School URL:  luddy.indianapolis.iu.edu

School E-mail:  luddyIN [at] iu [dot] edu

Curriculum

(When conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff only use those requirements contained in  the University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Ph.D. in Informatics

The Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering is the first of its kind in the country and was created as a place where innovative multi­disciplinary programs could thrive, a program where students can apply the skills of information technology to a range of other fields.  For current information and specific requirements, refer to luddy.indianapolis.iu.edu.

All Ph.D. candidates must meet with their academic or research advisor for course selection and plan of study. 

Program of Study

Students in the Informatics doctoral program explore the connections among information technology, theory, social analysis, and application domains in a diverse and multidisciplinary curriculum. This curriculum includes core courses and seminars in Informat­ics and its specialization in Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Data Science, Health and Biomedical Informatics, or Human-Computer Inter­action; courses in methods and theory; and electives in related disciplines inside and outside of the School leading to a Ph.D. minor; and a dissertation. In addition, students are encour­aged to pursue internships as part of their elective courses or independent studies.

Bioinformatics Specialization

A minimum of 90 credit hours are required for the degree. The 90 credit hours consist of the following:

Qualifying Courses (15 credit hours):

• INFO-B 519 Introduction to Bioinformatics
• INFO-B 528 Computational Methods for Analyzing High-Throughput Biological Data
• INFO-B 529 Machine Learning in Bioinformatics
• INFO-B 556 Biological Database Management
• INFO-I 590 Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics

Required Core Courses (12 credit hours):

• CSCI 59000 Algorithms in Bioinformatics
• INFO-B 627 Advanced Seminar I in Bioinformatics
• INFO-B 637 Advanced Seminar II in Bioinformatics
• INFO-I 790 Research Rotation/Independent Study

Advanced Core Courses (15 credit hours):

• CSCI 59000 Algorithms in Bioinformatics
• INFO-I 600 Professionalism and Pedagogy in Informatics
• INFO-B 627 Advanced Seminar I in Bioinformatics
• INFO-B 637 Advanced Seminar II in Bioinformatics
• INFO-I 790 Research Rotation/Independent Study

Elective Core Courses (15 credit hours):

Choose from the following:

• INFO-B506 Biomedical Informatics
• INFO-B 536 Computational Methods in Biomedical Informatics
• INFO-I590 Next Generation Sequencing
• INFO-B 619 Structural Bioinformatics
• INFO-B 646 Computational System Biology
• INFO-B 656 Translational Bioinformatics Applications
• INFO-B 636 Genomic Data Analytics and Precision Medicine
• INFO-B 585 Analysis of Biomedical Data
• Other course approved by advisor

Minor and Electives (18 credit hours)

• Minor (12–15 credit hours)
• Students may take over electives (subject to approval) at the graduate level as needed for their research

Dissertation (30 credit hours):

• INFO-I 890 Thesis Readings and Research

Areas of Specialization

Faculty research projects often involve representatives from several different research areas working together to develop in­novative and even revolutionary new solutions. While students can expect to concentrate in particular areas, they are also expected to explore the broader significance of their work and ways that their expertise can be leveraged to solve problems outside of their own domains.

Areas of Research

Protein structure and function prediction, comparative genomics, struc­tural genomics, fragment assembly in DNA sequencing, systems biology, models of evolution, molecular modeling, drug design, machine learning algorithms, biological database integration, data mining, and biomedical text mining.

Health and Biomedical Informatics Program Specialization

A minimum of 90 credit hours are required for the degree. The 90 credit hours will consist of the following:

Core Courses (24 credit hours):

• INFO-I 501 Introduction to Informatics
• INFO-B 530 Foundations of Health Informatics
• INFO-B 535 Clinical Information Systems
• INFO-I 575 Informatics Research Design
• INFO-B 581 Health Informatics Standards and Terminology
• INFO-B 585 Biomedical Analytics
• INFO-B 642 Clinical Decision Support Systems
• INFO-B518 Applied Statistical Methods for Biomedical Informatics

Ph.D. Specific Courses (12 credit hours):

