BS in Information Science + Master of Library and Information Science

Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s programs allow select undergraduate students USG to complete an undergraduate and graduate degree within three years (2 years for the undergraduate program and one year for the graduate degree.) This is accomplished by allowing students to enroll in graduate-level courses beginning in their junior year. These courses fulfill requirements for both programs.

Admission to these programs is restricted to UMD College of Information (INFO) BS in Information Science (Shady Grove) undergraduate students with 45 or fewer credits. Interested students apply in the Fall semester of their junior year. Students selected for entry into this program complete Mandatory Advising in the Spring semester of their junior year with an undergraduate and graduate advisor to draft an academic plan that accounts for both program requirements and the undergraduate/graduate credit overlap.

Students in the program would not have space to complete a designated undergraduate specialization (aka cognate area) but could use their 18 credits of MLIS electives to complete a specialization at the graduate level including:

• Archives and Digital Curation: focuses on the creation, management, use, long-term preservation, and access to records and information, both analog and digital, in a variety of disciplines and sectors of the economy
• Diversity and Inclusion: focuses on instruction about and research into the design, development, provision, and integration of information services, resources, technologies, and outreach that serve diverse and often underserved populations
• Intelligence and Analytics: focuses on skills such as finding, organizing, synthesizing, and evaluating information, with additional emphasis on on intelligence, research, data analysis, and information privacy and security
• Legal Informatics: focuses on research and analytical skills, as well as an understanding of the broader social and political contexts that surround legal information and resources
• School Library: provides candidates with a firm educational foundation in information studies while pursuing the requires for School Library certification in the state of Maryland
• Youth Experience (YX): enables candidates to to design and implement policies, programs, and technology to support a young person’s learning, development, and everyday lives

Fast Facts

• Distinguished faculty, including Professor Paul Jaeger, Professor and AIC Director Richard Marciano, Professor Mega Subramaniam, and more
• The prestigious Center for Archival Futures (CAFe) and Advanced Information Collaboratory (AIC) create more hands-on learning opportunities for students

National Rankings

• #2 in USA – Services for Children and Youth Focus (U.S. News & World Report)
• #3 in USA – MLIS Program Overall (U.S. News & World Report)
• #5 in USA – School Library & Youth Focus Areas and Information Systems Focus Area (U.S. News & World Report)
• #6 in USA – Archives & Preservation Focus Areas (U.S. News & World Report)

Accreditation

• Fully accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). Graduating from an ALA-accredited program provides flexibility in the types jobs you can apply for and enhances career mobility. Many employers require an ALA-accredited master’s degree for professional level positions, and some states require an ALA-accredited degree to work as a professional librarian in public or school libraries.

Students admitted into the InfoSci/MLIS combined program take the below graduate courses in place of undergraduate courses:

• LBSC602 Serving Information Needs replaces an Upper-Level Major Elective
• LBSC671 Creating Information Infrastructures Context replaces an Upper-Level Major Elective
• LBSC631 Achieving Organizational Excellence replaces an Upper-Level Major Elective

Students enrolled in combined Bachelor’s/Master’s program are responsible for paying undergraduate tuition and fees PLUS graduate tuition and fees for each graduate credit they’re enrolled in (which includes a $50 p/credit INFO College fee).

Student must complete the below courses by the end of the Fall semester of their Junior year:

• MATH115 or higher with a C- or better
• INST126 with a C- or better
• STAT100 with a C- or better
• PSYC100 with a B or better
• INST201 with a B or better
• INST152 with a B or better
• INST311 with a B or better

Eligible students can apply in the Fall semester of their junior year. The application is handed through an internal system co-managed by the INFO Undergraduate Student Services Office and the MLIS program.

At the UMD College of Information, we believe one of the best ways to learn – is to do. In addition to studying under world-renowned faculty, our students learn hands-on with industry professionals who lecture at our college. For aspiring school librarians, we offer exciting field study experiences.

Through internships, class projects, and events, students also build relationships with the INFO College’s 400+ top industry and government partners, such as the Smithsonian, National Archives, MD State Archives, Library of Congress, National Institutes of Health, Department of the Interior, Bloomberg, and the Washington Post.

Our students also have opportunities for hands-on learning at the INFO College’s world-renowned research centers and labs., including the prestigious Center for Archival Futures (CAFe) and Advanced Information Collaboratory (AIC).