The Faculty of Information (or the iSchool at the University of Toronto) is an undergraduate and graduate school that offers the following programs: a Bachelor of Information (BI), a Master of Information (MI), a Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), and a PhD in information studies, as well as diploma courses. As a member of the iSchool movement,[1] the Faculty of Information takes an interdisciplinary approach to information studies, building on its traditional strengths in library and information science, complemented by research and teaching in archives, museum studies, user experience, information systems and design, critical information studies, culture and technology, knowledge management, digital humanities, book history, data science, and other related fields. It is located on the St. George Campus, in the Claude Bissell building at 140 St. George Street, which is attached to Robarts Library and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
The Faculty of Information was founded as the University of Toronto Library School within the Ontario College of Education in 1928 and was housed at 315 Bloor Street.[2] In 1965, the school was designated as an independent unit within the university and became known as the School of Library Science and thus moved it quarters to 167 College Street and 256 McCaul Street.[3] In 1971, SLS moved again to its present location at 140 St. George Street.[3] In 1972, the name changed to the Faculty of Library Science (FLS), as the school attained faculty status.[3] The name changed again to the Faculty of Library and Information Science (FLIS) in 1982 and then the Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) in 1994.[3] In 2005, FIS joined the iSchool movement and accordingly in 2006, it was renamed the Faculty of Information (FI).[3]
Sign outside the Faculty of Information building.
The faculty has offered a variety of degrees since its inception, which reflect the changing requirements of entry into librarianship and more recently, into other information professions. Between 1928 and 1936, it offered one-year Diploma in Librarianship, and from 1936 to 1970, a one-year Bachelor of Library Science degree, which was accredited by the American Library Association in 1937.[4] The late 1960s saw the emergence of the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree as the first professional degree in librarianship, which was introduced in the school in 1970 and required four semesters to complete.[5] The doctoral program was established in 1971, with Claire England holding the first Ph.D. in library science that was awarded in Canada in 1974.[6] In 1988, the faculty began to offer a Master of Information Science (MIS) degree. In 1995, the MLS and MIS degrees were both replaced with the Master of Information Studies (MISt) degree, which had three areas of specialization: archival studies, information systems, and library and information science. The name of the degree was changed to Master of Information (MI) in 2009. In 2019, the school welcomed the first cohort of its Bachelor of Information program.[7][3]
Since 2006, when the Department of Museum Studies became part of the FIS, the faculty began to offer a Master of Museum Studies degree.[3]
Programs
The Faculty of Information currently offers one bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Information (BI), and two master's degrees, Master of Information (MI) and Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), which are also offered together as a combined degree program (CDP).[8] In addition, students can also enroll in a Ph.D. program.[8]
Bachelor of Information (BI)
Master of Information (MI)
Archives and Records Management (ARM)
Critical Information Policy Studies (CIPS)
Culture & Technology (C&T)
Human-Centred Data Science (HCDS)
Information Systems & Design (ISD)
Knowledge Management & Information Management (KMIM)
Library & Information Science (LIS)
User Experience Design (UXD)
Master of Museum Studies (MMSt)
Combined Degree Program (CDP)
This program permits graduate students to complete a Masters of Information (MI) and a Masters of Museum Studies (MMSt) concurrently within the span of three years. This option was changed from Concurrent Registration Option (CRO) to Combined Degree Program (CDP) beginning in September 2018.
PhD Program
The Faculty of Information also offers a PhD program in information studies, with seven available specializations: Critical Information Studies, Library & Information Science, Archives & Records Management, Information Systems, Media & Design, Cultural Heritage, Knowledge Management & Information Management, and Philosophy of Information.[9]
Collaborative Programs
Collaborative programs are open to all students enrolled in the MI and Ph.D. programs.[10] They are designed to allow students to focus on specialized subject interests and since they are a result of cooperation between different graduate units at the university, separate admission process is required of those who wish enter them.[10] Currently, there are eight collaborative programs available: Book History and Print Culture, based at Massey College, Knowledge Media Design, Addiction Studies, Aging, Palliative and Supportive Care Across the Life Course, Centre for Environment, Knowledge Media Design, Sexual Diversity Studies, Women's Health, and Women and Gender Studies.[10]
MMSt students are allowed to enroll in Book History and Print Culture, Jewish Studies, and Sexual Diversity Studies programs.[11]
Graduate Diploma
The iSchool offers a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Study in Information Studies (DAIS), which is for information professionals who want to add to their knowledge without taking a full PhD program. The diploma is only open to those who have a related master's degree.[12]
Undergraduate Program
The Bachelor of Information, first offered in 2019, is one of the first of its kind offering undergraduate students an interdisciplinary space to collaborate on work, engage with concepts from a variety of fields, explore professional experiences, and engage in design work.[13]
The Inforum was the former library and "academic and community hub" at the FI.[14] It contained a specialized collection devoted to the studies at the FI, including library and information science, archival studies, knowledge management, information systems and design, museum studies, and other related areas.[15] It also included a special collection on subject analysis system.[16] The library collection was removed in August 2019, despite advocacy efforts by the community to save the collection.[17][18] In 2020, the Inforum became a Student Services space.[19] Since 2021, it has been styled as "the learning hub".[20]
Semaphore Lab
Semaphore Lab is a research cluster dedicated to inclusive design in the area of mobile and pervasive computing.[21] Launched in 2012, it shares space with the Critical Making Lab in Robarts Library.
