## ##   * Overview
  * Program Requirements
  * Plan of Study
Northeastern University's Doctor of Philosophy in Personal Health Informatics
is a transdisciplinary doctoral program focused on educating top researchers
in the theoretical underpinnings, design, evaluation, and dissemination of
consumer- and patient-focused health systems. Personal health technologies are
those that non–health professionals interact with  _directly_ , both in and
out of a clinical setting and in various life stages of illness and wellness.
Examples include:
  * Assistive technologies that aid persons with disabilities
  * Consumer wellness promotion technologies
  * Patient education and counseling systems
  * Interfaces for reviewing personal health records
  * Advanced ambulatory monitoring for supporting health
  * Automated elder care systems that monitor health and support independent living
  * Social networking systems connecting families and their social and medical support networks
Developing personal health interface technologies requires that professionals
have skills and experience designing systems for individual patients and
consumers with a wide range of backgrounds in different contexts using a
variety of media, while ensuring that fielded technologies are effective,
reliable, and responsive to the needs of at-risk and patient populations.
Critical skills and knowledge include needs assessment, theories of interface
design and health behavior, rapid prototyping and implementation, experimental
design with human subjects in challenging settings, and statistical data
analysis and validation. Moreover, these skills must be deployed while working
with, or leading, transdisciplinary teams.
The interdisciplinary nature of the program targets students who are
interested in improving health and wellness using novel technologies that
directly impact the lives of consumers and patients. This is a program for
students who are not only technically strong but also socially conscious,
design oriented, and interested in rigorously evaluating the technologies they
imagine and build. The program provides a path for technical students to
acquire more experience in the deployment and evaluation of health
technologies in the field but also a path for students with health backgrounds
to develop the technical skills needed to prototype and assess creative ideas
they envision for improving care. The expected length of study is five years
after the bachelor’s degree.
## Admission Requirements
Students will be accepted with either of the following:
  * A bachelor’s or higher degree in a technical discipline (e.g., computer science or information science, computer systems engineering) with either academic or work experience demonstrating a commitment to working in health.
  * A bachelor’s or higher degree in a health science discipline (e.g., nursing, medicine, physical therapy, pharmacy, public health) with either some academic coursework in technology, such as a course in programming or design, or work experience where the applicant participated in the development, adaptation, or evaluation of consumer- or patient-facing health technology. (Otherwise outstanding applicants without programming skills may be advised to take an introductory programming course prior to entry; otherwise outstanding applicants without any formal experience working in health settings may be advised to spend some time volunteering in a medical or community health setting prior to entry.)
Applicants will be expected to have:
  * A minimum 3.000 undergraduate GPA
  * A minimum total GRE score of 300 or equivalent
  * A minimum GRE academic writing score of 3.5
  * For international applicants, a minimum TOEFL score of 105
## Minimum Academic Standards and Requirements
### Residency Requirement
The residency requirement will follow [the university's residency requirement
for PhD programs](/graduate/general-admission-transfer-credit/regulations-phd-
programs/).
### Teaching Requirement
All personal health informatics PhD students must satisfy the teaching
requirement in order to graduate. This requirement is fulfilled when the
student works as a teaching assistant or instructor of record for one semester
and during this semester:
  * Teaches at least three hours of classes
  * Prepares at least one assignment, or quiz, or equivalent
PhD students are expected to satisfy the teaching requirement some time after
completing their first year and at least one semester prior to scheduling
their PhD defense.
### Dissertation Advising
Each student will have one primary advisor from the personal health
informatics doctoral program faculty.
### Dissertation Committee
The committee will consist of at least three members: the dissertation
advisor, one additional personal health informatics doctoral program faculty
member, and one member external to Northeastern who is an expert in the
specific personal health informatics topic of research. The dissertation
committee shall include experts with both health and technology backgrounds.
The dissertation advisor must be a full-time member of the Northeastern
faculty.
### Qualifying Examination
The qualifying examination consists of a three-part exam conducted by a
committee of three personal health informatics doctoral program faculty
members, each overseeing one part of the exam. The research core of the exam
is fulfilled with submission of a high-quality paper to a strong peer-reviewed
conference or journal. The health component of the exam is fulfilled when the
student passes a written exam developed by a faculty member with a health
sciences background, and the technical component of the exam is fulfilled when
the student passes an exam developed by a faculty member with a technical
background. The content of the written exams and the paper topic are developed
in consultation with each faculty member.
### Degree Candidacy
A student is considered a PhD degree candidate upon meeting these conditions:
  * Completion of core courses with a minimum GPA of 3.000 overall on the core courses
  * Completion of the qualifying examination
### Comprehensive Exam
A PhD student must submit a written dissertation proposal to the dissertation
committee. The proposal should identify the research problem, the research
plan, and its potential impact on the field. A presentation of the proposal
will be made in an open forum, and the student must successfully defend it
before the dissertation committee.
### Dissertation Defense
A PhD student must complete and defend a dissertation that involves original
research in personal health informatics.
## Curriculum Requirements
### Required and Elective Courses
The curriculum is designed to provide all PhD students with a strong
foundation in principles critical to the design and evaluation of personal
health interfaces. All students take six core courses (24 semester hours) and
the user-interface practicum (1 semester hour).The student must maintain a
minimum GPA of 3.500 among the six core courses and receive a grade of B or
better in each of these courses. All students must also fulfill the
programming fundamentals requirement (4 semester hours) and the statistics
fundamentals requirement (4 semester hours), where some flexibility in course
selection allows tailoring based on background and experience. Two additional
research electives (8 semester hours) are selected based on research interests
from the personal health informatics electives list. Students are also
expected to participate in the personal health informatics seminar series
during semesters when it is run.
