Undergraduate Minor in Informatics

Why Study Informatics

INFORMATICS studies the design, application, use and impact of information technology. A Minor in Informatics can diversify your educational portfolio and complement your major. The informatics minor signals that you have concrete expertise in computing and information technology and that you understand their human implications.

The study of INFORMATICS will teach you to become a better creator and user of computing technology and to think critically about technology’s role in society. Perhaps no other field will have a greater influence on humanity in this century

What can a student do with a minor in Informatics?

IT jobs will grow 13% between 2016 and 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Strong IT skills give students in any major an edge in the job market. Specifically, the minor will prepare them to study and develop new uses for computer systems in their future endeavors. Possible career fields include:BioinformaticsMedical/Health InformaticsHuman-computer interactionBusiness analysisGame DesignIT/Management ConsultingWeb Design/DevelopmentNetwork administrationDigital ArtSoftware development

Who should Minor in Informatics?

ANY STUDENT  who is interested in improving their IT skills, wants to learn more about how IT is used in disciplinary areas outside of computer science, or simply enjoys technology. Informatics requires an understanding of the same areas studied by computer scientists, but it is more focused on applications of technology. It is less technical and theoretical than computer science, and it also considers social and psychological aspects of IT.

Independent Studies

Students who have declared the Informatics Minor may complete an independent study with an Informatics affiliate faculty member by submitting the form below.

Two course options are available—INFO 199 and INFO 399 — each offered for 1–4 credit hours.

Before submitting the form, students should first meet with the faculty member who will supervise the research project to determine which course is appropriate and how many credits align with the proposed work.

Independent studies taken as INFO 399 count as upper-level electives for the Informatics Minor.

BSIS majors participating in the iSchool Research Match: please complete the Information Sciences Undergraduate Study Form available through iSchool Connect instead.

Core Informatics courses

The three required core courses provide a general and solid foundation in CS and IT. All three are introductory in nature and meet the university’s General Education requirements. These courses may be taken in any order or simultaneously.

• INFO 202 – Social Aspects of Information Technologies – Explores how information technologies transform society and affect a range of social, political and economic issues from the individual to societal levels.
• INFO 102 – Little Bits to Big Ideas – SPRING ONLY – Broad introduction to the nature, capabilities, and limitations of computing. Topics range from the way data is represented and stored, to the way today’s computers work, to the general ideas of algorithms and computational efficiency, to the future of computing.
• CS 105 – Introduction to Computing- Non-Tech – Computing as an essential tool of academic and professional activities. Functions and interrelationships of computer system components: hardware, systems and applications software, and networks. Widely used application packages such as spreadsheets and databases. Concepts and practice of programming for the solution of simple problems in different application areas. Intended for non-science and non-engineering majors. (Can substitute STAT 107 or CS 101, CS 124, CS 125, or the ECE 120 & 220 sequence)

Differing requirements

Some programs have slightly different requirements…

• CS and ECE majors (including CS + majors), and CS minors need to take INFO 202 and then four additional upper-level courses instead of the usual three. These upper-level courses cannot be CS courses, and they typically have a non-technical focus. Upper-level courses must be approved by the Informatics Advisor before counting toward the Minor.
• Information System majors (in Gies College of Business) may not use BADM courses as their three upper-level electives. This only applies to Information System majors, and not the other majors in Gies.
• Students in one of the majors in the School of Art & Design in FAA may not use ARTD or ARTS courses as their three upper-level electives.
• The School of Information Sciences BSIS majors can NOT declare the Informatics minor due to the extent of overlap.

Upper-level electives

To qualify as one of the three upper-level courses satisfying the informatics minor, a course must be at the 300-level or above, and satisfy one of the following three descriptions. (Courses that satisfy some aspects may be approved on an ad hoc basis.)

• Society. Courses that focus on the history, use, and impact of computers, computation, communication, or information technology. That is, on how the adaptation or availability of computer and communication technologies have and are changing the human condition.
• Data. Courses that involve learning computer modeling tools, building models, using visualization software, or otherwise using computers to help collect and/or analyze data in some way that goes beyond simple statistical computations and graphing.
• Expression. Courses that use information and computer technologies to collect and/or modify and/or create media artifacts as part of an artistic, creative, and/or communicative process. This must go beyond straightforward data rendering.