Department of Informatics • Hays, KS • Online • $275.65/Credit
Fort Hays State University offers 1 Health Informatics program:
- BA or BS in Information Networking and Telecommunications (Health Informatics)
Program Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA/BS in Information Networking and Telecommunications: Health Informatics | $33.1K online (all 120 credits); $25.9K campus, Kansas resident | 4 years (8 semesters) | 120 |
Despite the name, this is a network-infrastructure degree aimed at health care settings. Nine credits go to a three-course internetworking sequence and three more to network security, while health content comes from two nursing-school courses, so it suits students headed for hospital IT rather than health information management.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | BA or BS in Information Networking and Telecommunications, Health Informatics concentration |
| Format | Online or on campus in Hays |
| Practicum Hours | None required; internship is an optional elective |
| RN License Required | Not stated for the major |
| Who It’s For | Students targeting health care IT, networking, and security roles |
| Distinctive Coursework | Three-course internetworking sequence, database programming, network security, two nursing informatics and ethics courses |
| Certification Pathway | No RHIA eligibility; fits AMIA AHIC Track 3 with experience |
| Tuition | $275.65 per credit online, no added fees (2026-27) |
| Accreditation | No CAHIIM accreditation claimed; HLC institutional |
BA/BS in Information Networking and Telecommunications: Health Informatics
The estimated tuition for the BA or BS in Information Networking and Telecommunications (Health Informatics) at Fort Hays State University is approximately $33,078 online (120 credits at $275.65/credit).
The program can generally be completed in about four years, or less with transfer credit.
Bachelor’s Curriculum
The 18-credit informatics core is shared with the department’s other concentrations. The concentration adds 21 required credits, mostly networking, and 15 credits of electives chosen from a list heavy on systems administration, security, and web development.
- INF 291, 292, and 393 Internetworking I, II, and III (9)
- INF 652 Database Design and Programming (3)
- INF 685 Fundamentals of Network Security (3)
- NURS 440 Informatics for the RN (3)
- NURS 442 Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare (3)
- INF 300 Foundations of Informatics (3) and INF 405 Research Methods in Informatics (3)
- INF 610 Public Policy, Law, Ethics in Telecommunications (3)
- INF 490 Capstone Seminar in Informatics (3)
- Five electives (15), e.g. INF 304 Management Information Systems, INF 360 Programming with Python, INF 686 Network Security Firewalls
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- No elective on the list is health-specific. Students wanting more health data or analytics content must find it outside the concentration.
- Whether NURS 440, titled “Informatics for the RN,” has nursing-program prerequisites for non-nurses is not clearly stated.
- The BA requires 10 credits of a non-English language; the BS replaces them with electives.
- The program page’s BS breakdown (34 general education, 54 major, 26 electives) sums to 114, not 120. Using the catalog’s major hours, BS students have about 32 open elective credits.
Bachelor’s Practicum and Capstone
- INF 490 Capstone Seminar in Informatics (3) is required.
- INF 479 Internship in Informatics is an optional elective, not a requirement.
Without a required internship, students who want hospital IT jobs should take INF 479 or find part-time work in a health system before graduating. Entry-level network and help-desk roles in health care often value that experience as much as the degree.
Bachelor’s Admissions
Admission follows standard FHSU undergraduate rules, with no separate application to the major listed.
- MATH 110 College Algebra is required for the major as of Fall 2025.
- Graduation requires a 2.0 GPA, 45 upper-division credits, and at least 30 credits earned at FHSU.
- RN license or health care experience: not listed as required.
Tuition
FHSU Online charges $275.65 per undergraduate credit for 2026-27, with no separate online, technology, or campus fees listed.
| Rate (2026-27) | Per Credit | 120 Credits | 60 Credits (typical transfer) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FHSU Online | $275.65 | $33,078 | $16,539 |
| Campus, Kansas resident or regional | $215.84 | $25,901 | $12,950 |
| Campus, nonresident | $651.23 | $78,148 | $39,074 |
- Campus rates combine tuition ($172.86 resident, $608.25 nonresident) with $41.16 in campus fees and a $1.82 infrastructure fee per credit.
- Rates from the FY27 comprehensive tuition and fee schedule.
Be aware that:
- The online rate is the same for every state, so out-of-state students pay far less online than on campus.
- The fee schedule does not label the online rate as all-inclusive; it simply lists no online fees.
- Books and any networking lab materials are not included.
A transfer student finishing the last 60 credits online pays about $16,500 in tuition, which keeps total cost low for a four-year degree.
Why Choose This Health Informatics Program?
The right fit for students who want to build and secure the networks hospitals run on.
Career-entry fit. The internetworking sequence and security coursework lead toward network technician, systems administrator, and health IT support roles. The nursing courses add enough clinical and legal context to work alongside care teams.
What it is not. It is not a health information management degree. Graduates cannot sit for the RHIA exam, and the curriculum covers little coding, records management, or health data analytics. Students aiming for those roles should look at a CAHIIM-accredited HIM program instead.
Flexibility. Fully online delivery at a single national rate makes it a practical degree-completion option for working adults with transfer credit.
Accreditation
The program’s pages make no claim of CAHIIM accreditation, and none is assumed here. As an informatics and networking degree, it falls outside AHIMA’s RHIA eligibility, which requires a CAHIIM-accredited HIM program.
Fort Hays State University is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
A bachelor’s in health informatics or a related field fits Track 3 of the AMIA Health Informatics Certification, which also requires 8 years of informatics work in the past 10 at 50% or more of work time.
Other Health Informatics Schools
See all Kansas health informatics programs, browse the health informatics school directory, or read the health informatics degree guide.