Requirements and Plans of Study - School of Communication and Information

Advising

You will meet with a faculty adviser when you enroll in the M.L.I.S. program to plan a course of study. Your general advising sessions are held on campus every semester in the weeks before you must register for the next semester, and you are required to meet with an advisor before you register for classes. In addition, all faculty hold regular office hours. Online students receive advising via phone or email each semester as well.

Requirements

You need a minimum of thirty-six credits, or twelve courses, to earn the M.L.I.S. degree.

If you intend to be a full-time student, the maximum course load is 15 credits per term, and 36 credits under this plan requires two terms and a summer on a full-time basis or 12 credits during each of three regular (non-summer) terms. The faculty encourages students to avoid the maximum course load of 15 credits except in cases of special need. Full-time study is not an option in the online program.

If you intend to be a part-time student, you must complete your degree within a three-year period. You will register for a minimum of 6 credits per term or 12 credits per year unless special permission is obtained from the chairperson of the department.

Matriculation Continued (Leave of Absence) - Students who must interrupt their studies may, with the approval of a program director, register for Matriculation Continued (leave of absence). There is no tuition fee for this registration, although a student fee is charged. Students who do not register for Matriculation Continued will be charged a reactivation fee upon their return to the program. (Students on temporary visas who interrupt their studies must in most cases leave the United States during such periods.) Matriculation Continued is available only to students not enrolled in any coursework and not using faculty time and university facilities, except to complete previous coursework from classes with incomplete or temporary grades. MLIS students may enroll in Matriculation Continued for a maximum of two consecutive semesters. Students are still expected to complete the MLIS program within three years; a request to extend the time for the degree would have to be done separately. All MLIS students who are engaged in the completion of degree requirements are expected to register for at least six credits per term or twelve credits per year, including summer, in order to meet the three year limit for the degree.

Your on-campus courses are scheduled in four time periods: morning, midday , late day, and evening. You should be aware that the completion of the program on campus requires attendance in more than one time period in order to obtain benefit of the full range of course offerings. Online courses meet asynchronously (i.e. no set meeting times at one particular time of the day). Your program may not be completed by attendance at summer sessions only, either on campus or online: a maximum of 12 credits may be earned by attendance at summer sessions. No more than 9 credits may be taken in any one summer without permission of the chairperson.

The M.L.I.S. curriculum is organized around six themes, and each theme has one core course, two or more central courses, and a variety of specialization courses. You will take at least 9 credits in lead courses (although all six are highly recommended) and a minimum of 15 credits in a combination of lead and central courses.

You are required to enroll in two non-credit classes, 501-Introduction to Library and Information Professions in their first semester, and 502-Colloquium in a later semester.

There are no language requirements for the M.L.I.S. degree, and there is no thesis or comprehensive examination.

Plans of Study Online

Please check the section on Completing a Degree Online (in the above menu) for further details.

Plans of Study on Campus

You will work with an advisor to plan a course of study appropriate for your interests and career objectives. There is a tremendous amount of individuality possible in crafting a plan of study. If you have no experience in libraries or information centers, you are urged to take 592-Field Experience as part of your coursework.

Here are a just a couple of sample plans of study:

If you want to become an Adult Services Librarian in a public library you might take twelve or more of these courses:

510-Human Information Behavior
530-Principles of Searching
540-Reference Sources and Services
550-Information Technology for Libraries and Information Agencies
570-Management of Libraries and Information Centers
580-Knowledge Structures and the Information Professions
511-User and Use Studies
517-Planning Outreach Services
518-Designing User Centered Information Services and Systems
519-User Instruction
522-Cataloging and Classification
532-Collection Development and Management
548-Materials for Young Adults
549-Materials and Reader's Advisory Services for Adults

If you want to become a Knowledge Manager you might take twelve or more of these courses:

510-Human Information Behavior
520-Organizing Information
530-Principles of Searching
540-Reference Sources and Services
550-Information Technology
570-Management
580-Knowledge Structures
511-Use and User Studies
518-Designing User Centered Information Services
521-Knowledge Representation
523-Classification
531-Search Strategy
534-Records Management
535-Competitive Intelligence
54x-Information resources courses
552-Automated and Networked Systems
554-Information Visualization and Presentation
557-Database Design and Management
558-Networked Information
571-Leadership in Theory and Practice
572-Evaluation of Systems and Services
574-Knowledge Management in Organizations
577-Economics of Information
581-Social Informatics
582-Information Policy

If you want to become a School Library Media Specialist, your plan of study has eleven required courses and one elective to meet New Jersey Department of Education requirements. To become certified as a School Library Media Specialist by the State of New Jersey, in addition to Library and Information Science courses you must also complete coursework in Education. See our School Library Media Certifications webpage for more details.

510-Human Information Behavior
530-Principles of Searching
550-Information Technology for Libraries and Information Agencies
522-Cataloging and Classification
540-Reference Sources and Services
514-Learning Theory, Media and Curriculum
547-Materials for Children
548-Materials for Young Adults
555-Multimedia Production
575-Educational Media Center Management
592-Field Experience
One elective, with approval of adviser

If you want to become a digital librarian, your plan of study requires six courses. Two courses are required:

550 Information Technology for Libraries and Information Agencies
553 Digital Libraries

Students may select four additional courses from the following list:

512 Interface Design
524 Metadata for Information Professionals
551 Information Retrieval
552 Library Software and Systems
554 Information Visualization and Presentation
555 Multimedia Production
557 Database Management
558 Digital Library Technology
574 Knowledge Management in Organizations

Special topics courses include:

Language and Information
Digital Stewardship
Social Media
Social Media Software
Field Experience, Independent Studies and other Special Topics courses appropriate for the specialization, subject to approval by the DL Coordinator.

For suggested plans of study to become a...

  Archivist
  Customer representative/trainer
  Electronic resources librarian
  Health Sciences librarian
  Indexer/thesaurus editor
  Information architect/epistemologist/taxonomist
  Information broker
  Law librarian
  Library administrator
  Reference librarian/information specialist
  Systems librarian
  Technical services librarian
  Youth services librarian in a public library

...please check our website for 501-Introduction to Library and Information Professions and follow the link for "Practical Concerns: Academic" for other sample study plans. Your options abound!