Program Description

This is a joint degree offered by six campuses of IU, under the direction of the Office of Collaborative Academic Programs.  A faculty team, with representation from each campus, developed the shared curricular framework for this degree. The joint degree format permits the campuses to share faculty resources and thereby provide educational opportunities to students in their regions that those students might not otherwise have. Students may take informatics courses from any of the six participating campuses and have those courses apply to their degree at their home campus.

Learning Outcomes

1. Foundations of Informatics and Computing
   1. Knowledge of discrete mathematics (Sets, functions, etc.)
   2. Ability to understand and apply statistics for data analysis
   3. Ability to understand and apply the concepts of probability
   4. Basics of computers and informatics (including hardware, software, survey of informatics cognates)
   5. Knowledge of basic information representation: (binary, octal, and hex number systems)
2. Problem Solving and Programming
   1. Basic problem solving techniques (pseudocoding, flow charting)
   2. Low level representation of data (bit, byte, int, float, char, unicode, string, audio, video, image)
   3. Fundamental programming skills (variables, conditionals, loops, subprograms, and parameter passing)
   4. Proficiency in at least one programming language. Proficiency is defined
      as the ability to design, implement, test, and debug structured and object-oriented programs.
   5. Ability to design, implement, test, and debug web-based solutions
   6. Ability to discuss and/or construct memory based structures and algorithms
      (Arrays (single, multidimensional), Lists (single, double, circular), stacks,queues, binary trees)
3. Analysis and Design of Large Systems
   1. Ability to use object oriented modeling to devise a solution to a large-scale problem
   2. Ability to perform functional decomposition of a large-scale problem
   3. Ability to develop a data model and subsequent design and implementation
      of a database for a discipline-specific problem (including knowledge of XML and SQL)
   4. Ability to carry out key tasks of project management as it relates to large information systems projects
   5. Ability to identify elements of proper interface design, and ability to build user-centered interfaces
4. Collaboration and Teamwork with Emphasis on Virtual Teams
   1. Proficiency of contemporary technological tools for communication and collaboration
   2. Proficiency of technological tools for collaboratively designing and coding programs
   3. Ability to effectively utilize oral, written, and visual communications of both qualitative and quantitative information within the context of a team
   4. Skills, behaviors and attitudes necessary to function as an effective team member
5. Societal and Ethical Implications of Informatics
   1. Articulate legal and ethical issues when using the creative work of others; respect the intellectual property of others
   2. Awareness of societal laws and ethical use of information including the use of scenarios and cases to show the applications of ethical principles
   3. Understanding of information privacy laws
   4. Create a personal code of ethics; articulate principles for resolving ethical conflicts
   5. Applications of ethical principles in research (IRB, human subject studies, animal studies, maintaining anonymity and proper data handling)
6. Application of Informatics Skills to Another Area of Specialization (cognate)
   1. Assessed by each cognate area

Degree Requirements 

Students receiving the Bachelor of Science in Informatics degree must complete 120 total credit hours including:

• General Education Core (30 cr.)
• Informatics Core (48 cr.)
• Specialization Area (15 - 18 cr.)
• Electives as needed to complete 120 total credit hours

• A minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300- or 400-level
• Courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of C or higher
• A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required
• Courses are 3 credit hours unless otherwise noted

Informatics Core (48 cr.)

Note about required INFO-C courses: These courses were created for joint online program and are not exact replicas of the INFO-I courses taken by students in the on-campus program. Instead they contain the breadth of possibilities offered by all participating campuses combined and when viewed in their entirety provide the same core learning outcomes as the on-campus face-to-face programs. 

• INFO-C 100 Informatics Foundations
• INFO-C 112 Tools of Informatics: Programming and Databases
• INFO-C 201 Mathematical Foundations of Informatics
• INFO-C 203 Social Informatics
• INFO-C 210 Problem Solving and Programming I
• INFO-C 211 Problem Solving and Programming II
• INFO-C 300 Human Computer Interaction
• INFO-C 307 Data Representation and Organization
• INFO-C 399 Database Systems
• INFO-C 413 Web Design and Development
• INFO-C 450 System Design
• INFO-C 451 System Implementation
• INFO-C 452 Project Management
• INFO- XXX Informatics Electives

Specialization Area (15 - 18 cr.)

Students must complete one of the following specializations: Business, Health Information Management, Legal Informatics, Enterprise Resource Planning, Sustainability, Web Development, or Game Developement.

Business (15 cr.)

• BUS-J 404 Business and Society
• BUS-Z 440 Personnel: Human Resource Management

Complete one of the following:

• BUS-A 200 Foundations of Accounting
• BUS-A 201 Introduction to Financial Accounting
• BUS-A 202 Introduction to Managerial Accounting

Complete one of the following:

• BUS-M 300 Introduction to Marketing
• BUS-M 301 Introduction to Marketing Management

Complete one of the following:

• BUS-F 301 Financial Management
• BUS-F 302 Financial Decision Making

Health Information Management (15 cr.)

