Duke University School of Medicine • Durham, NC • Hybrid • $971–$1,850/Credit
Duke University offers 2 Clinical Informatics programs:
- Master of Management in Clinical Informatics (MMCi)
- Graduate Certificate
Program Overview
| Program | Est. Tuition | Est. Duration | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMCi | $70.3K (before scholarship) | 1 year (4 terms) | 38 |
| Graduate Certificate | $16.5K | 1 year | 17 (derived) |
Six of the MMCi’s 15 required courses are business courses, so this is a management degree with an informatics core rather than a technical informatics MS. It runs as a single annual cohort that meets on campus one weekend a month, with physicians, clinicians, and IT staff in the same room.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Types | MMCi (master’s), Graduate Certificate |
| Format | Hybrid: one Friday-Saturday on campus monthly, one live Zoom Saturday, about 8 hours asynchronous work |
| Practicum Hours | Not clearly stated |
| Practicum Placement | Approved team project inside the Duke health system |
| RN License Required | No; open to clinical, business, and IT backgrounds |
| Who It’s For | Working clinicians and health IT or business professionals aiming at informatics leadership |
| Distinctive Coursework | Managerial accounting, health care finance, strategy, AI in Healthcare, practicum |
| Certification Pathway | AMIA AHIC (degree plus experience); not ABPM board eligibility |
| Tuition | $70,312 master’s tuition; $16,500 certificate tuition (2026-2027) |
| Accreditation | SACSCOC (institutional); no CAHIIM accreditation cited |
| Start Term | One cohort per year, classes begin in August |
| Electives | None; no exemptions or substitutions permitted |
Master of Management in Clinical Informatics (MMCi)
The estimated tuition for the Master of Management in Clinical Informatics at Duke University is approximately $70,312 (38 credits at about $1,850/credit, derived). The program can generally be completed in about 12 months.
MMCi Curriculum
The curriculum splits into business, clinical informatics, and seminar courses. Students take three courses per 12-week term plus Ethics, across four terms from August to August. Coursework is team-based, in assigned groups of four to five.
- 511CI Principles of Cost and Managerial Accounting
- 525CI Health Care Finance
- 557CI Principles of Strategy
- 554CI Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management
- 512CI Foundations of Data Analysis
- 517CI AI in Healthcare
- 538CI Data, Information and Knowledge Representation
- 539CI Digital Health Informatics Strategy
- 541CI Clinical Informatics Practicum
- 514 Ethics and Equity
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- All 15 courses are required. There are no electives, so students cannot swap business courses for more technical informatics or programming work.
- Duke lists 27 CME credits for physicians on several informatics courses, a practical benefit for MD and DO students.
MMCi Practicum and Capstone
- A practicum (541CI) is required of every student.
- Projects must be approved and are conducted in the Duke system, such as Duke Health Technology Solutions.
- Work is team-based. Past projects include an EHR data needs assessment for the Duke Cancer Institute and a patient transfer prioritization model.
- Practicum hours: Not clearly stated.
The practicum is an organizational project, not supervised clinical hours. Because Duke sources projects inside its own health system, students get real stakeholders and data without hunting for a site. The program does not describe completing the practicum at a student’s own employer.
MMCi Admissions
No clinical license or minimum work experience is required; enrolled students range from new graduates to 30-year veterans.
- Bachelor’s degree from a 4-year accredited program
- Transcripts, essay responses, and two letters of recommendation
- Interview with the program director, by phone or in person
- GRE/GMAT not required for U.S. graduates; Duke reserves the right to request scores
- College-level calculus, statistics, and computer skills recommended
- Rolling admissions with no application fee; applications for the Fall 2027 cohort are open
- International applicants: GRE/GMAT and proof of funding required; TOEFL may be required
You Should Know
- Duke treats the MMCi as a full-time program that qualifies for F-1 status and as a STEM program eligible for the 24-month OPT extension. It does not offer CPT.
Graduate Certificate in Clinical Informatics
The estimated tuition for the Clinical Informatics Certificate at Duke University is approximately $16,500 (17 credits at about $971/credit, derived). The program can generally be completed in about 12 months.
