University of North Texas 
Note: The MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics has ceased admissions starting Spring 2025. This does not affect students that began prior to Spring 2025 in the MSIS-Health Informatics program. Students interested in health informatics, starting Spring 2025 should pursue the MS in Health Informatics.
The Health Librarianship concentration is ranked #6 in the nation by the U.S. News and World Report
The M.S. in Information Science with a concentration in Health Librarianship is designed to meet the current need for highly qualified health information professionals with cutting edge knowledge and skills. Career possibilities include specialized positions in academic health sciences centers, research and/or teaching institutions (e.g. community colleges), health care systems, public libraries with consumer health services, hospitals, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology/bioengineering companies, and other health care settings. Health information professionals interact with health care providers, researchers, consumers of health information, and/or community partners. Students in the program will learn about the intersection of information science, health informatics, and data science and how it applies to the management of health information. Graduates of the program will be visionary leaders with a strong foundation in health information science.
In addition to earning your M.S. in Information Science with a concentration in Health Librarianship, you can obtain graduate academic certificates (GACs) in Health Information and/or Health Data Science.
Students in the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics are required to take INFO 5365: Health Librarianship and Informatics and/or HINF 5637: Introduction to Health Informatics.
Students in the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship are required to take INFO 5365: Health Librarianship and Informatics.
General Degree Requirements
Applies for students admitted for spring 2025 and beyond and those that were admitted in fall 2024 under Health Librarianship*
- Total coursework of 36 credit hours (12 courses).
- Enrollment in INFO 5090 (practicum/internship), unless officially waived based on previous professional and industry experience. Visit the Practicum page for more information.
- Completion of the Capstone Experience.
Required Courses (9 credit hours)
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
INFO 5000 – Information and Knowledge Professions
INFO 5200 – Information Organization
INFO 5600 – Information Access and Knowledge Inquiry
A grade of B or higher must be earned in all 3 core courses.
Health librarianship concentration, minimum 12 hours
Completion of at least four courses (12 hours) from the list below.
INFO 5365 - Health Librarianship and Informatics (required)
HINF 5637 - Introduction to Health Informatics
INFO 5631 - Searching for Evidence
INFO 5634 - Disaster/Emergency Management for Information Professionals
INFO 5635 - Genomics and Translational Medicine for Information Professionals
INFO 5636 - Community-Based Health Information
INFO 5737 - Information and Cyber-Security
INFO 5770 - Introduction to Health Data Analytics
INFO 5771 - Applications of Health Data Analytics
INFO 6050 - Health Research Methodology
Guided electives, minimum 6 hours
Completion of at least two of the following major prescribed courses (6 hours) with the guidance of the academic advisor. Students are allowed to pursue courses other than the ones listed below and in their areas of interest with the approval of the advisor:
INFO 5305 - Systems Analysis and Design
INFO 5306 - Project Management for Information Systems
INFO 5707 - Data Modeling for Information Professionals
INFO 5709 - Data Visualization and Communication
General electives, 9 hours
Completion of additional three elective courses (9 hours) selected from the list of courses below or transferred from other programs, such as from the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Other courses may be taken with academic advisor approval.
DTSC 5502 - Principles and Techniques for Data Science
HLSV 5300 - Information Systems for Healthcare Management
HLSV 5400 - Health Delivery Systems
INFO 5080 - Research Methods and Analysis
INFO 5205 - Information Indexing, Abstracting and Retrieval
INFO 5223 - Metadata for Information Organization and Retrieval I (pre-requisite:INFO 5200)
INFO 5290 - Special Collections and Archives
INFO 5503 - Knowledge Management Processes and Practices
INFO 5740 - Introduction to Digital Libraries
INFO 5841 - Data Curation and Management
INFO 5900 - Special Problems (with faculty advisor approval)
LTEC 5300 - Learning and Cognition
General Degree Requirements
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
- Total coursework of 36 credit hours (12 courses).
- Enrollment in INFO 5090 (practicum/internship), unless officially waived based on previous professional and industry experience. Visit the Practicum page for more information.
- Completion of the Capstone Experience.
Required Courses (9 credit hours)
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
INFO 5000 – Information and Knowledge Professions
INFO 5200 – Information Organization
INFO 5600 – Information Access and Knowledge Inquiry
A grade of B or higher must be earned in all 3 core courses.
Guided Electives (Information Science Major)
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
Completion of at least two (2) of the following major prescribed courses (6 credit hours) with the guidance of the academic advisor. Students are allowed to pursue courses other than the ones listed below and in their areas of interest with the approval of the advisor.
INFO 5305 – System Analysis and Design
INFO 5707 – Data Modeling for Information Professionals
INFO 5717 – Networked Data Modeling and Processing
INFO 5814 - Web Content Development and Maintenance
Concentration Required and Elective Courses
Completion of at least four courses (12 credit hours) from the list below:
Note: INFO 5636 is an approved course by the Medical Library Association (MLA) for the Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) Level II Specialization. For more information about MLA Specializations, visit this link.
