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Information Science (INFO)
Information Science considers the relationships between people, places and technology—as well as the information or data those interactions yield. It unites a number of interdisciplinary approaches for understanding and shaping a future characterized by pervasively available digital technology. Drawing on knowledge from social science, computer science, data science, and the humanities, information scientists support the study and innovation of “socio-technical systems.”
In other words, Information Science takes as a core idea that data are a common denominator for both social and technical systems. By focusing on the transformation of data across systems of people, places, and technology in ways that then make data truly useful and meaningful, students will be in the best possible position to invent what society can do with technology, and what technology can do for society.
Students will acquire broad skills in human-information interaction, including:
- multiple forms of information analysis, from small data to big data, from quantitative to qualitative, from data exploration to information exposition;
- skills in working with information, industries and audiences to tell stories with data;
- understanding social and ethical contexts of information and technology;
- human-centered design and research design;
- data curation, archiving and management;
- computing to support information-analytic skills, including prototype building and scripting for working with data.
Course code for this program is INFO.
Bachelor's Degree Program(s)
Bachelor’s Degree in Information Science
The BS in Information Science requires 54 credit hours within the major. Students will also complete the CMCI Core as part of their general education. A secondary area of study, which is also part of the CMCI Core, will be used to synthesize knowledge of Information Science with an application domain. The Portfolio & Professionalization as well as the Capstone courses are a critical part of cohort-building in the major, and are designed to create a community of learners who are prepared to tackle ambitious projects together, individually, and in preparation for internship and post-baccalaureate opportunities.
Information Science Soucrses in the CMCI Core
INFO 1201 Computational Reasoning 1: Expression & Media Transformation
INFO 1301 Quantitative Reasoning 1: Intuitions & Evidence
Foundations
Information Science students will take the following foundations courses:
INFO 1111 Representations Seminar & Studio
INFO 1121 Interactions Seminar & Studio
INFO 2131 Ecosystems Seminar & Studio
INFO 2201 Computational Reasoning 2: Representations of Data
INFO 2301 Quantitative Reasoning 2: Uncertainty & Inference
Digital Landscapes
Information Science majors are required to take three courses (a total of at least nine credit hours) from a list of approved courses that meet the “digital landscapes” requirement. These may come from inside or outside Information Science. Example courses that may be offered within Information Science at the 1000 or 2000 level and include Historical Trajectories of Information Science, Human-Computer Interaction, or Gender and Information Technology. Courses from other majors within CMCI that would satisfy the Digital Landscapes requirement would include MDST 3002: Digital Cultures and Politics, or JRNL 2601: Principles of Journalism and Networked Communication, among others.
Information Exploration & Exposition Series
Information Science students will take both Information Exploration and Information Exposition. Though not required, we highly recommend that Information Science majors take these courses in sequence.
INFO 3401 Information Exploration
INFO 3402 Information Exposition
Portfolio/Profession and Capstone Series
The Department of Information Science values project-based learning, team-based learning, the development of good professional practice, and the development of specializations at the undergraduate level. The Portfolio & Professional Development as well as the Capstone courses are a critical part of cohort-building in the major, and are designed to create a community of learners who are prepared to tackle ambitious projects together, individually, and in preparation for internship and post-baccalaureate opportunities.
INFO 2001, 3001, 4001. Portfolio and Professional Development
Facilitates career development through the disciplined reflection about and presentation of one’s work using a variety of modalities across a variety of media. Students will be introduced to individuals and organizations representing a diversity of career paths in their chosen field
INFO TBD. Senior Capstone
Problems in Information Science and Mastery
Information Science students will take a total of 5 Problems in Information Science and Mastery courses, with a minimum of 2 courses in each category.
INFO TBD Problems in Information Science (multiple)
A series of different courses will be offered in which students deeply engage in specific domains, applying the skills that have been learned in the foundation courses through instructor-guided research of a progressive series of timely problems about the domain. Problems in Information Science are domain-guided versions of Information Exploration and Information Exposition combined in one course. Examples of problem domains that may be taught include: Computational Biology, Computational Social Science, Crisis Informatics, Digital Humanities, Medical Informatics, Music Informatics, Personal Informatics, Philanthropic Informatics, Online Communities, and Social Media.
INFO TBD Information Science Mastery (multiple)
A series of different courses will offer deep dives into theory and methods in different areas of Information Science. Examples of mastery topics that may be taught include: Advanced Research Methods, Advanced Computing for Information Science, Data Mining, Human Computation and Crowdsourcing, Information Ethics and Policy, Information Retrieval, Information Visualization, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Network Analysis, Tangible Interfaces, Ubiquitous Computing, and Visual Computing.
Minor in Information Science
The Minor in Information Science will draw from courses described above in Foundations, Exploration and Exposition, Digital Landscapes, Problems in Information Science and Mastery. The minor is currently under formal review and details of the requirements will be available on the CMCI website once it is approved.
Graduate Degree Program(s)
The department offers programs of study leading to a PhD in information science. Interested students should contact the department for current admission and degree requirements.
