Introduction
The Indiana University School of Informatics, the first of its kind in the country, was created as a place where innovative multidisciplinary programs could thrive, a program where students can apply the skills of technology to a range of other fields. The School announced a new Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program in Informatics beginning in the fall of 2005 and offered by the Department of Informatics on the Bloomington (IUB) and Indianapolis (IUPUI) campuses. The department currently also offers a Ph.D. Minor in Informatics and Bioinformatics, with more to be offered soon.
The Department of Informatics supports a wide array of research areas in a highly interdisciplinary environment. This blend of research creates a vital and dynamic creative ground for scholarly work and for education. The composition of specialization within the Department is unique and has already influenced new interdisciplinary and exciting research combinations.
While students are expected to concentrate in particular areas, the program encourages them to explore the broader significance of their work as well as ways that their expertise can be leveraged to solve problems outside of their own domains. Each student can choose a single track, or create a combined track, from the list of research specializations below---the existing and potential combinations of these domains are too numerous to list but available to pursue. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the program, students are expected to take courses in at least three of the available research tracks.
More information on the workings of the program is available in our current Ph.D. in Informatics Handbook. Check the instructions for admission to our graduate programs, or contact us for any additional information.
Bioinformatics
Technology has become a driving force in the sciences. The Life Sciences, in particular, are undergoing a fundamental transition in how it conducts its business-from molecular biology to medicine. This change is catalyzed by technology: instrumentation that provides both kinds of data (e.g. genomes), and orders of magnitude more data (e.g. expression arrays) than has previously been available to scientists; unprecedented connectivity through the Internet; meta-data as data; development, improvement, and implementation of novel algorithms. As such, Bioinformatics has become one of truly first citizens of the new breed of interdisciplinary areas that touch and engage almost all existing scientific disciplines. More »»
Cheminformatics
Cheminformatics (also know as chemoinformatics) is the of the branch of informatics dealing with all aspects of the representation and use of chemical structures and related information on computers. Its techniques are widely used in pharmaceutical and life sciences research, and it is closely linked with bioinformatics. Our group is a leading center in the U.S. for cheminformatics education and research, and is the only center offering formal qualifications in cheminformatics. More »»
Complex Systems
A complex system is any system featuring a large number of interacting components, whose aggregate activity is characterized by complex nonlinear feedback mechanisms. Examples of such systems abound in nature, society, and technology. It is now increasingly recognized that the functioning and behavior of complex systems can only be understood through mathematical and computational models. Students are invited to apply to the Complex Systems track of the Ph.D. in Informatics. This program, with its unique interdisciplinary values, offers an opportunity to explore the connections among theoretical, technological, and social implications of complex systems in a diverse and multidisciplinary research-oriented curriculum. More »»
Data Discovery
Content Needed. More »»
Human Computer Interaction Design
Human-Computer Interaction Design (HCID) is the branch of informatics that studies and supports the design, development, and implementation of humanly usable and socially acceptable information technologies.The goal of the field is to shape new media and tools that will support human use, augment human learning, enhance communication and lead to more acceptable technological developments at the individual and the social levels. More »»
Logic and Mathematical Foundations of Informatics
Content Needed. More »»
Music Informatics
Music Informatics (MI) is a new program in the School of Informatics, residing within the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) program. It studies music using tools from a wide range of disciplines, including computer science, cognitive science, mathematics, and library science. The field is propelled by the many new areas of application whose study requires only the willingness to view music as data, whether in audio, graphical, performance, or symbolic form. More »»
Security Informatics
Students in the doctoral program become well- versed in the recognition and understanding of seminal work - research, innovation and literature - that constitutes the core of security engineering. Students will acquire the technical skills to make effective use of current and emerging security technologies. Students will also develop an appreciation for the insights of economics and organizational informatics and understand the socioeconomic ramifications of security and privacy-enhancing technologies. The research will cultivate the students' understanding of security in practice and how it functions in organizations, as well as in systems and network administration. More »»
Social Informatics
Content Needed. More »»