Complete one of the following:

• HIM-M 330 Medical Terminology
• HIM-M 195 Medical Terminology
• AHLT-M 195 Medical Terminology
• AHLT-M 330 Medical Terminology

Complete one of the following:

• HIM-M 108 Introduction to Health Information Management
• HIM-M 101 Introduction to Health Records
• AHLT-M 192 Introduction to Health Information Management and Reimbursement
• AHLT-M 392 Introduction to Health Information Management and Reimbursement

Complete one of the following:

• HIM-M 325 Health Information Requirements and Standards I
• HIM-M 301 Healthcare Quality and Information Management

Complete one of the following:

• HIM-M 425 Quantitative Analysis of Health Information
• HIM-M 107 Computer Application in Health Information Technology

Complete one of the following:

• HIM-M 350/351 (6 cr.) Pathophysiology and Pharmacology for HIM I & II
• HIM-M 410 Computer Systems in Healthcare

Legal Informatics (15 cr.)

• INFO-C 401 Foundations in Legal Informatics
• INFO-C 402 Legal and Social Informatics of Security
• INFO-C 403 Electronic Discovery
• INFO-C 404 Litigation Support Systems and Courtroom Presentations
• INFO-C 405 Technology and the Law

Enterprise Resource Planning (18. cr)

• BUS-A 200Introduction to Financial Accounting
• BUS-K 321 Management of Information Technology
• BUS-K 301 Enterprise Resource Planning

Complete two of the following:

• BUS-M 300 Introduction to Marketing
• BUS-F 301 Financial Management
• BUS-P 301 Operations Management
• BUS-P 421 Supply Chain Management

Complete one of the following:

• BUS-K 440 Business Intelligence
• BUS-S 435 Advanced Topics in Computer Information Systems

Sustainability (15 cr.)

• SUST-S 201Foundations of Sustainability

Complete 9 credit hours from the two following lists with at least one course from each

• Science Options:
  • AHLT-H 331 Environmental Health
  • GEOG-G 315 Environmental Conservation
  • GEOL-G 185 Global Environmental Change
  • GEOL-G 400 Energy: Sources and Needs
  • GEOL-G 476 Climate Change Science
• Social Science, Cultural, Economic Options:
  • BUS-B 399 Business and Society
  • GEOG-G 338 Geographic Information Systems
  • PHIL-P 306 Business Ethics
  • POLS-Y 308 Urban Politics
  • SOC-S 308 Global Society
  • SUST-B 399 Human Behavior and Social Institutions

Complete one of the following

• SUST-S 490 Sustainability Practicum
• SUST-S 491 Internship in Sustainability

Web Development (15 cr.)

Choose One Course

• INFO-I 213 Web Site Design and Development
• CSCI-N 341 Introduction to Client-side Web Programming

Choose One Course

• INFO-C 313 - Server-Side Web Development
• CSCI-N 342 Server-side Programming for the Web

Choose One Course

• NEWM-N 450 Usability Principles for New Media Interfaces
• FINA-P 323 Introduction to Web Design
• INMS-N 442 Workshop in Integrated Web Design 2

Choose Two Courses

• INMS-N 443 Workshop in Integrated Web Design 3
• INMS-N 444 Workshop in Integrated Web Design
• FINA-P 323 Introduction to Web Design
• NEWM-N 315 Advanced Multi-Device Web Development
• NEWM-N 450 Usability Principles for New Media Interfaces
• NEWM-N 413 Advanced Web Application Development
• NEWM-N 315 Advanced Multi-Device Web Development
• NEWM-N 413 Advanced Web Application Development
• NEWM-N 450 Usability Principles for New Media Interfaces

Game Development Track (15 Cr.)

Select one from the following:

• INFO-I254 2D Games Programming
• NEWM-N 230 Introduction to Game Design and Development
• NEWM-N 232 Introduction to Gameplay Programming

Select one from the following:

• NEWM-N 131 Game On! A History of Video Games
• NEWM-N 140 History of Animation
• INMS-N 212 Interactive Game Design 1
• INMS-N 201 Digital 3D Art and Design 1
• INMS-N 301 Digital 3D art and Design 1

Choose 3 courses at intermediate or advanced level from the following:

• NEWM-N 202 Digital Storytelling
• NEWM-N 205 History of Video Games 2 (summer)
• INFO-I 310 Multimedia Arts and Technology
• INFO-I 355 3D Games Programming
• CSCI-N 355 Introduction to Virtual Reality
• INMS-N 302 Digital 3D Art and Design 2
• INMS-N 303 Digital 3D Art and Design 3
• INMS-N 313 Interactive Game Design 2
• INMS-N 369 Interactive Multimedia
• CSCI-C 490 Games Programming and Design
• CSCI-N 451 Web Game Development
• NEWM-N 485 Creature and Character Design 2 (summer)
• INFO-I 456 Integrated Games Development
• INMS-N 414 Interactive Game Design 3
• INFO-C 342/CSCI-C 490 Mobile Applications Development

Academic Policies Specific to this Collaborative Degree Program 

1. Movement between on-campus degree programs and the collaborative B.S. in Informatics

To provide flexibility in scheduling for students, while maintaining the continuity of the informatics program, the faculty will identify specific points in the informatics curriculum when students can move back and forth between the online and on-campus programs. At any other point in the program, students who are currently enrolled in an on-campus informatics program must receive permission from their advisor and the campus informatics director to change to the collaborative online program. Similarly, students who are currently enrolled in the collaborative online program must receive permission to change to an on-campus program. The student’s campus of enrollment will determine how often such permission may be granted to a particular student.