Master of Health Information Management (M.H.I.M.) Major in Health Information Management (Healthcare Information Security Concentration)

Program Overview

The Master of Health Information Management degree with a concentration in Healthcare Information Security in the College of Health Professions emphasizes the education and skills necessary to successfully pursue a career in Healthcare Security. The curriculum focuses on general health information management education and specific cybersecurity coursework to meet individual needs. Students graduating with a Master of Health Information Management degree with a Concentration in Healthcare Information Security will work as information security officers, computer and information managers, information security analysts, privacy officers, and release of information managers.

Immunization Requirements

It is the policy of the College of Health Professions that each student must provide a health report completed by a physician or licensed healthcare provider, and must take specific immunizations before the student can be placed in a clinical or internship assignment. Information on these requirements and the required forms may be obtained through the department office.

Background Check and Drug Screening

As a condition for placement in some professional practice sites, some students are required to have a background check and/or drug screening to meet requirements set by individual sites. Information on the background check/drug screening process will be provided by the department. Previous misdemeanor or felony convictions under various titles of the Texas Penal Code may affect eligibility for practitioner license status following graduation.

Online Information

This program is taught exclusively online. For students residing outside of Texas and not planning on relocating to the state, please visit http://www.distancelearning.txstate.edu/ before applying.

Application Requirements

The items listed below are required for admission consideration for applicable semesters of entry during the current academic year. Submission instructions, additional details, and changes to admission requirements for semesters other than the current academic year can be found on The Graduate College's website. International students should review the International Admission Documents page for additional requirements.

completed online application
$55 nonrefundable application fee

$90 nonrefundable application fee for applications with international credentials
baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our International FAQs for more information.)
official transcripts from each institution where course credit was granted
a 2.75 overall GPA or a 2.75 GPA in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses)
completed background courses in: statistics, introduction to microcomputer applications, pathophysiology and pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, and medical terminology
GRE not required
resume/CV
statement of purpose indicating the student’s ability and interest in completing the degree program
three letters of recommendation from professionals or academics competent to assess the student’s interest in pursuing a career or advancing in the field of study

Approved English Proficiency Exam Scores

Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list.

official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
official PTE scores required with a 52
official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0
official Duolingo Scores required with a 110 overall
official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall

This program does not offer admission if the scores above are not met.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Health Information Management (M.H.I.M.) degree with a major in Health Information Management concentration in Healthcare Information Security requires 36 semester credit hours.

Course Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
HIM 5311	Health Informatics and Data Visualization	3
HIM 5320	Research Methods for HIM	3
HIM 5342	Information Systems and Technology	3
HIM 5351	Data Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality	3
HIM 5352	Introduction to Healthcare Information Security	3
HIM 5353	Risk Analysis of Healthcare Systems	3
HIM 5363	Health Data Content Structure and Standards	3
HIM 5370	Healthcare Finance and Revenue Cycle Management	3
HIM 5380	Assessing Healthcare Quality	3
HIM 5382	Compliance for HIM Topics	3
HIM 5390	Contemporary Leadership Principles for HIM	3
Directed Electives		3
Choose 3 hours from the following:
HIM 5301	Health Information Technology for Managers
HIM 5340	Healthcare Informatics
HIM 5341	Healthcare Terminologies and Vocabularies
HIM 5343	Advanced Data Analytics in Healthcare
HIM 5344	Healthcare Database Management Systems
HIM 5397	HIM Directed Practicum
Total Hours		36

Comprehensive Examination Requirement

The student must have completed 9 MHIM core courses with grades of “C” or higher by the time of taking the comprehensive exam or in the last semester when they are taking the core courses. The comprehensive exam contains 3 questions from each core course. The student selects 1 out of 3 questions in each course to answer. The expected length of answer to each question is about 1 page double spaced, 12-point font. The comprehensive exam is distributed to the students on March 1^stin spring semesters (or October 1^st in fall semesters), and due on March 21^stin spring semester (or October 21^st in fall semester). Faculty will score the exam as either passing or failing. Faculty complete grading by the end of March (or October). Students who fail the exam may retake the section(s) they failed from April 1^st to April 15^th (or November 1^st to November 15^th in fall semesters). For the second retake students must select different questions from the first attempt for the core courses. Faculty complete the 2^nd round grading by the end of April (or November). Students who fail twice are required to take one 3-credit independent study (approved by graduate faculty) to complete their degrees. At the end of the independent study, students take the third (and the last) comprehensive exam. The relevant faculty will decide the specific time of the third comp exam, which can be in December or January. Students who fail the third comprehensive exam will be dismissed from the graduate program.

Master's level courses in Health Information Management: HIM

Courses Offered

Health Information Management (HIM)

HIM 5199B. Thesis.

This course represents a student's continuing thesis enrollment. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding.

1 Credit Hour. 1 Lecture Contact Hour. 0 Lab Contact Hours.
Course Attribute(s): Exclude from 3-peat Processing
Grade Mode: Credit/No Credit

HIM 5300. Advanced Independent Study in Health Information Management.

This course provides an in-depth independent study of a singular problem or related problem in the rapidly changing field of health information management. Special emphasis will be placed on the problem's current relevance and the value to the participant. May be repeated for credit with a different emphasis.