About the Ph.D. Program
Program Objectives
SLIS's Information Science Ph.D. program is research-oriented and focuses on advancing and disseminating new knowledge, both basic and applied. The faculty is interested in the design, use, and evaluation of information systems in all segments of society. This interdisciplinary program brings together relevant knowledge from information science and the behavioral sciences, with appropriate research methodologies.
SLIS can offer you an exciting, challenging Ph.D. program with excellent career prospects in higher education, research institutions, and the information industry.
Characteristics of the Program
The Information Science doctoral program offers the following features:
- Research Orientation: Students engage in research every semester of the graduate program.
- Individualized Program of Study: Only seven courses are specified, and these focus on the nature of research in the field as well as research methods. You select the vast majority of your courses in consultation with your advisory committee.
- Close Supervision: You have an annual individual evaluation with members of the faculty to identify significant gains in the past year and to suggest courses and activities for the next year.
- High Degree of Involvement: You share responsibilities in research with SLIS's faculty.
- Interdisciplinary Approach: The program's interdisciplinary perspective enables you to learn about information, information technologies, people, and social settings from a variety of perspectives: information science, sociology, social informatics, management, psychology, communications, semiotics, and librarianship, to name a few. In addition, you take a minor of four relevant courses outside of the school.
- Collegiality: Members of the faculty are highly accessible and work closely with you in both formal and informal settings.
Research Centers
The faculty and their research are the central resources of any Ph.D. program. SLIS's faculty are nationally and internationally recognized as leading scholars in their areas of expertise. They publish widely in books and journals, play key roles in professional societies, and serve as consultants to private firms and public agencies. SLIS has recently been ranked number one in academic publication in its field and number three in overall academic quality.
SLIS's Ph.D. program is distinctive because it emphasizes social science approaches to understanding information and information technologies in human contexts. To explore the program, we recommend that you examine the faculty's research interests. Please contact SLIS faculty members whose publications, projects, or interests intrigue you, and discuss your interest in joining our Ph.D. program. We also encourage you to examine SLIS's research centers:
