In 1999 University College London inaugurated a programme of graduate part-time Health Informatics courses to support the UK National Health Service?s Information for Health strategy. The programme has attracted students from across the UK and abroad, with a diverse range of backgrounds and skills and has proved a challenging and rewarding experience for students and tutors alike. The modular programme aims to provide a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of Health Informatics and addresses important application areas. The guiding principle is that Health Informatics graduates need to understand computers and programming but that, since the majority are not going to become programmers, programming methods should not dominate the curriculum.In the taught phase of the programme students attend college for 3 days a month and complete an assignment each month, based on home study. Students may graduate with a certificate or diploma, or go on to tackle a dissertation leading to an MSc. Research projects have included a patient record system based on speech input, a mathematical model for illustrating to patients the risks associated with smoking, an analysis of Trust staff's preparedness for Information for Health and a patient information leaflet giving advice about drug related information on the Web. As we move towards our fifth intake of students, we are in the process of evaluating our programme and carrying out a follow up study of our graduates? subsequent career pathways