ThingTank Lab
The ThingTank lab originated in 2009 as the Designing Digital Media for the Internet of Things (DDiMIT). In 2010, the lab was funded and renamed to ThingTank. The lab is located off-campus, on Bathurst Street in Toronto. The lab offers workshops, idea jams and roundtable events aimed at supporting activity in exploration and development of internet enabled “things.” The lab use is not restricted to University of Toronto faculty and students, but open to other universities, and those in the public and private sectors.[22]
Institutes
Knowledge Media Design Institute
The Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) was founded in 1996 as the University of Toronto's first virtual institute. KMDI offers one of the collaborative programs available to graduate students at the University of Toronto.[23] The current Director of KMDI is Dr. Mary Elizabeth Luka.
The McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology
The McLuhan Centre in 2023
Located in the historic McLuhan Coach House, the centre was first launched in 1963 as the Centre for Culture and Technology. The Centre joined the Faculty of Information as a distinct research and teaching unit in 1994, and was renamed as The McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology in June 2016. The McLuhan Centre is the home of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology, which aims to encourage understanding of the impact of technology on our culture and society.[24] The Interim Director of The McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology is Seamus Ross and the Director of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology is Sarah Sharma.
Digital Curation Institute
The Digital Curation Institute (DCI) is headed by Christoph Becker, an iSchool faculty member.[25]
Professor Marsha Chechik from the Department of Computer Science at the Faculty of Arts and Science was Acting Dean for a six-month period from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, while Dean Wendy Duff was on administrative leave.[26]
The Faculty of Information Quarterly (F/IQ), is a scholarly, peer-reviewed, open-access e-journal founded and operated entirely by students at the FI.[29] The mission of F/IQ is to create an intellectual space for the information community to analyse and critically assess the divergent topics that comprise the field's study and practice, and to define and direct the iSchool movement through scholarly and professional communications as a means to fostering collective identity among students, faculty and practitioners of the field.[30]F/IQ was first published in October, 2008.[31]
The journal accepts submissions from both established and emerging scholars and practitioners in information-related fields, such as archival science, information systems, library science, museum studies and others.[30]
Published four times a year, F/IQ includes original research, guest editorials, interviews with senior scholars and professionals in the field, and book reviews. It uses Open Journal Systems (OJS) for publishing.
The iJournal
The iJournal is the University of Toronto (U of T) Faculty of Information's (iSchool) open access academic journal.[32] Founded in 2016, it is written, edited, directed, designed and produced by (mostly graduate) students at the Faculty of Information. The topics of the iJournal reflects the multiple disciplines that make up the information sciences taught at the Faculty.[32] As of March 2022, the iJournal has published seventeen issues, including one special edition (summer 2017) and three (2016, 2018, 2019) iSchool Student Conference proceedings.
Alumni Association
The Faculty of Information Alumni Association (FIAA) was first founded in 1929 and represents over 6,700 graduates of the FI.[33] It sponsors a number of events and programs, including Job Shadowing and publishes an online magazine, Informed, dedicated to news about the FI, faculty and alumni.[33]
Nipissing University is a public university located in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The campus overlooks Lake Nipissing.
The Open University of Sri Lanka is a national university in Sri Lanka. It is unique within the Sri Lankan national university system for being the only university to offer programs of study leading to certificate, diploma, degrees and postgraduate degrees up to PhD level through the Open and Distance Mode of Learning (ODL). The degrees awarded by the university are treated as equivalent to degrees awarded by any other Sri Lankan University under the preview of the University Grants Commission.
The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management is the University of Toronto's graduate business school, located in Downtown Toronto. The University of Toronto has been offering undergraduate courses in commerce and management since 1901, but the business school was formally established in 1950 as the Institute of Business Administration. The name was changed to the Faculty of Management Studies in 1972 and subsequently shortened to the Faculty of Management in 1986. The school was renamed in 1997 after Joseph L. Rotman (1935–2015), its principal benefactor.
