MS in Biostatistics or Biomedical/Health Informatics?

[elsewhere123]

Hey guys,

I am a recent college grad with a major in Neuroscience and I am hoping to apply for a master's in either biostatistics or biomedical informatics.

A little bit about me:

1) I've held a bunch of different research positions since high school, and from my experience, academic research is a lonely and often very frustrating land. I'm a fairly outgoing person and I love collaborative projects, which is why I also haven't ruled out getting an MBA at some point down the line. But I like the idea of being the scientist/programmer that works with the MBA types, rather than the MBA type myself, because I am nerdy and generally just like the science of it a lot more.

2) My background is mostly in history/neuroscience, but I have taken some stats (standard probability and theoretical inference sequence) and know R. I am less comfortable with non-R computer programming, but am able and willing to learn. I am currently working in a biomedical informatics lab at Harvard, and I LOVED the stats courses that I took in undergrad!

3) I generally like practical applications more than theory and abstraction. My worst nightmare would be to get stuck in a highly theoretical program filled with uninterested professors who would rather focus on their own research than mentor grad students (especially masters), and to be taking a heavy theoretical course load without a sense of the "why" behind it all. As in, how will I be able to use this course to build a better product for an exciting new company, or to help solve a global health challenge?

4) I like to see direct results. After graduation my ideal job would be at a startup like those in the Rock Health fund, or Flatiron Health or another upcoming digital health company. I think this stuff is awesome.

My concern is that I don't have enough CS background to excel in informatics, but that biostatistics MS grads wind up either in academia or running clinical trials for a giant pharma company, which doesn't exactly get me going in the morning.

Any thoughts on what (if any) programs might be a good fit?

Programs I am considering:

Columbia - MS in Biostatistics, MA in Biomedical Informatics

Duke - MS in Biostatistics

Harvard - MS in Biostatistics, MS in Biomedical Informatics

Johns Hopkins - MS in Biostatistics, MS in Health Sciences Informatics

Mt Sinai Icahn School of Medicine - MS in Biomedical Informatics

UC Berkeley - MA in Biostatistics

UCLA - MS in Biostatistics

U. Michigan - MS in Health Informatics

U. Penn - MS in Biostatistics

U. Washington - MS in Biostatistics

Vanderbilt - MS in Biomedical Informatics

Weill Cornell - MS in Health Informatics

Yale - "MS in Public Health in the Biostatistics Track" (yes - that is what they call it)

These programs are all extremely different, and after tons of research and even some Open House visits I am still not sure which would be a good fit!

Would appreciate any advice, or general comments from anyone who has experience with the programs listed above. Thank you so much!

Edited October 13, 2015 by elsewhere123

[rack_attack124]

So did you apply already? Where did you end up? I am thinking of applying to a health informatics program at UNC. I don't want to go 80 grand in debt at a private university. UNC will only cost 16,000 in tuition and rents are probably more like $500-$700 a month.