Certificate in Biomedical Data Science

Program Description:

The  Certificate in Biomedical Data Science (CBDS) program is designed to provide specialized education  where students will gain experience to speed the development of Biomedical Data Science strategies, to refine education programs for future leaders in the field of Biomedical Data Science (BDS), and to translate BDS research findings into public health messages. As our students go through our program and they will begin directly implementing the acquired knowledge on data science into existing research being performed at UT Health San Antonio.

This 16 semester-credit-hour (SCH) program within the UT Health San Antonio Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) offers formal coursework in topics relevant to Biomedical Data Science. The educational objectives for the CBDS consist of the students’ fundamental understanding and abilities to utilize standard Data Science programming and platforms such as R, Python and SQL and the software tools used to develop user friendly and powerful data science applications.  Students will also become proficient in cross-cutting best practices for developing informative visualizations, in application of supervised and unsupervised techniques for machine learning, and in the ability to assess and optimizes artificial intelligence solutions for real-world performance.

The CBDS program is structured to accommodate  working healthcare professionals who desire additional training in the evolving field of Biomedical Data Science.

Program Curriculum:

Our curriculum consists of 13 semester credit hours of required coursework and 3 semester credit hours of elective coursework. The required coursework will be composed of 7 courses. These courses will be:

Students Elective coursework (3 SCH) will enable students to focus in either Clinical applications or in Bioinformatic applications.   

Marketable Skills our Certificate Offers:

Upon completion of the CBDS Degree in Data Science, students will be able to:

• Manage Data Science teams
• Collaboration effectively within healthcare organizations
• Lead data-driven approaches to healthcare
• Assess and optimizes machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions for real-world performance
• Explain the social and ethical responsibilities of data scientists
• Utilize programming in R & Python to solve analytical problems in medical practice
• Develop user friendly and powerful data science applications
• Utilize cross-cutting best practices for developing informative visualizations.
• Apply supervised and unsupervised techniques for machine learning
• Utilize random forests, support vector machines, boosting, deep learning, K-means clustering and mixture models
• Apply data scientific algorithms to overcome healthcare challenges

Program Eligibility and Application Requirements:
Individuals eligible to apply to the CBDS program include all UT Health San Antonio students, postdoctoral trainees, clinical residents and fellows, and faculty/staff from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Health Professions, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) as well as from individuals and  organizations outside UT Health San Antonio. All students should have a sufficient educational background in the quantitative computational or biomedical sciences prior to admission to the program. This program may be helpful for applicants seeking post-doctoral and career grants (K-awards) as part of a data analytics training program.

It is expected that most students will have a health professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS/DMD, DVM, or BS in nursing and/or allied health) or a BS/BA, MS, or PhD degree with emphasis in statistics, data science or a health-related discipline.  The following general requirements will be applied:

• A medical, dental, masters and/or baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution in the United States or an U.S. equivalent degree and training at an international institution. All transcripts from international institutions (including GPA) must be evaluated and submitted by an approved NACES member foreign credentialing evaluation agency. The CBDS preferred agencies are: The Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE) or the World Education Services, Inc. (WES).
• A Grade Point Average (GPA) no lower than a B (3.00 in a 4.00 system) in the last 60 hours of coursework for a BS/BA degree or a GPA of at least 3.0 for applicants with a MS degree. 
• A minimum score of 84 on the internet version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or 6.5 on the academic version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for our international applicants. 

Applicant Documentation Requirements:

1. Completed and submitted GSBS online application.  The GSBS online application can be found on the GSBS homepage at http://www.uthscsa.edu/academics/biomedical-sciences/what-know-you-apply.
2. Official transcripts from ALL colleges and universities attended.
3. Course by Course Translation of International transcripts to include GPA and U.S. degree equivalency by NACES member foreign credentialing evaluation agency (Preferred agencies: ECE or WES).
4. Official TOEFL or IELTS (academic version) scores taken within the past two (2) years for International applicants.
5. Three (3) Letters of Recommendation attesting to the applicant's readiness for graduate level studies in biomedical data science.  These letters should be uploaded to the Recommendation Form by the individual recommenders who will receive an email from the online application system (EMBARK) with a link to the Recommendation Form.
   1. Students from a GSBS graduate program who have a Supervising Professor are required to submit one (1) of the three (3) letters from their Supervising Professor with a statement indicating the availability and approval of release time for the completion of the CBDS educational activities.
   2. Residents or fellows in an approved UT Health San Antonio residency or fellowship program are required to submit one (1) of the three (3) letters from the departmental chair with a statement indicating the availability and approval of release time for the completion of the CBDS educational activities.
   3. UT Health San Antonio faculty and staff are required to submit one of the three (3) letters from their authorized supervisor with a statement indicating the availability and approval of release time for the completion of the CBDS educational activities.
6. A Statement of Purpose (a.k.a. Personal Statement) (1-2 pages) that includes a brief description of the applicant’s educational background. The applicant should express their long-term research/ career goals, and clearly state how the CBDS program will fit in with and enhance their career objectives. The Statement of Purpose should be submitted with the online application to the GSBS.
7. A current curriculum vitae.  This should be submitted with the on-line application to the GSBS. 
8. Copy of U.S. Medical License/Certificate for licensed health care professionals.

Official test scores, transcripts, and foreign transcript translations,

mentioned above, MUST also be sent to:

Registrar’s Office-Graduate Admissions MSC 7702

UT Health San Antonio

7703 Floyd Curl Drive

San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900

Application to the CBDS Program:
Applications and all other required application materials will be processed through the online application system for the UT Health San Antonio Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.  Applications are accepted year-round, but applications must be submitted within the GSBS deadlines for submission. 

APPLY HERE NOW

Application Deadline: April 1st