Jump to Main Content
Jump to Top Navigation
Jump to Page Navigation
Jump to Footer Navigation
University of Washington

University of Washington Information School

  • Programs
    • Informatics Undergraduate major and minor
    • MLIS Master of Library and Information Science
    • MSIM Master of Science in Information Management
    • Museology Master of Arts
    • Ph.D. Doctorate Program
    • > Professional Development & Continuing Education
  • Research
    • Updates The latest news from our faculty and research staff
    • Research Areas Core topics of iSchool research
    • Research Groups Hubs for innovative scholarship & research
    • Grants & Awards Recent funding for iSchool research projects
    • Research Events Guest lectures and our Research Fair showcase
  • News & Events
    • News The latest stories from our community
    • Events What's happening on campus and beyond
    • Podcast Documents That Changed the World, with Joe Janes
  • People
    • Directory Find iSchool faculty, staff and students
    • Alumni Stay connected with the iSchool and fellow alumni
    • Advising & Support Find help from our team of student advisors
    • Faculty Affairs Making the iSchool a joyful professional community for faculty
  • The School
    • About Us The iSchool is home to innovators and leaders who make information work
    • Diversity We are committed to building an inclusive community
    • Employers & Partners How to collaborate with faculty and students
    • Capstone Students work with organizations to solve information problems
    • Support the iSchool Every gift makes a difference to students
Customize Your
Experience

Would you like to see information for Future Students, Current Students, Faculty & Staff, or Everyone?

Audience Tools
Search Menu
banner image

Master of Library and Information Science

  • Informatics
  • MLIS
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Degree Options
      • Residential Mode
      • Online Mode
      • Residential/Online FAQ
      • Law Librarianship
        • Law Librarianship FAQ
    • Careers
    • Tuition, Aid & Scholarships
  • MSIM
  • Museology
  • Ph.D.
    • Academics
    • Admissions
    • Committees
    • Scholarships & Funding
    • People
  • Professional Development & Continuing Education

Resources:

  • Advising & Support
  • Capstone Projects
  • Upcoming Info Sessions
  • Videos: Alumni at Work
  • Request more information

Law Librarianship

  1. Programs
  2. MLIS
  3. Degree Options
  4. Law Librarianship

Beginning Autumn 2023, students can pursue the MLIS Law program online or on-campus in Seattle. Online students may attend full-time or part-time.

*Find an upcoming law librarianship information session.*

People work at tables in the Gallagher Law Library.

Combine your background in law with new skills in knowledge organization that will transform your career. As a law librarian and legal information professional, you will tap into the power of information to support the mission of courts, federal and state government, law schools, corporations and more.

The UW iSchool’s law librarianship program provides the highest level of preparation for a career in legal information. The curriculum blends a strong theoretical foundation in the principles of information science with the specialized legal research, technological and operational background you will need to thrive as a law librarian. An accompanying internship allows you to further build your technical skills.

Admission to the law librarianship program requires the completion of a JD from an ABA-accredited law school (or a foreign equivalent law degree). Classes are offered in the residential mode over four consecutive academic quarters. The Law MLIS degree requirements differ from the residential and online MLIS programs, although MLIS residential students without a JD may take some of the specific legal information classes as electives.

Curricular & Experiential Program Components

The curricular component of the program is 10 months, beginning in Autumn Quarter and ending the following accelerated Summer Quarter (Summer A-term). Students in the program will earn the MLIS degree with a specialization in Law Librarianship after successful completion of 41-43 quarter credit hours. The lockstep format of the Law MLIS curriculum requires students to remain through the full 4-quarter cycle (Autumn through Summer A-term). The program follows the UW Academic Calendar.

The experiential component of the program for residential students is an internship working in the Gallagher Law Library, which is part of the UW School of Law. During the internship, law librarianship students will be trained in a variety of operational aspects and special projects in the law library to make transitioning to the profession and work environments easier.  

