Program Overview

The HILS learning sciences curriculum emphasizes the role of learning in health care environments and the tools needed to facilitate systems changes. HILS introduces distinct models of adaptive change, and students apply their skills immediately to existing problems.

Defining characteristics include:

• Nature of health information
• Role of information technology and informatics
• Translation of biomedical research knowledge into clinical practice or consumer advice
• Complex organizational, social, and regulatory environment in which learning in the health sciences takes place

Program Requirements

To be awarded the HILS Ph.D., you must:

• Complete a minimum of 36 credits of coursework, including required classes
• Achieve candidacy by completing the following milestones:
  • Learning Cycle Project
  • Qualifying Exam
  • Literature Review
• Complete a dissertation including:
  • Form a dissertation committee approved by Rackham
  • Draft dissertation proposal and complete a public defense
  • Complete the dissertation paper and defend publically

Each of these requirements is discussed further in the sections that follow.

Course Requirements

A total of 36 credit hours of coursework is required as follows four types of courses including

• research methods courses: LHS 660 Research Methods for Learning Systems (3 credit hours, fall term) and LHS 665 Research Practice Fundamentals for Health (1 credit hour, fall term) are required and additional methods courses should be selected in consultation with your faculty advisor to satisfy cognate, elective and selective course requirements;
• courses in the components of the learning cycle: LHS 610 Exploratory Data Analysis for Health (3 credit hours, winter term), LHS 611 Knowledge Representation & Management in Health (3 credit hours, winter term), LHS 621 Implementation Science in Health 1 (3 credit hours, fall term, first year) and LHS 721 Implementation Science in Health 2 (3 credit hours, fall term, second year) are required;
• courses in health infrastructures: LHS 650 Health Infrastructures Pro Seminar 1 (3 credit hours, fall term), LHS 671 Ethics & Policy Issues for Learning Health Systems (3 credit hours, winter term), and LHS 750 Health Infrastructures Pro Seminar 2 (2 credit hours, winter term, second year) are required;
• cognate course(s): select course(s) from a discipline other than LHS in consultation with faculty advisor (minimum 4 credit hours, Rackham requirement; may also be applied toward HILS elective and/or advanced selective requirements);
• elective courses: select courses that are in a discipline or different from your field of study, but that are suited to your area of scholarship in consultation with faculty advisor (minimum of 2 courses). A list of suggested classes is available from the program manager;
• advanced selective courses: select courses that provide the background necessary for your scholarship and career goals in consultation with your faculty advisor. These courses typically include advanced statistical or advanced methods courses (minimum of 2 courses). A list of suggested classes is available from the program manager;
• responsible conduct of research and scholarship training: This requirement is satisfied with the completion of PIBS 503 Responsible Conduct of Research, the NIH-mandated ethics and responsible conduct in research course (1 credit hour, fall term, first year).

The selection of courses, performed in consultation with your faculty advisor, should support your research interests and help prepare you for your dissertation. The methods and theory requirements ensure that when you achieve candidacy, you have a sufficient base of knowledge in the theories, models, and methods you need to embark on study for your dissertation research project. This includes the ability to evaluate and generate theories and/or models; to critically examine the use of methods and reported results in the existing research literature; to select theories or models well-suited to a particular research problem, while identifying the best methods for validating them; and to successfully implement the chosen methods in an original research project. Most students will need additional preparation in more specialized or advanced theories, models, or methods that are especially appropriate to their research problem.

Other Topics:

Advising and Mentorship

Summer Learning Cycle Project