The School of Information's master's curriculum offers any number of options for students to craft a concentration or specialization once they have completed their required courses. The following examples offer suggestions for how students might configure their program of study specialization.
Certificates
Two suggested certificate options for students wanting to document specialized coursework:
- Endorsement of Specialization
Allows student-tailored specialization within master's required (40) semester credit hours - Certificate of Advanced Study
Requires additional (12) semester credit hours (minimum) beyond the master's degree
Coursework Suggestions
- Academic Librarianship
- Archives and Records Enterprise
- Digital Libraries
- Global Media and Research Analysis
- Information Architecture & Design
- Legal Information Services
- Preservation Studies
Academic Librarianship
A concentration to prepare students for a career as an information specialist in academic environments (post-12th grade) whether in community and junior colleges, four-year liberal arts colleges or technical institutes, colleges and universities with a few graduate programs, or large-scale public and private research universities. Students concentrating in this area usually take as many of the reference courses below as possible:
- INF 382D: Introduction to Information Resources and Services
- INF 382H: Legal Information Resources
- INF 382K: Information Resources in Health Sciences
- INF 382L: Information Resources (Topics Vary)
- INF 382N: Information Resources in Business
- INF 382R: Introduction to Scientific and Technical Data Collections
- INF 382T: Information Services: Theory, Techniques, and Subject Areas.
Depending upon specific interests, students might also select from among the following electives:
- INF 382S: Library Instruction and Information Literacy
- INF 384D: Collection Management
- INF 385E: Information Architecture
- INF 385H: Digital Media Design
- INF 385P: Usability
- INF 385S: Digital Libraries
Students wishing to extend their expertise in this area are encouraged to choose a Capstone experience that engages them in relevant project work.
Archives and Records Enterprise
Students pursuing a concentration in archival enterprise can select from a recommended group of courses from which they may construct their own specific views of the specialization. The courses include:
- INF 389R: Introduction to Archival Enterprise I
- INF 389S: Introduction to Archival Enterprise II
- INF 389E: Introduction to Records Management
- INF 389G: Introduction to Electronic and Digital Records
- INF 389J: Appraisal and Selection of Records
- INF 389N: Seminar in Archival Enterprise
Additionally, archives students are encouraged to take courses in history to support service to their largest constituency, especially historiography. Some archives students choose to take advantage of the courses offered in preservation and conservation at the iSchool by taking a selection of preservation courses and beginning conservation courses, such that they may nearly construct a sort of double major in archives and preservation administration.
Other students choose to specialize in digital archiving, which they can do by taking a sequence of courses developed for this purpose:
- INF 385D: Database Management: Principles and Applications
- INF 392K: Problems in the Permanent Retention of Digital Records
- INF 389K: Life Cycle Metadata for Digital Objects
Students may also take INF 385S, Digital Libraries, or any of a sequence of digitization courses developed at the iSchool under an IMLS grant (described further below), which is also very helpful in presaging the skills they will need for future migration of digital objects.
Finally, students interested in records management may take, in addition to one or more digital records courses, courses offered at the iSchool in government records, government information, legal information, and information policy.
Students wishing to extend their education in this area are encouraged to choose a Capstone experience that engages them in relevant project work.
Digital Libraries
Students interested in a concentration in digital libraries are encouraged to begin with two digital libraries foundation courses:
Once they have taken the foundation courses, students select at least one (most students choose more) of the following:
- INF 392L: Introduction to Audio Preservation and Reformatting
- INF 385U: Digital Media Collections Other courses useful for digital libraries studies can be selected from the following:
- INF 384E: Descriptive Cataloging and Metadata
- INF 384H: Concepts of Information Retrieval
- INF 385E: Information Architecture and Design
- INF 385H: Digital Media Design
- INF 385M: Database Management
- INF 385Q: Knowledge Management Systems
- INF 389G: Introduction to Electronic and Digital Records
- INF 389K: Life Cycle Metadata for Digital Objects
- INF 392K: Problems in Permanent Retention of Electronic Records
- INF 392M: Advanced Audio Preservation and Reformatting
Students wishing to extend their education in this area are encouraged to choose a Capstone experience that engages them in relevant project work.
