The Department of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics and Medical Epidemiology's 100% online Graduate Certificate in Health Care Project Management provides health care and informatics professionals an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals of project management and its application to health care.

The Research Coordinator Track of the certificate offers the opportunity to move experienced clinical research coordinators to the next level of performance, enabling job mobility and empowering those individuals with the tools to manage studies for large, complex projects. The program will decrease onboarding time at employer organizations and expose participants to real-life learning with a competency-based curriculum across a broad spectrum of project engagement techniques.

Students in the Research Coordinator Track complete the program as a cohort, receiving opportunities to expand their professional networks and focus their learning on common interests and experiences. New cohorts launch each January.

A problem-based approach is used to frame both the theoretical underpinnings of project management and hands-on learning, including agile project management. The core HMI 7580 Project Management course prepares students to successfully complete a CAPM or PMP exam to become a certified project manager.

This program prepares students for the following careers:

  • Research project manager
  • Research program director
  • Senior research coordinator

Students also could qualify for the following professional certifications:

  • Certified associate in project management (CAP-M)
  • Project management professional (PMP)
  • Agile certified project manager (PMI-ACP)

Required Courses

To earn the certificate, students must complete the following courses (12 graduate credit hours total).

  • HMI 7580 – Project Management
  • HMI 8450 – Methods of Health Services Research
  • HMI 7880 – Agile Project Management
  • HMI 8485 – Project Capstone

Application Requirements

Certificate-seeking students apply to the Graduate Certificate Program in Health Care Project Management by completing and submitting the Graduate Studies online application. The application and admission requirements include:

  • A minimum of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.
  • Transcripts.
  • Current résumé or curriculum vitae.
  • A personal essay that (a) outlines the applicant's professional plans and career objectives; (b) explains how educational, work or other experiences led to the decision to pursue a graduate certificate in health informatics; (c) includes specific issues and challenges in health care that are of strong personal interest.
  • A grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate or graduate coursework.
  • International students whose native language is not English must submit test scores from TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) of 100 or better on the internet-based exam or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) of 7.0 or better, or Duolingo scores of 120 or better.
  • Application fee of $40.
  • If one or more elements of an application for admission fall short of the above standards (e.g., GPA is less than 3.0), then the admissions committee may approve conditional acceptance into the graduate certificate program.
  • An interview (either on-campus or by telephone) with program faculty may be requested.
  • Standardized test scores, such as the GRE, are not required.