Bachelor of Science in Informatics

Collaborative Online Degree

IU South Bend, in conjunction with the other IU campuses, offers a collaborative online Bachelor of Science in Informatics degree. This degree, offered exclusively online, is intended for distance education students. The courses are taught by various IU campuses on a rotational basis.

This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states.

Many online support services are available to assist you as you progress through the program.

As technology becomes increasingly pervasive in our lives, there's a growing need for skills in managing the digital world, and in understanding the social impact of computing and the big picture of how people and technology connect. Informatics focuses on putting information technology to work solving today's problems in healthcare, privacy, security, education, poverty, and the environment. Your Bachelor of Science (BS) in Informatics will prepare you to develop technology solutions that address and anticipate the needs of today's world.

Every student in the online informatics program must complete a track (formerly referred to as a cognate) which is an area of specialization. Currently there are several tracks available, but student should check with an academic advisor to determine what additional tracks are available.

Admissions

Admissions requirements vary by campus.

Degree Requirements (120 cr.)

To graduate with the Bachelor of Science in Informatics, you must complete a total of 120 semester credit hours, broken down as follows. 

Requirements are broken down as follows:

• IU South Bend Campuswide General Education Curriculum (33 cr.) | 3 credits are satisfied by a course from the Major.

• Courses required for the Online Bachelor of Science in Informatics fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning requirement.

• Core Requirements (58-61 cr.)

• Core Courses (39 cr.)
• Informatics Track (15-18 cr.)
• Electives (9 cr.)

• Supporting Requirements (16-22 cr.)

• Mathematics Requirements (6 cr.)
• Physical and Life Sciences Requirements (10 cr.)
• World Languages Requirements (0-6 cr.)

• Free Electives (balance of credits needed to equal 120 credit requirement)

• Minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300– or 400–level.
• Core requirements must be completed with a grade of C or higher; they cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for another major or minor.
• Courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of C or higher.
• A minimum CGPA of 2.0 is required.
• Students may be able to transfer an associate degree or up to 64 credit hours from a regionally accredited two-year college and up to 90 credits from a regionally accredited four-year college or university.
• All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise designated.

Core Requirements (58-61 cr.)

Informatics Core Courses (39 cr.)

• INFO-C 100 Informatics Foundations
• INFO-C 112 Tools for 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 2
• 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

Informatics Electives (9 cr.)

Select three courses from the following:

• INFO-C 342 Mobile Application Development
• INFO-C 416 Applied Cloud Computing
• INFO-C 421 Applications of Data Mining
• INFO-C 453 Computer and Information Ethics
• INFO-I 303 Organizational Informatics
• INFO-I 310 Multimedia Arts and Technology
• INFO-I 441 Interaction Design Practice
• INFO-I 459 Media and Technology Entpreneurship
• Any 300– or 400–level online INFO or CSCI course

Informatics Track (15-18 cr.)

The Bachelor of Science in Informatics requires students to choose a cognate area, or specific area of focus to better determine what kinds of people or systems that he or she would like to work with.

A track is an integrated program of courses taken outside of the School of Informatics. These courses emphasize the foundations, applications and/or implications of information technology in the chosen area.

List of Informatics Tracks

• Business
• Health Information Management
• Legal Informatics
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Sustainability
• Web Development

Business (18 cr.)

Accounting

Select one course from the following:

• BUS-A 201 Introduction to Financial Accounting
• BUS-A 202 Introduction to Managerial Accounting

Management

• BUS-J 404 Business and Society

Marketing

Select one course from the following:

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

Human Resources

• BUS-Z 440 Personnel–Human Resource Management

Finance

Select one course from the following:

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

Operations

Select one course from the following:

• BUS-P 301 Operations Management
• BUS-P 421 Supply Chain Management

Health Information Management (15-18 cr.)

Medical Terminology

Select one course from the following:

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

Health Information Management

Select one course from the following:

• AHLT-M 192 Introduction to Health Information Management and Reimbursement (2-3 cr.)
• AHLT-M 392 Introduction to Health Information Management and Reimbursement (2-3 cr.)
• HIM-M 101 Introduction to Health Records  
• HIM-M 108 Introduction to Health Information Management

Healthcare Standards

Select one course from the following:

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

Health Information

Select one course from the following:

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

Complete one of the following two learning outcomes:

Option 1. Pathophysiology and Pharmacology

• HIM-M 350 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology for Health Information Management I
• HIM-M 351 Pathophysiology and Pharmacology for Health Information Management II
• HIM-M 410 Computer Systems and Healthcare

Option 2. Electronic Health Records

• HIM-M 410 Computer Systems in Healthcare

Legal Informatics (15 cr.)

The Legal Informatics Cognate consists of the following five courses:

• 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 (ERP) Track (18 cr.)

Accounting

• BUS-A 201 Introduction to Financial Accounting

Information Systems

• BUS-K 321 Management of Information Technology

Functional Areas of Business

Select two courses from the following:

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

ERP Operations

• BUS-K 301 Enterprise Resource Planning

ERP Programming and Configuration

Select one course from the following:

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

Sustainability (15 cr.)

Foundations

• SUST-S 301 Foundations of Sustainability Studies

Science

Select one course from the following:

• 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 Sciences

Select one course from the following:

• 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
  VT: Just Food: Sustainable Food Systems

Practicum

• SUST-S 490 Sustainability Practicum

Elective

• Complete one additional course from either Science or Social Sciences, Cultural, or Economics courses listed above

Web Development (15 cr.)

Core Learning Outcome 1 | Student will be able to design and implement client-side web applications

Select one course from the following (or with the approval of the program director) 
Prerequisite: INFO-C 112, or INFO-I 101, or Instructor consent

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

Core Learning Outcome 2 | Student will be able to implement data-driven server-dide web applications

Select one course from the following (or with the approval of the program director)
Prerequisite Core Learning Outcome 1

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

Core Learning Outcome 3 | Student will be able to apply principles of web design

Select one course from the following (or with the approval of the program director)
Prerequisite Core Learning Outcome 1

•  FINA-P 323 Introduction to Web Design
  P: FINA-P 273
• INMS-N 442 Integrated Web Design 1
• NEWM-N 450 Usability Principles for New Media Interfaces

Core Learning Outcome 4 | Student will demonstrate the ability to design and develop advanced web applications

Select one course from the following (or with the approval of the program director)
Prerequisite Core Learning Outcome 1 and Outcome 2; or INFO-C 413

• INFO-I 425 Web Services in Information Systems
  P: INFO-C 211, INFO-C 313, INFO-C 413, ,or INFO-I 231
• NEWM-N 315 Advanced Multi-Device Web Development
• NEWM-N 413 Advanced Web Application Development
• Other possible courses: Web Security Electives

Free Electives

• Students must complete at least 120 credit hours to graduate. Elective courses are taken to reach the 120 credit hour requirement. Any course not specifically required can be taken as an elective.