Graduate Certificate Curriculum
The certificate drops the business courses and keeps the informatics core. It consists of five 3-credit courses plus ethics and equity seminars.
- 513 Boot Camp
- 514 Ethics and Equity
- 517CI AI in Healthcare
- 533CI Clinical Informatics Ethics and Equity Seminar
- 537CI Health IT Business Solutions
- 538CI Data, Information and Knowledge Representation
- 540CI Data, Information and Health Care Transformation
- 541CI Clinical Informatics Practicum
More curriculum details are available here.
You Should Know
- Certificate graduates can complete the remaining 21 credits for the MMCi within three years. The 17-credit total is derived from that figure (38 minus 21).
- The certificate can be completed in a remote or hybrid format, unlike the master’s.
Graduate Certificate Practicum and Capstone
- The certificate includes the same 541CI Clinical Informatics Practicum as the master’s.
- Practicum hours and remote-completion rules for the practicum: Not clearly stated.
Remote certificate students should confirm how a Duke-system practicum works for them before enrolling, since the master’s practicum is sited inside Duke.
Graduate Certificate Admissions
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Duke does not publish separate certificate admission requirements from the master’s.
Tuition
The MMCi costs about $1,850 per credit (derived: $70,312 tuition ÷ 38 credits). The certificate costs about $971 per credit (derived: $16,500 ÷ 17 credits).
| 2026-2027 Cost Item | MMCi | Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $70,312 | $16,500 |
| Program fees | $2,500 | $1,200 |
| Transcript fee | $120 | Not stated |
| Total before scholarship | $72,932 | $17,700 |
| MMCi scholarship | ($20,000) | None listed |
| Total after scholarship | $52,932 | $17,700 |
- Scholarships require no separate application.
- Meals are provided on class days.
- Stacking estimate: certificate ($17,700) plus 21 credits at the master’s rate (about $38,857) totals about $56,557 before any scholarship. Duke does not publish a stacked price.
Be aware that:
- ⚠️ Duke’s FAQ cites an all-in cost of about $65,000 and typical scholarships of $12,000 to $15,000. The dated 2026-2027 tuition table shows $72,932 before a $20,000 scholarship. This profile uses the 2026-2027 table because it is newer and itemized.
- The $20,000 figure is shown as a 27% scholarship. Duke does not state whether every admitted student receives that amount.
- Travel and lodging for 12 campus weekends are not included and fall on out-of-area students.
Net master’s cost lands near $53,000 if the listed scholarship applies, plus travel. That is the real figure to budget against, not the $70,312 sticker.
Why Choose This Clinical Informatics Program?
This program fits clinicians and IT professionals who want the finance and strategy toolkit for informatics leadership more than hands-on technical training.
Who it serves. The cohort mixes physicians, nurses, and other clinicians with business and IT staff. Duke lists alumni roles such as CMIO, CIO, and analytics director, and reports graduate salary increases of 20% to over 200% for those changing roles (54% average in 2021, 93% in 2022). These are program-reported figures with no published methodology.
The trade-offs. Twelve on-campus weekends make this impractical for anyone not within reasonable travel of Durham. One start per year and no electives leave little room to adjust. Programming depth is limited to data analysis and AI courses.
The lower-commitment path. The certificate costs about a quarter of master’s tuition, can be done remotely, and its credits apply to the MMCi within three years.
Accreditation
The MMCi and certificate are housed in the Duke University School of Medicine. Duke does not cite CAHIIM accreditation for either program, and no nursing accreditor applies because neither is a nursing degree.
Duke University is institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
For certification, AMIA’s AHIC requires a qualifying degree plus health informatics work experience, with the amount set by degree type; AMIA determines whether the MMCi qualifies. The ANCC informatics nursing credential requires an RN license. The ABPM Clinical Informatics board requires an ACGME fellowship, so the MMCi does not confer physician board eligibility.
Other Clinical Informatics Schools
See all profiled schools on the Clinical Informatics Schools page, or start with the Clinical Informatics degree overview.