University of Washington Information School

Last updated
Information School
Mary Gates Hall, April 2008.jpg
Mary Gates Hall, home of the Information School
Former names
Department of Library Economy (1911–1916)
Library School (1916–1932)
Department of Library Science (1932–1935)
School of Librarianship (1935–1984)
Graduate School of Library and Information Science (1984–2001)
Type Public
Established1911 [1]
Parent institution
 University of Washington
Dean Anind Dey
Location
Seattle
,
Washington
,
U.S.

47°39′17.39″N122°18′27.68″W / 47.6548306°N 122.3076889°W / 47.6548306; -122.3076889
Website ischool.uw.edu

The Information School (abbreviated as iSchool) 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. [2]

Contents

The school offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including a BS in Informatics, a Master of Library Science MLIS degree, a Master of Science in Information Management, a Museology MA, and a PhD in Information Science.

History

In 1911, it was a library school founded by Harriet Howe, Josephine Meissner, William E. Henry and Charles W. Smith, established in response to a growing need in the Western United States for highly trained, well-prepared librarians. [3] Prior to 1911, librarians in the Pacific Northwest were trained through a six-week summer course offered at the University of Washington.

Name changes include: (1911-1916) Department of Library Economy; (1916-1932) Library School; (1932-1935) Department of Library Science in the Graduate School; (1935-1984) School of Librarianship; and (1984-2001) Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Finally, in 2001, the school was renamed the Information School, becoming the newest independent school at the University of Washington.

Dean Emeritus Michael Eisenberg said, “I want to bring together many of the best things that are going on at the UW, as well as introducing some new things. Information science is a discipline that studies the organization, management, processing and use of information by people in every possible environment. We also plan to take advantage of the leading role that Northwest companies are playing in this transformation. Our students will be trained to make important contributions to society. And our discipline also will be working closely with other campus departments. I believe there is a void in information technology—the ability to apply technology to various fields, as it can be done by an information professional.” [4]

The Information School introduced several new continuing education certificate programs and degree programs in 2000 in response to changes in how people create, store, find, manipulate and share information. Under the leadership of Professor and Dean Emeritus Michael Eisenberg, the Information School introduced the Bachelor of Science in Informatics, online Master of Library and Information Science, Master of Science in Information Management, and Ph.D. in Information Science. In 2023, under the leadership of Professor and Dean Anind Dey, the University of Washington Museology program became a part of the Information School, adding an additional degree option with the MA in Museology. [5]

Directors and deans

  1. 1914-1931 William E. Henry
  2. 1931-1945 Ruth Worden
  3. 1945-1950 Robert L. Gitler
  4. 1950-1955 Gladys Boughton (acting, 1950-1952)
  5. 1955-1956 Dorothy Bevis (acting)
  6. 1956-1972 Irving Lieberman
  7. 1972-1974 Mae Benne (acting)
  8. 1974-1981 Peter Hiatt
  9. 1981-1992 Margaret E. Chisholm (acting, 1981-1983)
  10. 1992-1993 Edmond Mignon (acting)
  11. 1993-1996 Phyllis Van Orden
  12. 1996-1997 Edward Bassett (acting)
  13. 1997-1998 Betty Bengtson (acting)
  14. 1998-2006 Michael Eisenberg
  15. 2006-2017 Harry Bruce [6]
  16. 2017-2018 Carole Palmer (acting)
  17. 2018–present Anind Dey

Curriculum

Bachelor's program

The Information School offers one undergraduate degree: the Bachelor of Science in Informatics. The Informatics program is focused on the design of information systems and services, with particular emphasis on the following focus areas:

The program touches on privacy issues, ethics, and management, as well as design, search engines, web development, and database design. Students study a broad range of areas in the information field, including: information management and technology, information-related research, interactive system design, human-computer interaction, and information science, with a goal of improving user experiences and technology access. The program's curriculum culminates in a design or research capstone project. The Informatics program has the largest enrollment of any program at the iSchool.

Graduates of the Informatics program typically go on to jobs such as: [7]

Informatics minor

In 2017, the Information School added an Informatics minor. The minor complements a variety of majors on campus by offering students an opportunity to learn about data, design, policy, ethics, and code in order to solve information problems. It may be especially helpful to students in the humanities and social sciences who wish to know more about data, code, design, and policy.

The Informatics minor is open (not competitive or capacity-constrained, unlike most UW majors to which students must apply). In order to declare the Informatics minor, students need to have declared a major and should contact the advising staff of their major for the appropriate procedures. A minimum of 25 credits. A minimum grade of 2.0 must be earned in each class being used to fulfill the minor requirements.

Master's programs

The Information School offers two master's degrees: the Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) and the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS).

Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM)

The MSIM program (Master of Information Management) takes a multidisciplinary approach to the management of information systems and policy. It draws on computer science, business, information science, philosophy, design, and law to inform its curriculum. The MSIM program is offered residentially on the University of Washington campus and offered online.

Graduates work in a variety of professional areas and positions, including, but not limited to:

  • Information Architect
  • User Experience Designer
  • Data Visualization Specialist
  • Systems Analyst
  • Data Scientist
  • Software Design Engineer
  • Risk Consultant
  • Web Computing Specialist
  • Network Administrator
  • Database Developer
  • Cybersecurity Professional
  • Project Manager [8]

Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS)

The MLIS is the iSchool's oldest degree. It is a professional degree that prepares students for careers in library and information professions. The MLIS program offers two degree options: 1) residential, and 2) online. In 2017 the iSchool's MLIS program was ranked #2 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. [9] The program consists of three elements: core courses, electives, and a final degree project. Program requirements are the same for students in the Residential MLIS and Online MLIS programs.

Additionally, the iSchool offers a third MLIS degree—the law librarianship master's program, a degree designed to prepare lawyers to serve as law librarians. The program is designed to take 10 months for full-time students and 22 months for part-time students to complete. [10] The UW iSchool’s law librarianship program provides the highest level of preparation for a career in legal information. The curriculum blends a strong theoretical foundation in the principles of information science with the specialized legal research, technological and operational background they will need to thrive as a law librarian. An accompanying internship allows students to further build their technical skills.

Ph.D. program

The Ph.D. program is a theoretical, research-based doctorate in the field of Information Science. [11] Research areas include:

Ph.D. program alumni have gone on to careers in public sectors (tenure-track faculty, post-doctoral researchers, administrators in higher education) and private sectors (industry researchers, business/industry positions). [11]

Leadership

The Founding Board offers strategic advice to the dean with a focus on building awareness of and attracting resources to the Information School. The Founding Board also leads fundraising initiatives for the Information School. Anind Dey was named Dean of the Information School in 2017, and serves in this role currently. [12]

Faculty

As of October 2023, the Information School's faculty numbered 79 core members, along with numerous adjunct and affiliated faculty members.

Notable faculty include:

Notable alumni

Student organizations

The Information School offers opportunities for students to participate in professional and student communities. [14] iSchool student groups include:

Full list of iSchool student organizations.

Facilities

Mary Gates Hall interior Mary Gates Hall at the UW in 2006.jpg
Mary Gates Hall interior

The school is in Mary Gates Hall, one of several university buildings bordering Drumheller Fountain. Formerly known as the Physics Building, it was renamed in 1995 after receipt of a $10 million gift from the family of Mary Maxwell Gates. [15] In 1999 a $35 million [16] expansion added updated classrooms and computer labs, office spaces, and commons, transforming the 1928 historic building and 1949 addition into a 175,000-square-foot quadrangle with a skylit commons at its center and a new main entry facing Suzzallo Library. [17] The architects of the original building were John Graham & Company and the architects of record for the 1999 expansion were Bassetti Architects. [18]

The Information School also has offices in the UW Tower and in the Suzzallo-Allen Libraries.

Related Research Articles

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, 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 UCLA School of Education and Information Studies is one of the academic and professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. Located in Los Angeles, California, the school combines two departments. Established in 1881, the school is the oldest unit at UCLA, having been founded as a normal school prior to the establishment of the university. It was incorporated into the University of California in 1919.

The University of California, Berkeley School of Information is a graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California. The school was established in 1994 as the School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS) and was renamed to its current name in 2006.

The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) is the master's degree that combines two interdisciplinary academic disciplines. Library science is applied information science and a subfield of information science. This degree focuses on information management. It is also the most common degree for professional librarian positions in the United States. The MLIS was created after the older Master of Library Science (MLS) was reformed to reflect the information science and technology needs of the field. According to the American Library Association (ALA), "ALA-accredited degrees have [had] 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 has been 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 Science, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Illinois School of Information Sciences</span> Library and information science school, University of Illinois

The School of Information Sciences, also The iSchool at Illinois, is an undergraduate and graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Its Master of Science in Library and Information Science is currently accredited in full good standing by the American Library Association. The school is a charter member of the iSchool initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drexel University College of Computing and Informatics</span> Computing and informatics college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of the Philippines School of Library and Information Studies</span>

The School of Library and Information Studies of the University of the Philippines or UP SLIS is the oldest library school in the Philippines. Formally established in March 1961 as the Institute of Library Science, it can trace it roots to 1914, making it one of the first library schools in Asia. It is an independent degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman, and offers programs in the field of library and information science. In December 2015, the Commission on Higher Education declared the school as the first and only Center of Excellence among universities and colleges with library and information programs in the Philippines.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Maryland College of Information</span> School within the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, US

