Academic Programs Catalog

Information Science students will focus on the relationship between information, technology, and people, and therefore be equipped for jobs emerging from the growing information, technology and knowledge economy.  Students will design technologies from a human-centered perspective, organize and manage groups of people using information technologies, understand how modern technologies are shaping society, and govern the role that these technologies play in our world.

This degree uniquely prepares  graduates by focusing on: 1) understanding and harnessing the power of media through interdisciplinary artistic, qualitative, and quantitative methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives, 2) using the design process to inform the creative act and fuel innovation using current and emerging media technologies, 3) using media to address pressing social issues and other meaningful themes, 4) gaining fluency with the tools, practice, and techniques used in the creation of current and emerging mediated experiences, and 5) interpreting and critiquing media in the context of audiences, users, historical precedents, socio-cultural patterns of use, and ethical implications of technologies. 

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Information Science

1. The University requirements for bachelor's degrees as described in the Undergraduate Education section of the catalog; 120 credits, including general elective credits, are required for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Science.
   
   The University's Tier II writing requirement for the Information Science major is met by completing one of the following courses: Media and Information 401, 450, or 488.  Those courses are referenced in item 3. below.
2. The requirements of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences for the Bachelor of Arts degree.
3. The following requirements for the major:

   a.	All of the following core courses (9 credits):
   	MI	101	Understanding Media and Information						3
   	MI	201	Introduction to information Science						3
   	MI	304	Information and Society						3
   b.	Two of the following methods courses (6 credits):
   	MI	220	Methods for Understanding Users						3
   	MI	320	Reasoning with Data						3
   	MI	355	Media and Information Research						3
   	MI	425	Advanced Data Analysis						3
   c.	Six courses from the following focus areas with at least four courses in the same focus area and at least one course from a different focus area (18 credits):
   	Human-Centered Technologies
   	MI	250	Introduction to Applied Programming						3
   	MI	349	Web Design and Development						3
   	MI	350	Evaluating Human-Centered Technology						3
   	MI	420	Interactive Prototyping						3
   	MI	449	Advanced Web Development and Database Management						3
   	MI	450	Creating Human-Centered Technology (W)						3
   	MI	484	Human Robot Interaction (W)						3
   	Media and Information
   	ITM	444	Information Technology Project Management						3
   	MI	349	Web Design and Development						3
   	MI	360	Media and Information Management						3
   	MI	361	IT Network Management and Security						3
   	MI	401	Topics in Information Science (W)						3
   	MI	449	Advanced Web Development and Database Management						3
   	MI	452	Media Entrepreneurship and Business Strategies						3
   	MI	462	Social Media and Social Computing						3
   	MI	472	Digital Business and Commerce						3
   	Information and Society
   	MI	239	Digital Footprints: Privacy and Online Behavior						3
   	MI	302	Networks, Markets, and Society						3
   	MI	305	Media and Information Policy						3
   	MI	401	Topics in Information Science (W)						3
   	MI	462	Social Media and Social Computing						3
   	MI	480	Information and Communication Technologies and Development						3
   	MI	484	Human Robot Interaction (W)						3
   	MI	488	Information and Communication Technology Development Project (W)						3
   d.	Media and Information (MI) Electives.
   	Additional credits in department courses can be taken as electives. Special topics (MI 491) and internships (MI 493) are encouraged for experiential learning opportunities. Students interested in pursuing a minor should contact the Academic and Students Affairs Office in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.