Undergraduate Degree

Information Science

Program:
Information Science
Plan Code:
INFOSC_BA1
Program Level:
Undergraduate
Award Type:
Bachelor of Arts
College:
College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Department:
Media and Information


Excerpt from the official Academic Programs Catalog:

Listed below are the approved requirements for the program from the official Academic Programs Catalog.
Students must consult their advisors to learn which specific requirements apply to their degree programs.


College of Communication Arts and Sciences

Department of Media and Information

Undergraduate Programs
Information Science

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 of 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
    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 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 outside the above requirements. No more than 60 credits can be taken within the college. Students are encouraged to pursue an optional transcriptable concentration or a department-affiliated minor to complement their major. Minors may be chosen from fiction filmmaking, documentary production, game design and development, information technology, or information and communication technology and development. Special topics and internships are also encouraged through enrollment in MI 491 and MI 493. Students interested in pursuing a concentration or minor should contact the Academic and Students Affairs Office in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.