Curriculum ..... Overview | M.A. Chart | Descriptions | Distance Education | Course Schedules

Curriculum

Overview

For students admitted prior to Fall 2006, the master's degree in library and information science requires 36 semester hours of graduate credit with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 and the successful completion of either a written and oral comprehensive examination or a portfolio. The 36 hours include 17 semester hours of required core courses and 19 hours of electives, distributed among four curricular clusters. A thesis option is available for students wishing to gain research experience.

For students admitted for Fall 2006 or later, the Master of Arts in library and information science requires 36 s.h. of graduate credit, with a g.p.a. of at least 3.0 and the successful completion of a portfolio. The 36 s.h. include 9 s.h. earned in three required, introductory-level courses, 12 hours in secondary-level courses, and 15 s.h. earned in elective courses. A thesis option is available for students who wish more research experience.

The curriculum is structured in three tiers. The first tier consists of three required courses: Cultural Foundations, Conceptual Foundations, and Computing Foundations. These three basic courses provide a solid grounding for all successive course work. The second tier is composed of eight courses, of which students are required to take a minimum of four courses. The courses in the third tier are purely elective. This arrangement of courses allows each student to concentrate in an area that most pertains to his or her professional goal.