate program in Intelligent Systems serves as a center at the University of Pittsburgh for advanced education and research in artificial intelligence. This highly respected program offers concentrations in specific areas such as diagnosis, knowledge representation, machine learning, intelligent tutoring, natural language generation, planning, case-based reasoning, and problem solving. There are strong working connections to researchers in multiple departments. The important role of research and training in medical applications is recognized through this special Biomedical Informatics Track within the program. The track offers a specialized curriculum, and the advising structure draws more heavily on the medical faculty. The ISP is an interdisciplinary, degree-granting program of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Faculty in ISP are cross-appointed from other departments and include many of the Pittsburgh Biomedical Informatics Training Program Core Faculty.
    Important Note
    Although a formal Biomedical Informatics Track exists only in the Intelligent Systems Program, the Department of Biomedical Informatics has associations with many departments/programs within the University of Pittsburgh. Students pursuing degrees in other departments who also want training in biomedical informatics, should apply to the Biomedical Informatics Certificate Program. Upon completion of biomedical informatics training, a student will receive a Certificate in Biomedical Informatics. Training in both programs— the degree program and the Biomedical Informatics Training Program—would run concurrently, and such a student should be prepared to fulfill all of the requirements of both his/her degree program and the Biomedical Informatics Training Program concurrently.