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: Information Resources, Services and Collections | Required |
LIS 530: Organization of Information and Resources | Required |
LIS 570: Research, Assessment and Design | Choose from LIS 570 or an advanced research methods course |
LIS 580: Management of Information Organizations | Required |
LIS 569, 596 & 597: Capstone I, II and III | Required |
Information Technology Core Course (one required)* | Choose from LIS 511, LIS 549, LIS 542, LIS 543, LIS 544, IMT 546, IMT 547, LIS 572, or IMT 573. |
Social/Ethical Core Course (one required)* | Choose from LIS 551, LIS 552, LIS 553, LIS 556, LIS 583, LIS 563 |
*Any iSchool course with the same title but different course designations (e.g. LIS 511/IMT 511) can be used to meet degree requirements.