• GRAD-G 660 Clinical Research Methods
• INFO-B 667 Seminar in Interprofessional Informatics
• INFO-B 668 Seminar in BioHealth
• PBHL-B 652 Biostatistics for Public Health II

Research Rotation (6 credit hours):

• INFO-I 790 Informatics Research Rotation (taken twice)

Electives (6–15 credit hours)

Minor (12 credit hours)

Dissertation (21–20 credit hours):

• INFO-I 890 Thesis Readings and Research

Areas of Specialization

Faculty research projects often involve representatives from several different research areas working together to develop in­novative and even revolutionary new solutions. While students can expect to concentrate in particular areas, they will also be expected to explore the broader significance of their work and ways that their expertise can be leveraged to solve problems outside of their own domains.

Areas of Research

Electronic medical records, health data exchange, standards and terminology for health data, clinical decision support, consumer health informatics, technology to enhance patient safety, health application development and implementa­tion, cost reimbursement and integrated health information systems. The Health and Biomedical Informatics program has joint projects with the Veteran Administration Medical Cen­ter, Regenstrief Institute, Clarian Health, Methodist Hospital, St. Vincent Hospital, Community Health Network, St. Francis Hospitals, IU School of Medicine, and other local health care systems.

Human-Computer Interaction Specialization

A minimum of 90 credit hours are required for the degree. The 90 credit hours will consist of the following:

Core Cores (18 credit hours):

• INFO-H 541 Interaction Design Practice
• INFO-H 564 Prototyping for Interactive Systems
• INFO-H 624 Advanced Seminar I in Human-Computer Interaction
• INFO-H 634 Advanced Seminar II in Human-Computer Interaction
• Two HCI Research Area Selectives (6 credit hours total)

Methods Courses (18 credit hours):

• INFO-I 575 Informatics Research Design
• INFO-I 790 Informatics Research Rotation (taken three times, 9 credit hours total)
• Two Methods Electives (6 credit hours total)

Specialization (18 credit hours):

• Minor (12–18 credit hours)
• Disciplinary Affinities (0–6 credit hour colloquia series and/or electives)

Dissertation (36 credit hours)

• INFO-I 890 Thesis Readings and Research

Areas of Specialization

Faculty research projects often involve representatives from several different research areas working together to develop in­novative and even revolutionary new solutions. While students can expect to concentrate in particular areas, they will also be expected to explore the broader significance of their work and ways that their expertise can be leveraged to solve problems outside of their own domains.

Areas of Research

Because HCI is a multidisciplinary discipline, students are encouraged to expand the scope of their research to cross-tradi­tional disciplinary boundaries into such areas as human-centered design, accessible computing, ubiquitous computing, social computing, related areas within digital media applications such as gaming and virtual reality research, comput­er-mediated communication, usability engineering, health informatics, information visualization, biomedical informatics, android science, social robotics, sensorimotor representation, symbol grounding and symbol emergence, computational neuroscience, and so on.

Ph.D. in Computer Science

A total of 90 credit hours of graduate-level coursework is required for the Ph.D. in Computer Science from IU’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering in Indianapolis.

Ph.D. candidates must take at least 24 credit hours of courses in computer science at or above the 500 level. Courses for nonmajors (CSCI-A) do not count.

Six courses, from the list below, must be completed each with a minimum grade of B:

Foundations of Computing

Select at least one.

• CSCI-B 501 Theory of Computing
• CSCI-B 502 Computational Complexity
• CSCI-B 503 Algorithms Design and Analysis

Computer Systems

Select at least one.

• CSCI-B 534 Distributed Systems
• CSCI-P 536 Advanced Operating Systems
• CSCI-P 538 Computer Networks

Select at least one from either 3 or 4

Programming Languages

• CSCI-B 521 Programming Language Principles
• CSCI-B 522 Programming Language Foundations
• CSCI-P 523 Programming Language Implementation

Intelligent Systems

• CSCI-B 551 Elements of Artificial Intelligence
• CSCI-B 555 Machine Learning
• CSCI-B 561 Advanced Database Concepts
• CSCI-B 565 Data Mining

A grade average of B (3.0) is required for the 24 credit hours of required computer science courses. This is in addition to the Graduate School’s requirement of a B (3.0) average for all courses taken.

