MLIS Academics
The MLIS curriculum is designed to prepare you for a broad array of professional experiences at diverse organizations and companies.
The program is 63 quarter credits, consisting of three elements: core courses, electives, and a final degree project. Program requirements are the same for students in the Residential MLIS and Online MLIS programs. Law MLIS students should refer to their specific requirements, which differ.
The MLIS curriculum is grounded in a set of core courses which are designed to give you a broad and solid foundation in important aspects of the library and information science field. Our world-class and diverse faculty has established this core curriculum to provide a conceptual and theoretical base of knowledge on how information is organized, stored, searched, and used, along with important technological, policy, pedagogical, research, management, and design concepts. Read about our key student learning outcomes.
Beyond the required core courses, you have a lot of flexibility and the option of designing a program of study specific to your interests and career goals. Elective credits may include advanced LIS courses, other iSchool graduate courses, directed fieldwork, independent study, or relevant upper-level coursework in other academic disciplines.
Following is a list of required core courses for students who entered the MLIS program (Residential or Online) in 2017 or later. See the Degree Planning page for more details.
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| LIS 510: Information Behavior or LIS 547: Design Methods for Librarianship | Choose one course to meet the requirement |
| LIS 520: Concepts, Services, and Issues for Information Professionals | Required |
| LIS 530: Organization of Information and Resources | Required |
| LIS 570: Research, Assessment and Design | Required |
| LIS 580: Management of Information Organizations | Required |
| LIS 569, 596 & 597: Capstone I, II and III | Required |
| Information Technology Core Course (one required)* | Students are advised to choose from a specific selection of offerings. |
| Social/Ethical Core Course (one required)* | Students are advised to choose from a specific selection of offerings. |
Social/Ethical Core Description
The Social/Ethical core course requirement provides MLIS students with a foundation in both conceptual knowledge and practical application of skills. Course content will feature case studies and active class experiences to help MLIS students understand the historical commitment of libraries and the information industry to information access, literacy/digital skills, intellectual freedom and confidentiality, as well as future-focused application in order to eliminate historical barriers and information inequities facing communities.
Social and ethical issues are inherent in all interactions between individuals, groups, and organizations, and are central to librarianship, as well as the information technology sectors. While no single course can address the full spectrum of social/ethical issues, and recognizing that contextual information and theory are necessary to build a solid foundation, these courses are intended to give students applied experiences to examine their personal values and learn to navigate potential conflicts between those values and the institutions and communities in which they will live and work. Course topics will include, and are not limited to: intellectual freedom, social and racial justice, and the socioeconomic and political issues inherent in creating and using technology. Students come to these topics with a wide variety of personal backgrounds and experiences. All class participants must commit to respectful interaction, including during disagreement, with the course material, their instructor(s), and each other.
*Any iSchool course with the same title but different course designations (e.g. LIS 511/IMT 511) can be used to meet degree requirements.