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Informatics Focus Areas

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Roshni Srikanth: Roshni Srikanth, Informatics: "What I like most about informatics is how widely applicable it is, and how much I see it in every situation I am in." Read more.

Informatics courses inform a rich set of focus areas, which are lenses that frame different considerations of information in the curriculum. These are not credentials or degrees; rather, they are labels that highlight academic fields and communities of practice in which our school and faculty have expertise. Most Informatics courses are labeled as drawing on one or more of the following focus areas:

Use these focus areas to help discover new interests; to find core and elective courses that aligned with your interests; to connect with students with similar interests; to understand the different kinds of expertise in the school; and to connect to the many intersecting careers associated with each.

Data Science

Data Science is an emerging interdisciplinary field that works to extract knowledge or insight from data. It combines fields such as information science, computer science, statistics, design, and social science.

Our faculty teach many courses on data science, including:

There are also numerous data science courses taught across campus, all of which complement the courses above. You can also pursue research and capstone opportunities in data science with our many faculty experts. These courses are also good preparation for the UW Master's in Data Science and for the many kinds of entry-level careers in data science. See our careers page for more details.

Students who complete four electives in the Data Science focus area (INFO 370, INFO 371, INFO 430, INFO 474, or other approved data science elective) may declare a degree option in Data Science to have that phrase added to their transcript. Work with Student Services to declare this before graduation.

Health & Well-Being

Information is a critical part of health and wellness. This includes using information to advance health sciences in fields like biology, medicine, health, and bioinformatics, but also using information in health care organizations to ensure high-quality care. And we all use information to care for our own health and wellness.

Informatics has partnered with the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education (BIME) in UW Medicine to offer a series of courses about these topics:

The courses above, along with the many capstone and research opportunities for working in health and wellness, are great preparation for a Master's in Biomedical Informatics and careers in biomedical and health informatics. See our careers page for more details.

In partnership with the School of Medicine, students who complete four electives in the Health and Well-Being focus area (BIME 300, BIME 435, INFO 468, and INFO 478) may declare a degree option in Biomedical and Health Informatics to have that phrase added to their transcript.Work with Student Services to declare this before graduation.

Human-Computer Interaction

The academic field of human-computer interaction (HCI) strives to make information and computing useful, usable, and accessible to all. Courses explore the design, construction, and evaluation of interactive technologies for use by individuals, groups and organizations, and the social implications of these systems. This work encompasses user interfaces, accessibility concerns, new design techniques, and methods for interactive systems and collaboration. Coursework also examines the values implicit in the design and development of technology.

iSchool courses include:

Research and capstone projects are also a great place to explore this focus area. These courses are strong preparation for a Master's in Human-Centered Design & Engineering, Master's in Human-Computer Interaction + Design, or Master of Design. They also prepare you for entry-level positions in interaction design, product design, product management, user experience design, and user experience research. See our careers page for more details.

Information Architecture 

Information Architecture (IA) is a crucial component in the development of successful websites, software, intranets, and online communities. The field analyzes information and its presentation using logic, organization, and domain knowledge to help people find information through searching, browsing, and recommendations. Courses in this focus area develop skills for organizing and labeling information for improved navigation and search. You will build frameworks to effectively collect, store, and deliver information. You will also learn to design the databases and content stores that drive complex and interactive websites, including the navigation, content layout, personalization, and transactional features of the site.

Courses include:

Research and Capstone projects are also great ways to explore this focus area. These courses are great preparation for careers in information architecture, interaction design, and user experience design. See our careers page for more details.

Information Assurance and Cybersecurity

The field of Information Assurance and Cybersecurity involves creating and managing safe and secure information systems. It is crucial for organizations public and private, large and small. Courses in this focus area teach how to create, deploy, use, and manage systems that preserve individual and organizational privacy and security.

Courses include:

You can also take courses on computer security in CSE at the UW Seattle campus, in CSS at the UW Bothell campus, and in T INFO at the UW Tacoma campus. Research and Capstone projects are also a great place to explore this focus area. These courses are a strong preparation for entry level careers in information assurance and cybersecurity. See our careers page for more details.

Information Management

Information management is the practice of organizing, analyzing, and managing information to identify and address information problems, transform large datasets into useful insights, and lead information projects, especially in organizations.

Courses include:

Research and capstone projects are also a great place to explore this focus area. These courses are strong preparation for our Master's in Information Management and for careers as project managers and information leadership positions. See our careers page for more details.

Information and Society

Many disciplines examine the interaction between information, technology and society, including philosophy, sociology, anthropology, communication, economics, history, gender studies, race and ethnic studies, and of course, information science. Our faculty span these fields and more, and teach many courses that examine ethics, morality, policy, gender, race, justice and politics from an information perspective.

Courses include:

These courses are strong preparation for graduate studies in information science, as well as numerous careers that intersect with policy and design, including those in data privacy, data management, and government. See our careers page for more details.

Software Development

Building software for accessing, storing and creating information technology is a central part of our modern world. Whereas computer science largely focuses on algorithms, data structures and programming languages broadly, our courses specifically focus on the development of software-based information technologies, including core architectures for client-side and server-side development on the internet, database design, data visualization, and information security.

Courses include:

These courses are strong preparation for entry-level software engineering and application development positions as well as graduate degrees in computer science. See our careers page for more details.

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