Exploring the UCLA Department of Information Studies: Shaping the Future of Information

The UCLA Department of Information Studies (IS) stands as a leading institution dedicated to advancing the information fields through interdisciplinary approaches, a commitment to universal access, and user-centered organization of information. As home to UCLA’s iSchool, the department cultivates stewards of information, reimagining systems for increased inclusivity and producing globally renowned leaders who push the world forward. The freedom to engage with and absorb information is viewed as a human right by IS students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

The iSchool Approach: Interdisciplinary and User-Centered

iSchools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management. A core commitment lies in concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information. The department believes that the democratization of knowledge creates equity. Rather than focusing on particular context-specific technologies and institutions, the focus is on people as actors and agents in their worlds, communities as networks of belonging that foster agency and the construction of identity among their members, culture as both the means for and the result of people’s cultivation of their capabilities, and artifacts as the objects through which culture is preserved, reproduced, and reimagined.

Academic Programs: Preparing Professionals and Researchers

The Department of Information Studies offers programs designed to prepare students for professional practice and research. The department is made up of top experts in the field, with resources and facilities, and a tradition of excellence.

Undergraduate Programs

UCLA Ed&IS provides pathways for all. The undergraduate programs prepare students to understand how education systems and practices relate to important social structures, processes, and outcomes. Faculty and students collaborate to solve the pressing issues facing education today. Information Studies offers undergraduate students coursework that is a blend of conceptual and theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on laboratory experiences where they can apply their theoretical insights and practical skills to real-world situations.

Graduate Programs: Ph.D. in Information Studies

The Ph.D. program is rigorous and rewarding, with a strong research focus. It is structured so that students can gain maximum benefit from a cohort experience; a has purpose-designed program of coursework coupled with research apprenticeships; and provides strong faculty mentoring.

Upon admission to the school, a faculty adviser is assigned based on the evidence in the student’s statement of interest at the time of application and on the general commitments of the faculty. Students may change advisers with agreement of faculty. The adviser has the responsibility to assist the student in planning a program of study that meets the requirements of the Ph.D. program and to guide the student in the dissertation research. Until advancement to candidacy, there are yearly formal evaluations of progress that involve the student, the chair, the faculty adviser, and other faculty.

Students are required to take six core courses in the theory and methodology of information studies: Information Studies 291A, 291B, 291C, 298A, 298B, and 298C. Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements.

After passing the written qualifying examination, the student is required to pass the University Oral Qualifying Examination, which is based on the oral defense of the dissertation proposal. The dissertation proposal and oral defense should be completed within one year after passing the written examination. A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study.

A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for termination for failure of the comprehensive examination on two successive tests.

A recommendation for termination is made by the Executive Committee of the faculty based on the advice of the faculty adviser and the chair. The chair notifies the student in writing of the decision.

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Specializations: Tailoring Expertise

The Department of Information Studies offers students unique opportunities to study cultural diversity issues related to library, archival, and information studies at both master’s and doctoral levels.

Several specializations are available, allowing students to focus on specific areas within information studies:

Archival Studies: Courses in this area explore the full spectrum of archival materials (e.g., paper and electronic records, manuscripts, still and moving images, oral history), the theory that underlies recordkeeping, archival policy development, and memory-making, and the historical roles that recordkeeping, archives, and documentary evidence play in a pluralized and increasingly global society. In addition to covering traditional archives and manuscripts theory and practice, this area of specialization addresses the dramatic expansion of the archival field.
Informatics: The field of informatics is premised on the observation that successful integration of information services into society requires a sophisticated understanding of the ways in which information technologies function as vehicles of power and social action. Students who complete this specialization will be uniquely well-equipped to design modern information services, including digital libraries, data repositories, metadata services, and search engines, in a wide variety of institutional contexts, such as community archives, cultural heritage, e-commerce, electronic publishing, and government.
Library Studies: Students selecting this specialization learn about the functional activities associated with the profession of librarianship, such as collection development, public services, cataloging and classification, service to children and young adults, and outreach to underserved populations. Students may also take classes that prepare them to work in a particular type of library, such as public, academic, or corporate. The specialization stresses the core values of the profession as articulated by the American Library Association: access, confidentiality and privacy, democracy, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, the public good, professionalism, service, and social responsibility.
Media Archival Studies (MAS): The Media Archival Studies (MAS) specialization focuses on the full range of historical, contemporary, and emergent media-making contexts and formats and the unique challenges they pose, from 19th-century optical devices through classical Hollywood cinema to the emerging sound, image, and video formats of today. Students in this specialization explore how theories and concepts of archival practice are most effectively applied to the particular needs and characteristics of all kinds of recorded media. This broad-based approach to media making, description, preservation and management encourages students to develop a highly adaptable professional skill set that allows them to keep pace in an environment of constant technological change.
Rare Books and Manuscript Studies: This specialization provides a foundation in the history of literacy technologies, from early writing and manuscript culture through print and digital format, and addresses contemporary challenges for thinking about digital scholarship and special collections. It engages in active discussion of the ways legacy collections meet diversity initiatives in expanding horizons for scholarship and research.

Resources and Facilities: Supporting Research and Development

The IS Library and Media Preservation Lab are a hub of activity supporting the research, instruction, and professional development of students, faculty, and staff in the UCLA Department of Information Studies.

The Information Studies Colloquia provides a forum for intellectual exchange and professional networking. The UCLA iSchool Mentorship program matches current iSchool students with professional mentors.

Values and Diversity: A Commitment to Inclusivity

The School of Education & Information Studies values diversity of all kinds as a key component to our community. Situated in one of the most culturally rich regions in the country, UCLA enables students to gain first-hand experience in understanding the dynamics of multiculturalism.

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Shaping the Future: Impact and Mission

Through scholarship, teaching, institution and community, the Department of Information Studies strives to set new standards in the preservation, architecture, accessibility and utility of knowledge through information. The department cultivates stewards of today’s and tomorrow’s information, always with an eye on reimagining systems for increased inclusivity. Its mission is to produce globally renowned leaders in the field of information studies whose work pushes the world forward.

The Department addresses fundamental questions surrounding information management: Who should be able to access information? What opportunities can information access bring to society? How should we organize and store information? What should be stored? What should be archived, and for how long?

On a grand scale, the department views its work as a way to improve life for people worldwide, and that mission is continuously realized by the intellect and curiosity of the people in our community.

Important Considerations

The UCLA General Catalog is published annually in PDF and HTML formats. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the UCLA General Catalog. However, all courses, course descriptions, instructor designations, curricular degree requirements, and fees described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice. Consult this Catalog for the most current, officially approved courses and curricula. Other information about UCLA may be found in materials produced by the schools of Arts and Architecture; Dentistry; Education and Information Studies; Engineering and Applied Science; Law; Management; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television.

UCLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by numerous special agencies.

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