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Indiana University Bloomington
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Ph.D. Admissions

SLIS will review your application materials to evaluate your potential for excellence in our doctoral program and in the conduct of research in your subsequent career. Success in doctoral work requires various intellectual skills, including the ability to identify significant research problems, to design research projects that will address those problems, and to express the resulting ideas and conclusions clearly in order to contribute new knowledge to the discipline.

Because students are only admitted to the SLIS doctoral program in the Fall semester, all application materials must be received by January 15th for consideration for admission and financial aid.

To ensure that official transcripts are received by SLIS by the January 15 deadline, international students should have official copies of all transcripts submitted, by November 15, directly to the Office of International Admissions.

Admission to the doctoral program is highly competitive. In order to review all applicants on an equal basis, SLIS requires the following materials. Please note that your application will not be reviewed until all of your materials have been received.

  • Completed Indiana University Graduate Application for Admission. U.S. residents must apply online; please select University Graduate School for Ph.D. in Information Science degree. International students must also apply online; follow carefully the directions provided by the Office of International Admissions.
  • Transcripts for all university coursework taken and all degrees completed. At a minimum, you must have earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college with a grade point average of 3.2 or better (on a 4.0 scale). For all graduate level coursework that you have taken, you must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale).
  • Personal statement. You must submit an 800-1000 word statement of your professional goals that discusses your commitment to teaching and/or research in information science. Your statement should address the following questions:
    1. Why do you want a Ph.D. in Information Science?
    2. What areas of study in information science interest you? Please describe, either from a theoretical or an applied perspective, one or two research problems in information science that you believe are significant.
    3. Why do you think researching these problems is (or will be) of major importance to information science?
    4. How has your educational and/or professional work prepared you for study toward a Ph.D.?
  • Three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should come from persons in academic or professional communities who can address your scholarly and analytical abilities and your overall potential for doctoral work.
  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Please submit GRE General Test scores taken within three years of your application. A minimum overall GRE score of 1000 is required (i.e., Verbal = 500, Quantitative = 500 and Analytical Writing = 4.5). However, because admission is competitive, higher scores are expected. Note: IU Institutional Code:1324; SLIS School Code: 0404 (Information Science)

  • GRE Revised Test (November 2011) - Initial GRE scoring conversion charts are available. These charts may be updated as more student test results are collected by the GRE board.

    SLIS looks at the whole application in making an admissions decision. The following scores will be considered to have met the minimum required - V: 153, Q: 144, and AW (not decided at this time).

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. A TOEFL score is required for all applicants for whom English is not a native language. A minimum score of 600 on the TOEFL Paper-based Test (PBT) or 100 on the TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT) is required. Note: IU Institutional Code: 1324; SLIS School Code (overall): 99
  • Current curriculum vitae or résumé.
  • Chronology. The chronology is a list, in chronological order, of all of your activities from high school graduation to the present. It should be concise but thorough, including such items as educational institutions and degrees, part-time jobs, professional positions and military service. The beginning and ending dates for each activity must be indicated, and all periods of time must be accounted for. An example of a chronology is provided at http://www.slis.indiana.edu/phd/admissions/sample_chrono.html.
  • Writing sample. The writing sample must be a single author work written by you. It can be a published journal article, a book chapter, a technical white paper, a grant proposal or a paper written for a course. Please see the Ph.D. Contact page for questions about the writing sample.

You can check your application and admission status by going to OneStart. Click on "Don't have an account?" to set up an IU computing account using the Indiana University ID number that was assigned to you when you applied.

If you have any questions about the admissions process or want to check on receipt of your application materials, please see the "Ph.D. Contact Page. International students may also contact the IU Office of International Admissions at intladm@indiana.edu (phone: 812.855.4306).