Health Information Management, BS

Program Description 

The University of Kansas offers a bachelor’s degree in health information management; an exciting health profession focused on managing health data and information to improve health care delivery. This degree program includes hands-on learning in a variety of health care settings and interprofessional education opportunities with other health care professionals. 

Graduates of this program are positioned to:

• Manage health data and information in all mediums to meet organizational needs.
• Ensure regulatory compliance in the management of health data and information, including its privacy and security as well as its uses for administrative functions in healthcare.
• Lead organizational initiatives and project related to patient data and information, including those pertaining to data and information as well as health information systems which house the data and information.
• Utilize applications to perform health data analytics and statistical analysis, and report findings to stakeholders in healthcare.
• Manage administrative or technical departments or functions in healthcare settings in which the work entails utilizing, managing, or reporting health data. 

Those with a degree in health information management may find work analyzing and managing health data and information, including the systems, processes, and teams of people responsible for such work in various settings including health information technology companies, hospitals, physician offices, health insurance companies, law offices, and government agencies, among others. 

The HIM program begins in August when students enter their first semester of professional coursework on the KU Medical Center campus in Kansas City, KS, and culminates in a 4-week capstone professional experience at the end of the spring semester of the second year. The online program begins both fall and spring semesters with individualized course plans. Graduates are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification exam offered by the American Health Information Management Association and become credentialed in this health profession. 

Students in this degree program can pursue admission to a joint accelerated degree option, the bachelor of science in health information management + master of science in health informatics (BSHIM to MSHI Joint Accelerated Degree) offered by the department.  

Admission Requirements

Eligibility and Prerequisites

• Students enter the program after accumulating two (2) years of college course work, including prerequisite courses, totaling at least 60 hours to qualify for KU graduation with a total of 120 hours after completing this program.
• Students may apply if currently enrolled or working towards prerequisite coursework. However, all prerequisites must be completed before the start of the program.
• An overall GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for college coursework is required to be eligible to apply. No grade lower than a “C” is accepted in any prerequisite course.
• All individuals admitted to the program will be asked to verify that they can meet the technical standards with or without accommodations.
• Acceptance into the program is conditional, pending the results of the criminal background check.
• Students are required to have a computer that meets the minimum software and hardware requirements for this program.

Current KU students on the Lawrence campus should sign up to be included on the pre-health information management track. This is not the same as a major. Please contact the Undergraduate Advising Center for assistance.

Application Process

• Apply to the program and pay the application fee by the February 1 priority admission deadline. Visit the Department of Health Information Management for more information.
• Arrange to have one official copy of each transcript from every college and university that you have attended sent directly to KU Medical Center. Electronic transcripts may be submitted to the HIM program at KU Medical Center. 
• Please review all application instructions at the time of applying to the program, to confirm current requirements and ensure timely processing.

Applications are reviewed upon successful completion and submission of ALL materials.

BSHIM to MSHI Joint Accelerated Degree

• Eligible students are ones admitted to the BS in HIM degree and who are in good academic standing.
• Application to begin the joint degree option occurs during the junior year spring semester; those accepted begin a modified course plan during their senior year as an undergraduate in the BS in HIM program.

JCCC Transfer Guide Disclaimer

It is the student's responsibility to check for updates to all transfer information. This transfer guide is provided as a service and is updated as needed. Degree requirements at the four-year colleges are subject to change by those institutions. To ensure you have the most accurate information about the program, you must meet with an advisor at the transfer institution.