MLIS Statistics
Statistics on recent MLIS students and alumni:
Retention Rate & Time to Degree*
MLIS Residential Students
| Cohort year | 1-year retention rate | 2-year graduation rate | Average time to degree (months) |
| 2015 | 94% | 77% | 22.4 |
| 2016 | 95% | 90% | 22.5 |
| 2017 | 97% | 87% | 22.7 |
| 2018 | 95% | 93% | 21.5 |
| 2019 | 85% | 86% | 22.5 |
| 2020 | 88% | 96% | 20.7 |
| 2021 | 94% | 98% | 20.4 |
| 2022 | 94% | NA | NA |
| 2023 | 96.7% | NA | NA |
MLIS Online Students
| Cohort year | 1-year retention rate | 3-year graduation rate | Average time to degree (months) |
| 2015 | 91% | 87% | 27.0 |
| 2016 | 94% | 92% | 27.7 |
| 2017 | 87% | 73% | 27.9 |
| 2018 | 95% | 88% | 27.0 |
| 2019 | 90% | 95% | 26.0 |
| 2020 | 94% | 96% | 25.2 |
| 2021 | 88% | NA | NA |
| 2022 | 96% | NA | NA |
| 2023 | 87.5% | NA | NA |
MLIS Law Librarianship Students
| Cohort year | 1-year retention rate | 1-year graduation rate | Average time to degree (months) |
| 2015 | NA | 100% | 11.0 |
| 2016 | NA | 100% | 10.6 |
| 2017 | NA | 100% | 10.6 |
| 2018 | NA | 100% | 10.9 |
| 2019 | NA | 100% | 10.9 |
| 2020 | NA | 100% | 11.6 |
| 2021 | NA | 100% | 10.6 |
| 2022 | NA | 100% | 10.6 |
| 2023 | NA | 100% | 10.9 |
Employment Data**
The majority of MLIS students graduate in June each year, and the employment survey remains open till December. Data reflects employment status anywhere from 1 to 6 months after graduation. *Due to a low response rate to the 2024 Next Destination Survey, 2023-2024 numbers were drawn from the iSchool’s Alumni Relations team utilizing LinkedIn data.
MLIS students graduating:
| 62 of 92 respondents employed, 67% 59 of 92 respondents employed in degree-related field, 64% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 64 of 74 respondents employed, 86% 58 of 74 respondents employed in degree-related field, 78% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 128 graduates were surveyed, 83 responded, 65% 65 of 83 respondents report being employed, 78% 52 of 65 report being employed in a degree-related field, 80% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 127 graduates were surveyed, 73 responded, 57% 56 of 73 respondents report being employed, 77% 49 of 56 report being employed in a degree-related field, 88% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 128 graduates were surveyed, 53 responded, 41% 26 of 53 respondents report being employed, 49% 22 of 26 report being employed in a degree-related field, 85% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 152 graduates were surveyed, 71 responded, 47% 53 of 71 respondents report being employed, 75% 45 of 53 report being employed in a degree-related field, 85% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 124 graduates were surveyed, 31 responded, 25% 15 of 31 respondents report being employed FT (30+ hours), 48% 12 of 31 are seeking employment, 39% |
MLIS students graduating:
| 134 students graduated, 123 self-reported 85 (69%) of 123 graduates report being employed. |
Distribution of Students Self-Reported by Race/Ethnicity
Data on student population is tabulated in October of each year.
| Race / Ethnicity | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Black or African American | 2.3% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 2.6% | 2.3% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| American Indian | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Asian American | 5.6% | 5.5% | 5.7% | 8.4% | 6.9% | 7.3% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
| Caucasian | 70.4% | 74.0% | 73.4% | 70.9% | 69.4% | 66.4% | 67.2% | 67.7% |
| Hispanic | 11.3% | 9.2% | 9.2% | 9.7% | 10.7% | 12.3% | 12% | 11.6% |
| Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| International (unspecified) | 2.8% | 2.3% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 3.5% |
| Two or more races | 5.4% | 4.0% | 5.4% | 6.3% | 7.9% | 6.4% | 6.9% | 7.3% |
| Unknown | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
* For graduation rates and time to degree, MLIS Residential only includes full-time students. For retention, it includes both full- and part-time students. MLIS Online is primarily part-time. Students entering fall 2022 have not yet had enough time to graduate. Cohorts assume everyone starts in the fall.
** In 2023, the alumni survey was transitioned to a different center for distribution. The timing of send did not result in adequate response numbers and did not indicate whether employment was in a degree-related field.