Accelerated MBI Curriculum

Current course offerings are listed at my.harvard.edu.

     

    • Full Time Program

      The full-time Accelerated MBI Program is an intensive 9-month program for students holding or pursuing a doctoral or other terminal degree and have earned a Bachelor's degree. Please review the Program Prerequisites Page for additional details on admission requirements. 

      Full-time students must:

      • be enrolled in program requirements for 2 semesters.
      • be enrolled in no fewer than 16 credits in either semester. 
      • enroll in no more than 20 credits in a single semester without special permission from the program. 

      Students are required to complete 36 credits of approved coursework as follows:

      Core Foundation Requirements - 18 credits

      BMI 701 - Foundations in Biomedical Informatics I (4 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 713 - Computing Skills for Biomedical Sciences (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 715 - Computational Statistics for Biomedical Sciences (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 702 - Foundations in Biomedical Informatics II (4 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 751 - Capstone I (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 752 - Capstone II (4 credits, Spring Semester)

      Emphasis Requirements - 8 credits

      The Accelerated MBI program has two areas that students can choose to emphasize in: Bioinformatics and Clinical Informatics. 8 credits of coursework are determined by the student’s selected emphasis area. Students may also mix and match courses between the two emphasis areas to meet their unique educational goals. Students must complete their 8 credits of emphasis requirements from the list of courses below. All selected Bioinformatics/Data Science electives must be approved. Only 4 credits can be from the Bioinformatics/Data Science elective category.
      MCB 112 - Biological Data Analysis (4 credits, Fall Semester, Bioinformatics Emphasis)

      BIOSTAT 281 - Genomic Data Manipulation (4 credits, Spring Semester, Bioinformatics Emphasis
      BIOSTAT 282 - Introduction to Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (4 credits, Spring Semester, Bioinformatics Emphasis)  
      ELECTIVE - Bioinformatics/Data Science Elective (4 credits, Fall or Spring Semesters, Bioinformatics Emphasis)

      BMI 720 + BMI 721- Introduction to Clinical Informatics w/lab (4 credits, Fall Semester, Clinical Informatics Emphasis)

      BMI 741 - Health Information Technology: From Ideation to Implementation (4 credits, Spring Semester, Clinical Informatics Emphasis)

      DBMI 2 Cr. Course Requirement - 6 credits

      Students in the Accelerated MBI program complete 6 credits of coursework (3 courses) from the list of DBMI 2-credit ‘quarter courses’ below. Only the six courses listed below may be used to fulfill the DBMI 2-credit Quarter Courses requirement. No substitutions are permitted.

      Accelerated MBI students interested in taking BMI 703 in their first semester must have permission from the Program.
      BMI 703 - Precision Medicine I: Genomic Medicine (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 705 - Precision Medicine II: Integrating Clinical and Genomic Data (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 704 - Data Science for Medical Decision Making (2 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 706 - Data Visualization for Biomedical Applications (2 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 707 - Deep Learning for Biomedical Data (2 credits, Spring Semester)

      BMI 710 - Single-cell analysis for functional genomics of disease (2 credits, Spring Semester)

      Program Elective Requirement - 4 credits

      Students select an approved program elective of their choice. This can either be one 4-credit course, or two 2-credit courses. The program elective must be taken for a letter grade. Courses that do not offer a letter grade option will be reviewed and approved by the program on a case-by-case basis.

      Taking Additional Courses

      In addition to the program requirements outlined above, students may take a limited number of additional courses during their time at Harvard to enhance their educational experience. Students who are enrolled in the Full-Time Accelerated MBI Program may take a maximum of 4 credits of coursework in addition to their degree requirements under the following conditions:

      • Student does not exceed 20 total HMS credits in a single semester without program permission. Students may enroll in up to 22 total credits in the spring term with program approval.
      • Student is making satisfactory academic progress as defined in the Master’s Student Handbook
      • Additional courses taken do not present a schedule conflict with required MBI courses

    • Part Time Program

      The Part-Time Accelerated Master of Biomedical Informatics program allows students who are fulfilling fellowships or other professional obligations the opportunity to complete the Accelerated MBI program over four semesters instead of the two expected from full-time students. Entering students must hold a doctoral-level degree. Please review the Program Prerequisites Page for additional details on admission requirements. 

      Part-time students must:

      • be enrolled in program requirements for 4 semesters 
      • enroll in a minimum of 8 credits per semester
      • enroll in no more than 12 credits in a single semester.

      Students are required to complete 36 credits of approved coursework as follows:

      Class of 2024 and later

      Core Foundation Requirements - 18 credits

      BMI 701 - Foundations of Biomedical Informatics I (4 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 713 - Computing Skills for Biomedical Sciences (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 715 - Computational Statistics for Biomedical Sciences (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 702 - Foundations in Biomedical Informatics II (4 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 751 - Capstone I (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 752 - Capstone II (4 credits, Spring Semester)

      Emphasis Requirements - 8 credits

      The Accelerated MBI program has two areas that students can choose to emphasize in: Bioinformatics and Clinical Informatics. 8 credits of coursework are determined by the student’s selected emphasis area. Students may also mix and match courses between the two emphasis areas to meet their unique educational goals. Students must complete their 8 credits of emphasis requirements from the list of courses below. All selected Bioinformatics/Data Science electives must be approved. Only 4 credits can be from the Bioinformatics/Data Science elective category.
      MCB 112 - Biological Data Analysis (4 credits, Fall Semester, Bioinformatics Emphasis)

      BIOSTAT 281 - Genomic Data Manipulation (4 credits, Spring Semester, Bioinformatics Emphasis
      BIOSTAT 282 - Introduction to Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (4 credits, Spring Semester, Bioinformatics Emphasis)  
      ELECTIVE - Bioinformatics/Data Science Elective (4 credits, Fall or Spring Semesters, Bioinformatics Emphasis)

      BMI 720 + BMI 721- Introduction to Clinical Informatics w/lab (4 credits, Fall Semester, Clinical Informatics Emphasis)

      BMI 741 - Health Information Technology: From Ideation to Implementation (4 credits, Spring Semester, Clinical Informatics Emphasis)

      DBMI 2 Cr. Course Requirement - 6 credits

      Students in the Accelerated MBI program complete 6 credits of coursework (3 courses) from the list of DBMI 2-credit ‘quarter courses’ below. Only the six courses listed below may be used to fulfill the DBMI 2-credit Quarter Courses requirement. No substitutions are permitted.

