Vision statement for the MLIS program

The UW Information School’s MLIS program works to create a world where individuals are empowered to leverage technology and use information to participate meaningfully in society.

• We educate students to be inquisitive critical thinkers who challenge assumptions and guide others in the strategic and ethical use of information in society.
• We envision a profession that reflects the communities in which we live and work and strengthens the unique role and impact of libraries.
• We pursue equity by producing empathetic leaders who share in community-driven transformation.

Mission

We prepare information leaders who serve by:

• Listening, anticipating and responding
• Cultivating different ways of knowing
• Sparking discovery

Student Learning Outcomes

(updated in 2020)

In the University of Washington’s Information School MLIS program, students will:

1. Analyze the characteristics and needs of individuals and groups in libraries, cultural heritage institutions, and other information environments, using a culturally-responsive approach to meet the needs of people, organizations, and communities.
2. Acquire, process, preserve, and provide access to information sources for diverse communities and organizations.
3. Empower communities and organizations to engage successfully with information and identify disinformation in digital, written, and oral forms.
4. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and access for communities and for the information professionals who serve them.
5. Value and incorporate global perspectives on effective information practices that are supportive of cultural, economic, educational, and social well-being, including non-Western ways of knowing.  
6. Demonstrate critical thinking, vision, and innovation for understanding, researching, synthesizing, and solving ethical, technological, and other real-world problems in changing information landscapes. 
7. Communicate and instruct effectively in appropriate formats to a variety of audiences, in different settings and social contexts. 
8. Lead through engagement with and on behalf of information stakeholders.
9. Understand and critically apply concepts of knowledge organization in educational, cultural, societal, and commercial contexts.
10. Design, evaluate, utilize, and share technologies both traditional and digital.