* * *
  * Concentrations and course offerings may vary by campus and/or by program modality. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for the course availability each term at your campus or within your program modality.
  * Certain options within the program may be  _required_ at certain campuses or for certain program modalities. Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for requirements at your campus or for your program modality. 
* * *
Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated.
## Milestones
Qualifying examination  
Annual review  
Dissertation proposal  
Dissertation committee  
Dissertation defense
## Core Requirements
A grade of B or higher is required in each course. A cumulative 3.500 grade-
point average is required for the core requirement.
Course List Code | Title | Hours  
---|---|---  
Foundations|  
[HINF 5200](/search/?P=HINF%205200 "HINF 5200")| Theoretical Foundations in
Personal Health Informatics| 4  
Program Design and Development|  
[CS 5010](/search/?P=CS%205010 "CS 5010")| Programming Design Paradigm ( or
another programming course)| 4  
[CS 7340](/search/?P=CS%207340 "CS 7340")| Theory and Methods in Human
Computer Interaction| 4  
[HINF 5300](/search/?P=HINF%205300 "HINF 5300")| Personal Health Interface
Design and Development| 4  
Methods and Statistics|  
[CS 7300](/search/?P=CS%207300 "CS 7300")| Empirical Research Methods for
Human Computer Interaction| 4  
Complete one of the following:| 3-4  
[CAEP 7712](/search/?P=CAEP%207712 "CAEP 7712")| Intermediate Statistical Data
Analysis Techniques|  
[CS 7200](/search/?P=CS%207200 "CS 7200")| Statistical Methods for Computer
Science|  
[PHTH 5210](/search/?P=PHTH%205210 "PHTH 5210")| Biostatistics in Public
Health|  
[PHTH 6440](/search/?P=PHTH%206440 "PHTH 6440")| Advanced Methods in
Biostatistics|  
Evaluation|  
[HINF 5301](/search/?P=HINF%205301 "HINF 5301")| Evaluating Health
Technologies| 4  
[HINF 8982](/search/?P=HINF%208982 "HINF 8982")| Readings| 1-8  
## Electives
Course List Code | Title | Hours  
---|---|---  
Complete 12–17 semester hours in the following subject areas to fulfill the
minimum program hours (see faculty advisor for other acceptable elective
courses):| 12-17  
CAEP|  
CS|  
HINF|  
PHTH|  
## Dissertation
Course List Code | Title | Hours  
---|---|---  
[HINF 9990](/search/?P=HINF%209990 "HINF 9990")| Dissertation Term 1|  
[HINF 9991](/search/?P=HINF%209991 "HINF 9991")| Dissertation Term 2|  
## Program Credit/GPA Requirements
48 total semester hours required  
Minimum 3.000 GPA required
## Sample Plan of Study
Course List Code | Title | Hours  
---|---|---  
Year 1|  
_Fall Semester_|  
[CS 7340](/search/?P=CS%207340 "CS 7340")| Theory and Methods in Human
Computer Interaction|  
[HINF 5200](/search/?P=HINF%205200 "HINF 5200")| Theoretical Foundations in
Personal Health Informatics|  
_Spring Semester_|  
[CS 5010](/search/?P=CS%205010 "CS 5010")| Programming Design Paradigm|  
or [CS 5520](/search/?P=CS%205520 "CS 5520")|  Mobile Application Development  
[CS 7300](/search/?P=CS%207300 "CS 7300")| Empirical Research Methods for
Human Computer Interaction|  
Year 2|  
_Fall Semester_|  
[HINF 5300](/search/?P=HINF%205300 "HINF 5300")| Personal Health Interface
Design and Development|  
[PHTH 5210](/search/?P=PHTH%205210 "PHTH 5210")| Biostatistics in Public
Health|  
or [PHTH 6440](/search/?P=PHTH%206440 "PHTH 6440")|  Advanced Methods in
Biostatistics  
or [CAEP 7712](/search/?P=CAEP%207712 "CAEP 7712")|  Intermediate Statistical
Data Analysis Techniques  
or [CS 7200](/search/?P=CS%207200 "CS 7200")|  Statistical Methods for
Computer Science  
_Spring Semester_|  
[HINF 5301](/search/?P=HINF%205301 "HINF 5301")| Evaluating Health
Technologies|  
Personal health informatics electives|  
Year 3|  
_Fall Semester_|  
[HINF 9990](/search/?P=HINF%209990 "HINF 9990")| Dissertation Term 1|  
[HINF 8982](/search/?P=HINF%208982 "HINF 8982")| Readings|  
_Spring Semester_|  
[HINF 9991](/search/?P=HINF%209991 "HINF 9991")| Dissertation Term 2|  
Personal health informatics electives|  
Year 4|  
_Fall Semester_|  
[HINF 9996](/search/?P=HINF%209996 "HINF 9996")| Dissertation Continuation|  
_Spring Semester_|  
[HINF 9996](/search/?P=HINF%209996 "HINF 9996")| Dissertation Continuation|  
Year 5|  
_Fall Semester_|  
[HINF 9996](/search/?P=HINF%209996 "HINF 9996")| Dissertation Continuation|  
_Spring Semester_|  
[HINF 9996](/search/?P=HINF%209996 "HINF 9996")| Dissertation Continuation|