Minor Area Requirement

The Ph.D. requires a 12-credit minor unless the student is a dual major with another department. There are three options to satisfy the minor requirement:

1. An external minor awarded by another Indiana University department or graduate program on campus that the Computer Science Program approves.
2. An individualized interdisciplinary minor: at least 12 credits spanning at least two Indiana University departments/degree programs in Indianapolis, or 12 credits from programs within the Luddy School in Indianapolis which fall outside the student’s major. The minor courses should be recommended by the student’s advisory committee and approved by the Computer Science Program in advance of any course work.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is given by the first semester of the student’s third year in the program. This examination is administered by the advisory committee and is expected to have a written and an oral component. A student must have completed the 24 credit hours of courses in computer science as specified in the Computer Science Course Requirements before taking the qualifying exam. If failed, the exam may be retaken once, by the end of the third year. Students who fail the second exam cannot continue in the program.

Dissertation Defense

A written elaboration of significant original research must be successfully presented to the student’s research committee in a public oral defense.

Ph.D. in Data Science

The data science doctoral program prepares graduate students to develop and evaluate novel approaches to collecting, organizing, managing, and extracting knowledge and insights from massive, complex, distributed, heterogeneous datasets.

A minimum of 90 credit hours are required for the degree. The 90 credit hours will consist of the following:

Core Courses (24 credit hours):

• INFO-I 501 Introduction to Informatics
• LIS-S 511 Database Design (3 cr.) or CSCI 54100 Database Systems
• STAT 51100 Statistical Methods I or higher (requires approval)
• INFO-H 515 Introduction to Data Analytics or CSCI 57300 Data Mining
• INFO-H 516 Applied Cloud Computing for Data Intensive Sciences or CSCI 59000 Cloud Computing
• INFO-H 517 Visualization Design, Analysis, and Evaluation or CSCI 55200 Data Visualization
• LIS-S 541 Information Policy
• INFO-I 575 Informatics Research Design

Methods Courses (18 credit hours)

May include up to 6 credit hours of INFO-I 790 Informatics Research Rotation

Specialization (18 credit hours):

• Minor (12–18 credit hours)
• Disciplinary Affinities (0–6 credit hour colloquia series and/or electives)

Dissertation (30 credit hours)

• INFO-I 890 Thesis Readings and Research

Requirements for all Ph.D. Programs

Minor

The student must have an appropriate minor from a unit at IU Indianapolis or IU Bloomington other than the Data Science program. Minors are selected with the advisor’s recommendation. The selected minor should be appropriate for the student’s choice of subdiscipline. Examples of minors include biology or bioinformatics, biostatistics, chemistry or chemistry informatics, health and biomedical informatics, cognitive psychology, computer science, information science, social and behavioral sciences, or sociology. The number of hours to be included in the minor will be consistent with the requirements of the unit granting the mi­nor. Some of the courses in the minor may also count toward the methods requirement.

Qualifying Examination, Written and Oral

A student must successfully complete a written and oral qualifying examination before the fifth semester of the program. The written exam has a breadth part and a depth part. The breadth part covers the program’s core courses. The depth part additionally covers material from the student’s research.

The oral exam takes place shortly after the student passes the written exam. The oral exam is based on the student’s response to the written exam and the core courses. The both the written and oral exams are prepared and evaluated by faculty in the school who are familiar with the content of the core courses.

The student must pass both the written exam and the oral exam before advancing to candidacy. The student may retake once either the written exam or oral exam, but not both, if they do not pass that part on the first attempt. For further details, consult with the data science program director. After successful completion of the core courses and qualifying exam, the student advances to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

The dissertation defense is an oral review of the student’s in-depth knowledge of primary research area and the research proposal for the dissertation. The dissertation proposal must be approved by the stu­dent’s research committee, constituted by members of the Graduate Faculty who have expertise relevant to judging the student’s research. That committee may have the same membership as the advisory committee or different members. The advisor for the dissertation must be endorsed by the Graduate School to chair doctoral dissertation committees. The majority of the three or more members of the committee should be from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and at least one member must be from outside of the school. The student will defend the thesis proposal at a public colloquium in the school. The defense should be completed within one year of passing the Qualifying Examination.