The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), also referred to as the Master of Library and Information Studies, is the master's degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States. The MLIS is a relatively recent degree; an older and still common degree designation for librarians to acquire is the Master of Library Science (MLS), or Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) degree. According to the American Library Association (ALA), "The master’s degree in library and information studies is frequently referred to as the MLS; however, ALA-accredited degrees have various names such as Master of Information Studies, Master of Arts, Master of Librarianship, Master of Library and Information Studies, or Master of Science. The degree name is determined by the program. The [ALA] Committee for Accreditation evaluates programs based on their adherence to the Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies, not based on the name of the degree."
The University of Michigan School of Information is the informatics and information science school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It offers baccalaureate, magisterial, and doctoral degrees.
The Drexel University College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), formerly the College of Information Science and Technology or iSchool, is one of the primary colleges of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The College of Computing & Informatics has faculty and administrative offices, research laboratories, collaborative learning spaces, and classrooms located at 3675 Market Street Philadelphia, PA. The current dean is Yi Deng.
The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is an academic division at the University of Toronto which focuses on architecture, urban design and art. The Faculty was the first school in Canada to offer an architecture program, and it was one of the first in Canada to offer a landscape architecture program. As of July 2021, its dean is Juan Du.
Education for librarianship, including for paraprofessional library workers, varies around the world, and has changed over time. In recent decades, many institutions offering librarianship education have changed their names to reflect the shift from print media to electronic media, and to information contained outside of traditional libraries. Some call themselves schools of library and information science, or have dropped the word "library" altogether.
The College of Information Sciences and Technology, also known as the College of IST at Pennsylvania State University was established in 1999. Headquartered at the University Park campus in University Park, Pennsylvania, the college's programs are offered at 21 Penn State campus locations. Dr. Andrea Tapia currently serves as the college's interim dean.
The University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information is one of the 17 schools and colleges of University of Pittsburgh located on the university's main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was formed in 2017 with a focus on academic programs that teach contextually situated computing in an interdisciplinary manner. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as certificate programs and houses three departments: Computer Science, Informatics and Networked Systems, and Information Culture and Data Stewardship.
The Information School is the information school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Formerly the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences since 1984, the Information School changed its focus and name in 2001.
The School of Communication and Information (SC&I) is a professional school within the New Brunswick Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The school was created in 1982 as a result of a merger between the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, the School of Communication Studies, and the Livingston Department of Urban Journalism. The school has about 2,500 students at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels, and about 60 full-time faculty.
The School of Medical Science and Technology (SMST) is an educational and research institute affiliated to the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. Founded in 2001, the School of Medical Science and Technology brings together doctors, scientists and engineers to work collaboratively on projects for better healthcare.
The University of Texas School of Information is a graduate school and undergraduate school at the University of Texas at Austin, offering master's and doctoral degrees in information studies, as well as certificates of advanced study and an undergraduate minor. In 2021, they began offering a bachelor's degree in informatics. UT iSchool graduates find careers in archival enterprise, information architecture, information policy, information systems design and management, information usability, librarianship, multimedia design, museum work, preservation and conservation, and records management.
The Mainz University of Applied Sciences, is a 1971-founded university located in Mainz, in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The University of Applied Sciences Mainz consists of three faculties: School of Technology, School of Design and School of Business. The common feature of all fields of study is the practical orientation of the university, the short periods of study and the internationally orientated courses.
The UNC School of Information and Library Science(SILS) ( University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) offers a bachelor's degree in information science, a master's degrees in library science and information science, a master's degree in digital curation, and a doctoral degree in information and library science as well as an undergraduate minor, graduate certificate programs, and a post-masters certificate.
The University of British Columbia School of Information is a graduate school at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver offering a Master of Archival Studies (MAS), a Master of Arts in Children's Literature (MACL), a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS), a DUAL Master of Archival Studies/Master of Library and Information Studies (MASLIS) and a Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (Ph.D.). Founded in 1961 as the School of Librarianship, the iSchool is currently located in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. The school changed its name in 2020, but was previously known as the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. UBC iSchool is an internationally ranked, multi-disciplinary school, ranked first in the world for graduate education in library and information management based on 2019 and 2020 QS ranking.
The University of Arizona School of Information is a multidisciplinary academic department and professional school that is housed within the University's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The school focuses on the many aspects of information organization, management, or use and its impact on individuals and society. A combination of the School of Information Resources & Library Science (SIRLS) and the School of Information: Science, Technology, and Arts (SISTA), this new department plays host to faculty and students engaged in research and education on facets of the information sciences.
The Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) is a faculty at University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. The faculty offers programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels focusing on the advancement of knowledge in media, communications, and information technologies.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