The University of Maryland (UMD)College of Information is a teaching and research college located just outside of Washington, DC on the UMD College Park campus in the state of Maryland, USA. The UMD College of Information, also known as the INFO College, offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree and certificate programs. Research at the college spans areas of information science, from AI to cybersecurity to archives, and is driven by a mission to use information and technology to solve real world problems and do good.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal School of Library and Information Science</span> Ella.Com

The Royal School of Library and Information Science is a school under the University of Copenhagen that provides higher education in the field of library and information science. It has now merged with another department to Department of Communication. It is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a member of iSchools, a consortium directed to understanding the role of information in nature and human culture. There has also been a location in Aalborg, however this campus was shut down in the summer of 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Borås</span> Swedish university college

The University of Borås (UB), or Högskolan i Borås, is a Swedish university in the city of Borås. As of 2023 it has around 19,000 students and 828 staff. The Swedish School of Library and Information Science and Swedish School of Textiles are part of the university. Along with Borås' reputation as a textile city, the university is known for its fashion and management programs, as being some of the best in the world.

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 University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee is a doctoral-degree granting public research university that consists of 14 colleges and schools, and 70 academic centers, institutes and laboratory facilities. It offers a total of 180 degree programs, including 94 bachelor's, 53 master's and 32 doctorate degrees. The School of Freshwater Sciences is the only graduate school of freshwater science in the U.S. and the third in the world. The School of Architecture and Urban Planning, the College of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences are the largest in Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNC School of Information and Library Science</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of British Columbia School of Information</span> Graduate school at the University of British Columbia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pratt Institute School of Information</span> Information school of the Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute School of Information is the information school of the Pratt Institute, a private university in New York City. The school administers the oldest Library and Information Science program in North America. It was created in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1890 shortly after Melvil Dewey created such a program at Columbia University in 1887. Based in Manhattan, the school administers a master of information and library science degree program that has been accredited by the American Library Association since the 1924–1925 academic year.

The Department of Information Studies is a department of the UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Library and Information Science program at the University of Western Ontario</span>

Located in London, Ontario, Canada, the Library and Information Science (LIS) program at the University of Western Ontario offers both Masters and PhD level programs through the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS). Its Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program is one of seven Canadian MLIS programs currently accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). Both the PhD and Masters programs in Library and Information Sciences at Western FIMS emphasize research skills development, engagement with professional literature, information technology learning, and professional career preparedness.

The School of Library and Information Studies is situated at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and is part of the Faculty of Education. The School offers a Master's program in Library and Information Studies (MLIS) that is accredited by the American Library Association, as well as combined programs with a Master of Arts in Digital Humanities and a Master of Business Administration (MLIS/MBA). SLIS offers an Individual Interdisciplinary PhD opportunity in conjunction with other University of Alberta departments that serve as home units for PhD programs. The School also offers the only fully online MLIS in Canada.

References

  1. ↑ Wills, Antoinette; Bolcer, John D. (August 4, 2014). University of Washington. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 7. ISBN   978-1-467-13182-7 . Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ Roseth, B. (1998). New director leads Library school into Information Age. University Week. Archived Copy
  3. ↑ "iSchool History". Information School, University of Washington. 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "University Week Article". faculty.washington.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  5. ↑ "iSchool is a perfect fit for UW's Museology program". ischool.uw.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  6. ↑ iNews, Centennial Issue, Fall 2011, p. 4-5
  7. ↑ UW iSchool Overview - Informatics (BS).
  8. ↑ UW ISchool. Overview - Info Mgmt (MSIM). University of Washington Information School. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ US News & World Report 2017 Library and Information Studies School Rankings
  10. ↑ "Law librarianship master's program". ischool.uw.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  11. 1 2 "Ph.D. Program Brochure" (PDF). Information School, University of Washington. March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Anind K. Dey named dean of the UW's Information School". UW News. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  13. ↑ Friedman, Batya; Hendry, David G.; Borning, Alan (2017-11-21). "A Survey of Value Sensitive Design Methods". Foundations and Trends in Human–Computer Interaction. 11 (2): 63–125. doi:10.1561/1100000015. ISSN   1551-3955. S2CID   28701004.
  14. ↑ Information School Student Organizations
  15. ↑ Mary Gates Hall webpage. Retrieved 2011-10-21
  16. ↑ Daily Journal of Commerce, January 16, 2001. Retrieved 2011-10-21
  17. ↑ The Daily of the University of Washington, November 8, 1999. Retrieved 2011-10-21
  18. ↑ UW Buildings History. Retrieved 2011-10-21
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.