      Accelerated MBI students interested in taking BMI 703 in their first semester must have permission from the Program.
      BMI 703 - Precision Medicine I: Genomic Medicine (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 705 - Precision Medicine II: Integrating Clinical and Genomic Data (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 704 - Data Science for Medical Decision Making (2 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 706 - Data Visualization for Biomedical Applications (2 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 707 - Deep Learning for Biomedical Data (2 credits, Spring Semester)

      BMI 710 - Single-cell analysis for functional genomics of disease (2 credits, Spring Semester)

      Program Elective Requirement - 4 credits

      Students select an approved program elective of their choice. This can either be one 4-credit course, or two 2-credit courses. The program elective must be taken for a letter grade. Courses that do not offer a letter grade option will be reviewed and approved by the program on a case-by-case basis.

      Taking Additional Courses

      In addition to the program requirements outlined above, students may take a limited number of additional courses during their time at Harvard to enhance their educational experience. Students who are enrolled in the Full-Time Accelerated MBI Program may take a maximum of 4 credits of coursework in addition to their degree requirements under the following conditions:

      • Student does not exceed 12 total HMS credits in a single semester
      • Student is making satisfactory academic progress as defined in the Master’s Student Handbook
      • Additional courses taken do not present a schedule conflict with required MBI courses

      Class of 2023

      Core Foundation Requirements - 16 credits

      BMI 701 - Foundations in Biomedical Informatics I (4 credits, First Year, Fall Semester)
      BMI 713 - Computing Skills for Biomedical Sciences (2 credits, First Year, Fall Semester)
      BMI 702 - Foundations in Biomedical Informatics II (4 credits, First Year, Spring Semester)
      BMI 751 - Capstone I (2 credits, Second Year, Fall Semester) For students matriculating in Fall 2020 or later
      BMI 752 - Capstone II (4 credits, Second Year, Spring Semester ) For students matriculating in Fall 2020 or later
      BMI 750 - Capstone (6 credits, Final Semester) For students who matriculated before Fall 2021 only.

      Qualified students have the option to test out of BMI 713, Computing Skills for Biomedical Sciences, by completing an online assessment 1 month prior to matriculation. Students who test out of BMI 713 instead take an additional Program Elective.

      Emphasis Requirements - 14 credits

      The Accelerated MBI program has two areas that students can choose to emphasize in: Bioinformatics and Clinical Informatics. 14 credits of coursework are determined by the student’s selected emphasis area. Students may also mix and match courses between the two emphasis areas to meet their unique educational goals. Students must complete their 14 credits of emphasis requirements from the list of courses below. One of these courses must be either BMI 715 or ID 201, but students cannot take both to meet their requirements. All selected program electives must be approved. 

      Bioinformatics Emphasis Courses

      BMI 715 - Computational Statistics for Biomedical Sciences (2 credits, First Year, Fall Semester)
      MCB 112 - Biological Data Analysis (4 credits, First Year, Fall Semester)
      BIOSTAT 282 - Intro to Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (4 credits, First Year, Spring Semester) Not running in Spring 2022. Students should enroll in BIOSTAT 281 - Genomic Data Manipulation instead. 
      ELECTIVE - Program Elective (4 credits, First or Second Year, Fall or Spring Semester)

      Clinical Informatics Emphasis Courses

      ID 201 - Core Principles of Biostatistics and Epidemiology  (6 credits, Second Year, Fall Semester) 

      BMI 720 - Introduction to Clinical Informatics (4 credits, First Year, Fall Semester)

      BMI 741 - Health Information Technology: From Ideation to Implementation (4 credits, First Year, Spring Semester)

      DBMI 2 Cr. Course Requirement - 6 credits

      Students in the Accelerated MBI program complete 6 credits of coursework (3 courses) from the list of DBMI 2-credit ‘quarter courses’ below. Part-time students typically complete quarter courses in the second year of the program. Only the six courses listed below may be used to fulfill the DBMI 2-credit Quarter Course  requirement. No substitutions are permitted.
      BMI 703 - Precision Medicine I: Genomic Medicine (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 705 - Precision Medicine II: Integrating Clinical and Genomic Data (2 credits, Fall Semester)
      BMI 704 - Data Science for Medical Decision Making (2 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 706 - Data Visualization for Biomedical Applications (2 credits, Spring Semester)
      BMI 707 - Deep Learning for Biomedical Data (2 credits, Spring Semester)

      BMI 710 - Single-cell analysis for functional genomics of disease (2 credits, Spring Semester)

      Taking Additional Courses

      In addition to the program requirements outlined above, students may take a limited number of additional courses during their time at Harvard to enhance their educational experience. Students who are enrolled in the Full-Time Accelerated MBI Program may take a maximum of 4 credits of coursework in addition to their degree requirements under the following conditions:

      • Student does not exceed 12 total HMS credits in a single semester
      • Student is making satisfactory academic progress as defined in the Master’s Student Handbook
      • Additional courses taken do not present a schedule conflict with required MBI courses