Indiana University to offer degree in health data science

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana University is poised to offer what it says is the country's first bachelor of science degree in health data science.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2eOhb4L ) the university's Fairbanks School of Public Health will offer the degree pending approval of the Indiana Commission on Higher Education in December. Students would start working on course requirements in fall 2017 and the first graduates could finish by spring of 2019.

The school's dean, Paul Halverson, says the degree will be a combination of biostatistics, computer science and informatics. He says the degree is in "in substantial demand and is directly responsive to employers, particularly in Indiana." The goal is to teach students how to glean information from large data sets.

The public health school launched on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus in 2012.

___

Information from: Indianapolis Business Journal, http://www.ibj.com