Global Media and Research Analysis
In consultation with their faculty academic advisor, students can tailor their program of study from the courses suggested below.
- INF 327E: Information and People: We Like to Watch: Surveillance and Society
- INF 380K: Internet Applications
- INF 382C: Understanding and Serving Users
- INF 382P: Competitive Intelligence Resources and Strategies
- INF 382R: Introduction to Scientific and Technical Data Collections
- INF 385E: Information Architecture and Design
- INF 385M: Database Management
- INF 385S: Digital Libraries
- INF 385T: iSpy: LIS, Espionage, and World of Intelligence Gathering
- INF 385T: Social Media for Information Specialists
- INF 385T: Security Informatics: Information
- INF 386: History of Information in Society
- INF 389G: Introduction to Electronic and Digital Records
- INF 390N.2: Seminar in Information Policy: Copyright - Legal and Cultural Perspectives
- INF 397C: Introduction to Research in Information Studies
- CRP 386: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Information Architecture & Design
The following suite of courses prepares information professionals to work in the software and product development industries as usability specialists and information architects.
- INF 385C: Human Computer Interaction
- INF 385E: Information Architecture and Design
- INF 385K: Projects in Human Computer Interaction
- INF 385P: Usability
- INF 385H: Digital Media Design
Students wishing to extend their education for this area are encouraged to choose a Capstone experience that engages them in relevant project work. Several of these courses also provide hands-on experience in our Information Experience Lab (the IX Lab) so that students are prepared for work in real industrial laboratories upon graduation.
Legal Information Services
A concentration in legal information services builds on the following two courses:
A range of electives are also offered with more specific focii, from legal information services for corporate environments to legal services for government or academic environments. Students choose from the following courses according to their own interests.
- INF 382D: Introduction to Information Resources and Services
- INF 382N: Information Resources in Business
- INF 382P: Competitive Intelligence Resources and Strategies
- INF 385M: Database Management
- INF 385Q: Knowledge Management Systems
- INF 387: Administration: Legal Issues for Libraries
- INF 387.2: Information Marketing
- INF 389E: Introduction to Records Management
- INF 389G: Introduction to Electronic and Digital Records
- INF 390C: Copyright: Legal and Cultural Issues
- INF 390N: Information Policy
- INF 390N.1: Federal Information Policy
- INF 390N.2: Copyright: Cultural and Legal Perspectives
- INF 390N.2: Advanced Problems in Copyright and Intellectual Property
Students wishing to extend their education for this area are encouraged to choose a Capstone experience that engages them in relevant project work.
Preservation Studies
A student wishing to concentrate in preservation could select from among the following courses, with special emphasis on the first three. Students are encouraged to work creatively with their advisors to craft a program with the specific focus they seek from a diverse range of basic offerings:
- INF 392G: Management of Preservation Programs
- INF 392E: Technology and Structure of Records Materials
- INF 392F: Protection and Care of Records Materials
- INF 385R: Survey of Digitization
- INF 385T: Digital Curation
- INF 386.7: Seminar in History of Library and Information Studies
- INF 389C: Archival and Records Enterprise
- INF 389G: Introduction to Electronic and Digital Records
- INF 389K: Lifecycle Metadata for Digital Objects
- INF 392L: Introduction to Audio Preservation and Reformatting
In addition, hands-on and practical experience should be gained through participation in a selection of the following classes.
- INF 389R: Introduction to Archival Enterprise I
- INF 389S: Introduction to Archival Enterprise II
- INF 385S: Digital Libraries
- INF 385T: Conservation Lab Techniques for Non-specialists
- INF 385U: Digital Media Collections
- INF 388K.5: Rare Book and Special Collections
- INF 388E: Historical Museums: Context in Practice
- INF 392M: Advanced Audio Preservation and Reformatting
- INF 392K: Problems in the Permanent Retention of Electronic Records
- INF 393C.1: Book Lab I
- INF 393C.2: Book Lab II
- INF 181, INF 281, INF 381: Individual Studies
- INF 388: Professional Experience and Project