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The focus of this master’s degree programme lies at the interface between pure scientific research and its applications in healthcare practice, with a strong emphasis upon interaction between insight, innovation and development on the one hand and practical applications on the other. The programme is taught entirely in English.

Course overview

Medical informatics lasts a total of two years (120 European Credits). It consists of courses of which the majority have a duration of 4 weeks and a study load of 6 EC. The common part of the programme consists of 10 courses and 2 multidisciplinary internships. The elective tracks comprise 3 of 4 courses, after which you carry out your scientific research project.

The curriculum is summarised below:

  • Study programme first year

    The first semester of the Master’s programme focuses on medical data analysis (3 courses) and academic skills (in parallel with the other courses). The semester is concluded by a multidisciplinary internship. The second semester focuses on management of healthcare organizations (3 courses) and professional skills (in parallel with the other courses). This semester too is concluded by a multidisciplinary internship.

  • Study programme second year

    Having obtained a strong basis during the first year of the Master's in Medical informatics, the second year allows you to tailor the programme to your own personal preferences and skills. We offer two elective tracks: AI for Health and Sustainable eHealth Solutions. As an alternative to these elective tracks, it is also possible to follow 18 EC worth of courses at other master programmes. Note that for students who started the master programme in February it is not possible to follow an elective track and still finish the master in two years; instead, you will have to follow courses at other master programmes (or accept a delay of 6 months).

  • Elective tracks second year

    Elective track AI for Health

    AI for Health builds on the medical data analysis courses in year 1. We study applications in healthcare of AI techniques, such as deep learning, ontologies, reasoning, natural language processing, image processing and prediction models. This track is a collaboration with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) master's programme of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

    Elective track Sustainable eHealth Solutions

    In this track we investigate the impact of eHealth solutions on their users (can patients and doctors use them?), the organizations (do departments benefit from them?) and climate (do they lead to lower emissions?). We use our eHealth lab to measure the effect of human factors on the usability of ehealth applications. 

    Electives at other master programmes

    Choose from a wide range of elective courses such as Business Process Management, Bioinformatics, Internet Programming, Economics and Financing of Health Care Systems, The Social Web, Pandemic, Ethics and Politics of Surveillance and Privacy, Computational Biology. 

    Courses can be chosen at other UvA master programmmes or at master programmes of other universities.

  • Internships

    Start your career smoothly by doing an internship of 5 EC in the first year, followed by an internship of around 42 EC in the second year. 

    This especially gives international students a unique opportunity to experience the Dutch Health ICT labor market. Students can choose from a range of internship positions offered by our contacts with Health ICT research institutes, businesses and other international universities such as those in the International Partnership of Health Informatics Education. The internship will be guided by an academic supervisor and must be finished with a scientific report.

    You may choose to participate in an exchange semester to fulfill your master thesis work facilitated by another (international) university. Amsterdam UMC, location AMC,  took the lead in establishing an international network of 10 partner universities, each offering unique opportunities for such an exchange semester. 

    These partner universities are:
    USA:  University of Minnesota, University of Utah, University of Washington
    Canada: University of Victoria
    Asia: University of Taiwan
    Europe: University of Heidelberg/Heilbronn, University of Leipzig, University of Manchester, University of Tyrol, University of Braunschweig, University of Linkoping

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Current Issues in Medical Informatics and AI
    Period 1
    Period 2
    5.5
  • Fundamentals of data science in medicine
    Period 1
    Period 2
    6
  • Advanced data analysis in medicine
    Period 2
    Period 3
    5.5
  • Data driven decision making and evaluation in medicine
    Period 2
    Period 3
    5.5
  • Scientific analysis and reporting
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    2.5
  • Biomedical information systems engineering
    Period 4
    Period 5
    5.5
  • Organizational settings and innovations for sustainable healthcare
    Period 4
    Period 5
    5.5
  • Healthcare Logistics
    Period 5
    Period 6
    6
  • Healthcare management
    Period 5
    Period 6
    5.5
  • Management communications
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    2.5
  • Restricted-choice electives
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    10
COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Scientific Research Project
    Period 3
    Period 4
    Period 5
    Period 6
    42
  • Elective track
    Period 1
    Period 2
    Period 3
    18
Compulsory course
Elective

For more detailed information regarding the curriculum and courses check the UvA Course Catalogue:

Degree

After successful completion of this programme, you will receive a legally and internationally accredited Master’s degree in Medical informatics and the title Master of Science (MSc). 

Frequently Asked Questions
  • What language is the programme taught in?

    All courses are taught in English and also the study material is in English. Some teachers only speak English, but others also speak Dutch. During internships, you can speak Dutch to some supervisors if you both wish to. However, keep in mind that the product of your internship (the research paper and presentation) will be in English.

  • What does a typical week look like?

    Most weeks, the lectures are scheduled on Mondays and Fridays, taking up 12 hours a week on average. The additional time is required for class preparation, assignments and computer practicals. During the lectures on Monday, you will mostly get an introduction of the topic and an explanation of the assignment of that week. The deadlines and/or presentations of the assignments are mainly scheduled on Fridays.

  • With which bachelor can I apply for the master Medical informatics?

    Please check the list of recommended bachelor's under Entry requirements. If your bachelor (or an equivalent programme) is not in the list, please fill in our application form. To decide on your admission we need the details of your programme.

  • What are my job opportunities when I finish the Medical informatics Master's programme?

    The programme provides the basis for a career at the interface of healthcare and ICT. As a graduates, you can be found working as a:

    • Clinical Informatician
    • IM Resources/Project Manager
    • Internal Health IT Consultant
    • System/Applications Expert
    • Process Analyst
    • Evaluator
    • HI Informatics Researcher
    • System/Information Designer/Architect
    • Research Clinician Informatician
    • Evaluation Scientist
  • Do I need to have prior experience with programming to be able to start this master?

    No, that is not necessary. Some courses will use the programming languages R and Python. Whether you enter the master on the basis of the premaster or the bachelor Medische informatiekunde, you will acquire sufficient programming knowledge there to be able to start this master.

  • What can I expect from the premaster programme?

    The premaster has a maximum of 30 ECTS (+- 6 months of full time study), but this is usually less depending on your background. It is mostly self-study (e-learnings and literature), but you can easily get in touch with the lecturers if you wish to. Starting September 2024, there will be also a small number of tutorials at the Amsterdam UMC, location AMC.