Degree Requirements

The average course load in the program is 12 credits per quarter. Ten credits per quarter is the minimum for students who need to meet certain financial aid requirements. Library and Information Science course descriptions are located in the UW course catalog, and the sequential Law MLIS curriculum is as follows:

1. Autumn Quarter (12 credits)

  • LIS 520 Concepts, Services, and Issues for Information Professionals (4 credits)
  • LIS 579 Instructional Strategies for Legal Information (3 credits)
  • LIS 592 Legal Research Methods (4 credits)
  • LIS 595 Research and Writing in Law Librarianship (1 credit)

2. Winter Quarter (13-14 credits)

  • LIS 530 Organization of Information and Resources (4 credits)
  • LIS 547 Design Methods for Librarianship (4 credits)
  • LIS 595 Research and Writing in Law Librarianship (2 credits)
  • Elective
    • LIS 593 Teaching Practicum (2 credits) OR 
    • LIS 545 Data Curation I: Fundamentals (4 credits)

3. Spring Quarter (12 credits)

  • LIS 549 Beginning Web Development (4 credits)
  • LIS 572 Introduction to Data Science (4 credits)
  • LIS 595 Research and Writing in Law Librarianship (1 credit)
  • Elective
    • LIS 556 Information Ownership & Control: Copyright (3 credits) OR
    • LIS 584 Knowledge Management (3 credits)

4. Summer A-term (5 credits)

  • LIS 590 Directed Fieldwork (2 credits)
  • LIS 594 Management Skills in Law Libraries (3 credits)

More Information

  • Join us for an upcoming information session.
  • Dig into the details in our Law Librarianship FAQ.
  • Read more about the history of the law librarianship program and the work of past law librarianship students in the law school's institutional repository. 
  • For more information about a career in the legal information profession, visit the American Association of Law Libraries' Education for a Career in Law Librarianship webpage.

Contact Us

For further information, contact the iSchool (iAsk@uw.edu) or the Law Librarianship program director, Carla Wale (cpwale@uw.edu). 

Resources:

  • Advising & Support
  • Capstone Projects
  • Upcoming Info Sessions
  • Videos: Alumni at Work
  • Request more information

News

4 scholarship recipients

5 iSchool MLIS students awarded ALA Spectrum Scholarships

Monday, September 18, 2023
Five University of Washington Master of Library and Information Science students are among the recipients of the 2023-2024 Spectrum Scholarships, the American Library Association has announced.  The Spectrum Scholarship Program...
Read more
Nassim Parvin

Professor driven by firm belief in social justice

Monday, September 18, 2023
Nassim Parvin uncovers hidden sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia and other social injustices in technology and product design — issues that surface as biases in self-tracking devices, for example, or in the assumptions embedded in the...
Read more

Events

Oct 2
 
12:30-1:30PM

Career Services - Building Your Brand

Online
Oct 3
 
4:30-5:30PM

Informatics Admissions Q&A Session

Zoom / Online
Oct 4
 
10:00-11:00AM

Career Services - Aligning Career Goals with Academic Planning

Online
Oct 4
 
12:30-1:30PM

Career Services Workshop: Mindfulness in the Job/Internship Search

Online
iSchools.org
  • Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Logo & Brand Guidelines
  • IT / Help Desk
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Make a Gift
iSchools.org
© 2023 UW Information School
Box 352840 - Mary Gates Hall, Ste. 370
Seattle, WA 98195-2840
United States of America
206-685-9937
Close menu
Toolkit
Customize
Your Experience
Change audience type

Search:

All People
  • Programs
    • Informatics
    • MLIS
    • MSIM
    • Museology
    • Ph.D.
    • Professional Development & Continuing Education
  • Research
    • Updates
    • Research Areas
    • Research Groups
    • Grants & Awards
    • Research Events
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Podcast
  • People
    • Directory
    • Alumni
    • Advising & Support
    • Faculty Affairs
  • The School
    • About Us
    • Diversity
    • Employers & Partners
    • Capstone
    • Support the iSchool

toolkit

  • iSchool Intranet
  • MyUW
  • Outlook on the web
  • Office 365
  • Workday
  • UW Time Schedule
  • UW Academic Calendar
  • iSchool Slack
  • Knowledge Base
  • Watermark
  • Azure Dev Tools
  • Online Learning Help
  • Zoom
  • Streaming Support
  • Canvas LMS
  • Qualtrics
  • Emergency Info
  • Site Login
Loading Results...Loading search results, please wait.

Highlights

Full Results

See Full Results
See Full Directory

Customize Your Experience

  • Future Students
  • Current Students
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Everyone