Curriculum

Health Problem of Interest

The Health Infrastructures and Learning Systems (HILS)-Online program prepares graduates to address social and technical challenges that health systems face in making continuous health improvement routine.

Interdisciplinary Learning Sciences Curriculum

The HILS-Online learning sciences curriculum emphasizes the role of learning in health care environments and the tools needed to facilitate systems change. HILS introduces distinct models of adaptive change, and students apply their skills immediately to existing problems.

Defining characteristics include:

  • Nature of health information

  • Role of information technology and informatics

  • Translation of biomedical research knowledge into clinical practice or consumer advice

  • Complex organizational, social, and regulatory environment in which learning in the health sciences takes place

Degree

Master of Science

HILS-Online MS students will complete a minimum of 27 credits. The MS program is intentionally designed to be about a year of study, to appeal to professional students (both clinicians and engineers, among others) who wish to gain new knowledge and skills in a short, intensive program. Or the program can be completed on a part-time basis in 2-3 years.

Courses

Four types of courses are required for all students in the MS online program:

  • Research methods course(s),
  • Courses in the components of the learning cycle,
  • Courses in health infrastructures, as well as
  • One elective course suited to the student’s area of scholarship 

Students are thoroughly grounded in each of the phases of the learning cycle and to the infrastructure required to enable the learning cycles to function in a learning health system. The health infrastructures courses bookmark the learning cycle sequence, ensuring that students gain an initial understanding of the concepts and approaches to building and maintaining health infrastructure, with opportunities to apply and experience actual creation and maintenance activities. 

Initial MS courses in HILS-Online are open to admitted degree-seeking students and others with an interest. Students who are not in the HILS-Online program should consult with the program advisor in their home department to determine how HILS-Online courses might suit their program of study and degree requirements.

For more information, read the course descriptions.

Effective Fall 2024: LHS 641 Quality Improvement in Healthcare Systems will become a required course. Either LHS 610 Exploratory Data Analysis for Health (3 credits) OR  LHS 611 Knowledge Representation and Management in Health (3 credits) will be a required course. Elective course offerings will include EITHER LHS 610 or LHS 611 and LHS 680 Teamwork for Healthcare (3 credits)

Courses within Learning Health Sciences

  • LHS 610: Exploratory Data Analysis for Health (3 credits)
  • LHS 611: Knowledge Representation and Management in Health (3 credits)
  • LHS 621: Implementation Science in Health 1 (3 credits)
  • LHS 622: Learning Cycle Capstone (3 credits)
  • LHS 641: Quality Improvement in Healthcare Systems (3 credits)
  • LHS 650: Health Infrastructures Pro Seminar 1 (3 credits)
  • LHS 660: Evaluation and Research Methods for Health Informatics and Learning Systems (3 credits)
  • LHS 671: Ethics and Policy Issues for Learning Health Systems (3 credits)
  • LHS 678: Learning Cycle Informatics (3 credits)
  • Elective

 

Courses in Coordination with Other Departments

  • Advanced/Applied Research Methods
  • Quantitative Analysis/Statistics

Electives

Electives will be determined individually by students together with their advisors. One elective suited to the student’s area of scholarship is required. Following are electives offered by LHS:

  • LHS 610 Exploratory Data Analysis for Health (3 credits, winter term)
    OR
  • LHS 611 Knowledge Representation and Management in Health (3 credits, winter term)
    (see note above labeled "Effective Fall 2024")
  • LHS 680 Teamwork for Healthcare (3 credits, winter term)

The Online program has an agreement with the U-M School of Nursing which will allow students to take selected Nursing Online courses. These courses include:

  • NURS 509 Foundations of Innovation and Implementation in Health and Healthcare (3 credits)
  • NURS 533 Strategic Resources and Healthcare Operations Leadership (3 credits)
  • NURS 681 Decision Science for Complex Health Systems (2 credits)

Check with the program manager or your advisor for a list of current course offerings.

Applied Practice and In-Depth Research

A learning cycle project (examples), is completed either during a student’s final semester of the MS program or it can be completed earlier in a student’s program with advisor approval.  The LCP provides students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills gained throughout the HILS MS courses, to a real-world project. Students will work with their faculty advisors and learning cycle project site supervisors on projects related to their areas of interest. For example, if a student is interested in analyzing EHR data for their learning cycle project, they will work with their faculty advisors and site supervisors to acquire, manage, and analyze data.

Health Infrastructures and Learning Systems Course Sequences

Flexibility to complete the MS program in one year as a full-time student; or complete in 2-3 years as a part-time student.

Full-Time Schedule

Following is the course sequence for those who want to complete the program in 1 year.

Part-Time Schedule

Following is an example of a potential course sequence for those who want to complete the program in 2 years.