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Online Master of Science in Clinical Informatics & Patient-Centered Technologies

Admissions

Application Deadline | Minimum Admission Requirements | Required Application Materials | Application Steps | International Students | Graduate Nonmatriculated Status

The University of Washington Online Master of Science in Clinical Informatics & Patient-Centered Technologies program is designed for health care professionals who want to gain greater expertise in clinical informatics and health care technology.

The ideal student for this program has a bachelor’s degree and at least one year of experience in health care, as well as familiarity with the challenges and opportunities for IT in clinical settings. Our students are physicians, nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists, administrators, patient care specialists, hospice caregivers and providers who are already working as informaticists and want a credential to advance their careers.

Application Deadline

A new cohort of the CIPCT program begins every autumn quarter. The application deadline is May 1.

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or its equivalent from a foreign institution
  • A minimum 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for the last 60 graded semester credits or 90 graded quarter credits
  • At least one year of experience in a health care setting, preferably clinical
  • Completion of an approved basic course in descriptive and inferential statistics with a grade of at least 2.0
  • Demonstrated English-language proficiency for applicants whose native language is not English

Required Application Materials

  • UW Graduate School online application and fee
  • Unofficial transcripts from every college or university attended, regardless of whether you earned a degree there
    • Foreign transcripts must include translated evaluations
    • You do not need to include a foreign transcript if you attended a foreign university through a study abroad program and the credits appear on your school’s transcript. But you must submit a foreign transcript and evaluation if you're using a course taken internationally as a prerequisite course.
  • Resume or curriculum vitae
  • Responses to admissions questions
  • Statement of purpose (optional)
  • Two recommendations
  • Proof of English language proficiency if English is not your native language

Note: GRE scores are NOT required.

Application Steps

To apply to the CIPCT program, you’ll submit your application materials online through the UW Graduate School website. We recommend you begin your application early in order to complete all requirements on time.

Step One: Prepare to Apply

Get transcripts from each college or university attended. Download unofficial transcripts or scan printed copies for each post-secondary college or university you have attended, regardless of whether you earned a degree there. Current or former University of Washington students must include a UW transcript. 

Update your resume or curriculum vitae. Include the following items that are applicable to your experience: 

  • All postsecondary education and degrees with dates of completion
  • Your professional work history in health care, with date ranges
  • Any active professional licensure you currently hold
  • Any active certifications you currently hold
  • Honors and awards
  • Any volunteer activities
  • Any service activities (e.g., committee work) within or outside of your professional positions
  • All languages other than English in which you are proficient
  • Any grants awarded
  • Any publications in newsletters, peer-reviewed journals or books
  • Any professional presentations
  • Any leadership positions

Prepare your answers to the five CIPCT admissions questions. These questions are related to your interests and experiences in the informatics field and your reasons for pursuing this degree. Your answer to each question should be 250–300 words. Do not use ChatGPT or any other assistive technology to write the essays. The questions are:

  1. What are your reasons for pursuing the Online Master of Science in Clinical Informatics & Patient-Centered Technologies?
  2. What current research or applied interests in clinical informatics and patient-centered technologies do you want to study in the master’s program?
  3. Describe your participation in research-related activities or health information management.
  4. Identify, if known, any particular informatics faculty with whom you would like to work.
  5. What are your career goals after completing the Online Master of Science in Clinical Informatics & Patient-Centered Technologies?

Write your statement of purpose (optional essay). If you feel that your transcripts, resume or admissions questions do not accurately reflect your abilities and preparedness for study in this program or if you have any breaks in education or employment, you have the option of explaining why in an optional statement.

Identify two people who can recommend you to the program. We prefer one academic reference and one professional reference. Consider asking current or former employers or managers and former teachers. Do not ask peers to write a recommendation. Recommendations should be current (from within two years of application). We will not consider additional letters of recommendation. Family members or friends are NOT eligible to write letters of recommendation.

Please brief your recommenders ahead of time on the questions they will respond to. Your references will be sent an email asking them the following:

  1. How long have you known this applicant and in what capacity?
  2. In making this evaluation, what group are you using as a basis for comparison?
  3. Admission to graduate study in Nursing – Seattle Campus (MS) at the University of Washington is (select one of the following):
    • Strongly recommended
    • Recommended
    • Recommended with reservations
    • Not recommended
    • Unable to respond

Next, each recommender will be asked to give their impression of your:

  1. Ability as a scholar
  2. Clinical competence (for applicants with clinical backgrounds only)
  3. Teaching and/or supervisory potential or ability
  4. Personality, integrity and ability
  5. Potential for scholarly inquiry and professional development

Step Two: Apply

  1. Start your online application to the UW Graduate School.
  2. In the Program Selection tab, choose these options:
    • Select your application type: Graduate
    • Narrow your search: By Degree
    • Filter by degree: Master's
    • Select your program: “Nursing – Seattle Campus (MS) – Clinical Informatics & PCT”
  3. Upload all required documents.
  4. Pay the nonrefundable application fee and submit your application.

International Students

The CIPCT program is completely online, and no visa is required to attend. International applicants are welcome and encouraged to apply.

International applicants must meet all admission requirements for the program. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency. The UW Graduate School’s Policy 3.2 describes several ways to do this. You must send your test scores directly to the UW by the Educational Testing Service using institution code 4854. Only scores less than two years old will be accepted.

You must send foreign transcript evaluations for any college or university you have attended outside the United States. To meet UW Graduate School requirements, this must be done through World Education Services (WES) International Credential Advantage Package (ICAP).

The UW Graduate School doesn't accept WES Basic or any other credential evaluations. For more information, review the UW Graduate School's official transcript requirements.

Send official foreign transcripts to WES for a course-by-course U.S. equivalency report. Have the evaluation reports sent to you. Your application will include:

  1. Original foreign transcripts with English translations (if applicable; include in the Report Prior Schools section of your UW MyGrad application)
  2. Transcript evaluation reports (upload to the Credential/Transcript Evaluations section of your UW MyGrad application)

You don't need to submit a foreign transcript if you attended a foreign university through a study abroad program and the credits appear on your school’s transcript, but you must submit a foreign transcript and evaluation if you are using a course taken internationally as a prerequisite course.

Graduate Nonmatriculated Status

If you aren’t sure that you want to pursue the full degree or if you missed the May 1 application deadline, you might consider applying to the program as a graduate nonmatriculated student. GNM status allows you to enroll in a limited number of program courses. If you are later accepted into the program, you can apply up to 12 credits toward your degree.

To apply for GNM status, you must follow the same procedures noted above and apply online to the UW Graduate School by the deadlines below. 

Quarter Start Deadline
Autumn May 1
Winter November 1
Spring February 1
Summer May 1