Dissertation

The student must present a written elaboration of significant original research to the research committee in a public defense as described in the Graduate School Bulletin.

Ph.D. Minors

Ph.D. Minor in Applied Data Science

The Ph.D. minor in Applied Data Science offers doctoral students in other disciplines the opportunity to learn data science approaches and apply them to problems in their major. Data science is now applied to every field. Data science concepts and approaches are required of researchers who collect, curate, manage, analyze, and visualize the big data found in massive, complex, diverse, and distributed repositories.

The Ph.D. minor in Applied Data Science is a 12-credit hour program comprising four 3-credit hour courses. 

Required courses: INFO-H 515, INFO-H 516, and INFO-H 517.  Specialization course: choose in consultation with the minor advisor

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the Ph.D. Minor, the applicant must be currently enrolled at IU Indianapolis or IU Bloomington in a doctoral program other than Data Science. The student must also be in good academic standing and possess knowledge and skills in calculus, linear algebra, and programming. Prerequisites include a graduate course in inferential statistics (3 cr.) and a graduate course in databases (3 cr.).

Ph.D. Minor in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics gathers knowledge and information from vari­ous fields such as informatics, chemistry, computer science, medicine, and biology. Students in relevant Ph.D. programs such as biochemistry and molecular biology, medical and mo­lecular genetics, medicine, chemistry, or biology are the target audience for the Ph.D. minor in bioinformatics.

The Ph.D. minor in Bioinformatics is a 12 credit hour program comprised of four (4) courses each of which is 3 credit hours. 

Required course: INFO-B 519, Specialization courses (choose three): INFO-B 529, INFO-B 556, INFO-B 573, INFO-I 590 Next Generation Sequencing, INFO-B 619, INFO-B 646, INFO-B 656, GRDM-G 848

Admission Requirements

The graduate bioinformatics courses in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering assume a minimal knowledge of cell and molecular biology. That level of understanding could be gained with at least 6 undergraduate credit hours in molecular biology, genetics, or evolution. They also assume a minimal knowledge of programming, databases, and statistics. That level of understanding could be gained with 3 to 9 credit hours of undergraduate or graduate courses in these areas.

Ph.D. Minor in Health and Biomedical Informatics

The purpose of the minor is to provide opportunities for current Indiana University doctoral students in other disciplines at IU to learn and use Health and Biomedical Informatics approaches to solve problems that arise in their academic fields. This program serves the needs of the Schools of Dentistry, Nursing, Medicine, Public Health, and Science by providing data and information science knowledge and skills in support of problem-solving across multiple health-related domains. 

The Ph.D. minor in Health and Biomedical Informatics requires coursework totaling 12 credit hour program comprising four 3-credit hour courses. 

These must include the following core courses: INFO-B 530, INFO-B 535, INFO-B 581, and INFO-B 642.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to have background in Information Technology and Healthcare (or the equivalent).

Ph.D. Minor in Human-Computer Interaction

The purpose of the Ph.D. minor in the HCI Program is to enable current Indiana University doctoral students in other disciplines at IU to learn, apply, and use human-computer interaction (HCI) theories, principles, and tools to address and study problems in their respective academic fields.

The Ph.D. minor in HCI is a 12 credit hour program comprising four 3-credit hour courses. 

Required courses: INFO-H 541, INFO-H 543, and INFO-H 563. One additional course, selected from the following list, is required: INFO-H 517, INFO-H 561, INFO-H 564, INFO-H 565, INFO-H 566, INFO-H 624, or INFO-H 634.

Grading Policy for all Ph.D. minors

A minimum of B (3.0) is required in each course that is to count toward the minor. If a minimum of B (3.0) is not earned in a course, that course must be retaken. A course may only be retaken once. Students who fail to achieve the minimum grade of B (3.0) the second time they take a course will not be able to earn the Ph.D. minor.