PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence

Students join a four-year, fully funded PhD program embedded in a leading academic medical center, focused on designing, building and evaluating AI for real-world healthcare. Through close mentorship, clinical exposure, self-curated learning and research rotations, they gain rigorous AI training and hands-on experience working with clinicians and health data to improve patient care and health systems.

Cedars-Sinai is a leading academic medical center with strong programs in patient care, biomedical research and data-driven innovation. As a student, you train inside the health system you are designing AI for, working directly with clinicians, data and real workflows. This tight integration creates unique opportunities to build, test and refine AI that can meaningfully improve patient care.

Traditional Computer Science PhDs emphasize methods and theory, and Biomedical Informatics PhDs focus on information systems and data standards, often with limited deep AI training or clinical immersion. This program combines rigorous AI methods with structured clinical exposure and co-mentoring by AI scientists and clinicians, grounding your research in real patient care and health system challenges.

Yes. The PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence is an accredited doctoral program, and the degree is granted by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University.

The program uses a co-mentoring, apprenticeship model. Each student has a primary AI mentor and a clinical co-mentor who jointly guide their training. This team provides integrated mentorship on technical methods, clinical context, research design and career development, with regular meetings and feedback from early rotations through dissertation completion.

A PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence prepares you for advanced, leadership-level careers. Graduates are trained to design original research, lead teams and drive strategy, not just implement existing tools. Common paths include academic and research roles (faculty or research scientists), older person industry positions (principal ML scientist, AI lead, director-level data science roles), clinical and translational AI leadership in health systems, and advanced positions in biotech, pharma, public health and policy. The program emphasizes developing, rigorously evaluating and responsibly deploying AI solutions that improve healthcare delivery and population health at scale.

The PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence is designed as a four-year, full-time program. Students receive full funding and structured mentoring to support timely progress from foundational coursework and clinical and research rotations through dissertation research and preparation for their next career step.

Yes. The PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence program provides full tuition coverage, a competitive 12-month stipend (currently $52,000 per year for four years), and medical, dental and vision insurance. Students are considered full-time employees but focus on their training and dissertation work.

We welcome highly motivated applicants with a bachelor's degree in a quantitative or computational field, such as bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, engineering or mathematics, and a demonstrated interest in health research. Applicants typically apply in the fall for admission the following academic year. View all requirements.

This program is ideal for students who enjoy rigorous quantitative work and are motivated by real clinical problems and data. Successful applicants are curious, collaborative, comfortable coding and committed to building AI that is innovative, deployable, ethical and effective in healthcare settings.

No prior clinical degree is required. Many students come from computational or quantitative fields and learn the clinical context through structured immersion experiences and collaboration with clinicians. An interest in health and a willingness to engage deeply with clinical questions are more important than prior clinical training.

Detailed information about coursework, SCALE (Self-Curated Applied Learning Experiences), clinical immersion and research milestones is available on the Curriculum page of the PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence website.

Application instructions, deadlines and required materials are listed on the Application page for the PhD in Health Artificial Intelligence. Prospective students submit materials online, including transcripts, letters of recommendation, a CV and a statement of purpose outlining their preparation and interests in health AI.