SLIS alumni and employers of SLIS graduates are among the sources encouraging the school to keep the master’s degree programs up to date with changes in the profession. This spring SLIS Bloomington faculty members addressed such questions as:
What will students need to know to be successful in their careers? What challenges currently face the information profession? What new opportunities are on the horizon? In what new ways will people use technology to connect with the information they need?
The faculty approved changes in the MLS curriculum, added two specializations, and revised the MIS foundation course to provide an introduction for all master’s students:
- An updated Master of Library Science Curriculum will be in place for students beginning in Fall 2013.
- A Specialization in Information Architecture for both the Master of Information Science and the Master of Library Science programs has been approved by the faculty and routed to the Campus Curriculum Committee for final approval.
- A Specialization in Data Science for both the Master of Information Science and the Master of Library Science has been approved by the faculty and routed to the Campus Curriculum Committee for final approval.
- A new joint MIS/MLS foundation course (Z510) to be renamed Introduction to Information Studies will be taught for the first time in the Fall 2013 semester.
Ideas for improving SLIS programs come from conversations with alumni, the SLIS Alumni Board, the MLS and MIS Advisory Councils, ALA accreditors, and faculty from SLIS and our new partners in the School of Informatics and Computing. We are excited about the possibilities ahead, and about the creative new career paths that continue to open for SLIS graduates.
Posted April 23, 2013