INFO 5365 – Health Librarianship and Informatics
INFO 5631 – Searching for Evidence in Health
INFO 5634 – Disaster Management for Information Professionals
INFO 5635– Genomics and Translational Medicine for Information Professionals
INFO 5636 – Community-Based Health Information
HINF 5637 – Introduction to Health Informatics
INFO 5709 - Data Visualization and Communication
INFO 5737 - Information and Cyber Security
INFO 5770 - Introduction to Health Data Analytics
INFO 5771 - Applications of Health Data Analytics
INFO 6880 - Health Research Methodology
General Electives
Completion of additional three elective courses (9 credit hours) selected from the list of courses below or transferred from other programs, such as from the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Other courses may be taken with academic advisor approval.
INFO 5080 – Research Methods and Analysis
INFO 5205 – Information Indexing, Abstracting and Retrieval
INFO 5223 – Metadata and Networked Information Organization I
INFO 5290 - Special Collections and Archives
LTEC 5300 - Learning and Cognition
HLSV 5300 - Health Information Systems
HLSV 5400 - Health Delivery Systems
DTSC 5502 - Principles and Techniques for Data Science
INFO 5503 – Knowledge Management Processes and Practices
INFO 5740 – Digital Libraries
INFO 5841 – Digital Curation Fundamentals
INFO 5900 – Special Problems
Students in the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students) can choose from the above list with the addition of:
HINF 5025 – Legal & Ethical Issues in Health Informatics
HINF 5638 - Consumer Health Informatics
INFO / DTSC 5777 - Virtual Reality and its Applications
General Degree Requirements
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
- Total coursework of 36 credit hours (12 courses).
- Enrollment in INFO 5090 (practicum/internship), unless officially waived based on previous professional and industry experience. Visit the Practicum page for more information.
- Completion of the Capstone Experience.
Required Courses (9 credit hours)
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
INFO 5000 – Information and Knowledge Professions
INFO 5200 – Information Organization
INFO 5600 – Information Access and Knowledge Inquiry
A grade of B or higher must be earned in all 3 core courses.
Guided Electives (Information Science Major)
Applies for both the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Librarianship and the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students).
Completion of at least two (2) of the following major prescribed courses (6 credit hours) with the guidance of the academic advisor. Students are allowed to pursue courses other than the ones listed below and in their areas of interest with the approval of the advisor.
INFO 5305 – System Analysis and Design
INFO 5707 – Data Modeling for Information Professionals
INFO 5717 - Networked Data Modeling and Processing
INFO 5814 - Web Content Development and Maintenance
Health Informatics Concentration Required and Elective Courses
Completion of at least four courses (12 credit hours) from the list below:
Note: INFO 5636 is an approved course by the Medical Library Association (MLA) for the Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) Level II Specialization. For more information about MLA Specializations, visit this link.
INFO 5365 – Health Librarianship and Informatics
INFO 5503 - Knowledge Management Processes and Practices
INFO 5631 – Searching for Evidence in Health
INFO 5634 – Disaster Management for Information Professionals
INFO 5635– Genomics and Translational Medicine for Information Professionals
INFO 5636 – Community-Based Health Information
HINF 5637 – Introduction to Health Informatics
INFO 5709 - Data Visualization and Communication
INFO 5737 - Information and Cyber Security
INFO 5770 - Introduction to Health Data Analytics
INFO 5771 - Applications of Health Data Analytics
INFO 6880 - Health Research Methodology
General Electives
Completion of additional three elective courses (9 credit hours) selected from the list of courses below or transferred from other programs, such as from the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Other courses may be taken with academic advisor approval.
INFO 5080 – Research Methods and Analysis
INFO 5205 – Information Indexing, Abstracting and Retrieval
INFO 5223 – Metadata and Networked Information Organization I (pre-requisite: INFO 5200)
LTEC 5300 - Learning and Cognition
HLSV 5300 - Health Information Systems
HLSV 5400 - Health Delivery Systems
DTSC 5502 - Principles and Techniques for Data Science
INFO 5740 – Digital Libraries
INFO 5841 – Digital Curation Fundamentals
INFO 5900 – Special Problems
Students in the MS-IS with Concentration in Health Informatics (currently enrolled students) can choose from the above list with the addition of:
HINF 5025 – Legal & Ethical Issues in Health Informatics
HINF 5638 - Consumer Health Informatics
INFO / DTSC 5777 - Virtual Reality and its Applications
Additional Links
- Health Librarianship Internship/ Field Experience
- National Library of Medicine
- Network of the National Library of Medicine
- Network of the National Library of Medicine Region 3
- Medical Library Association
- Medical Library Association Research Training Institute
- South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico)
- Dallas-Fort Worth Health Libraries Information Network (HealthLINE)
- AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association)
Contact Information:
| Title | Contact | |
|---|---|---|
| Director of Program | Dr. Ana Cleveland | Ana.Cleveland@unt.edu |
| Assistant Professor | Dr. Haihua Chen | Haihua.Chen@unt.edu |
| Assistant Professor | Dr. Heejun Kim | Heejun.Kim@unt.edu |
| Principal Lecturer | Dr. Jodi Philbrick | Jodi.Philbrick@unt.edu |
| Interim Department Chair | Dr. Yunfei Du | LIS-Chair@unt.edu |
| Adjunct Faculty | Dr. James Spence | jmspence@mdanderson.org |
| Adjunct Faculty | Dr. Craig Drayden | CMD0148@unt.edu |
| Adjunct Faculty | Dr. Angela Alvarado | AngelaSessom@my.unt.edu |