The School of Communication and Information

Communication and information are at the forefront of every industry and interaction today. The School of Communication and Information (SC&I) is committed to equipping students with the tools required to succeed in today’s global communication, information, and media environments. SC&I’s programs will prepare students interested in organizational and health communication, social and new media, library and information science, and information technology for a top career in today’s digital workplace.

SC&I seeks to understand communication, information, media processes, and technologies as they affect individuals, societies, organizations, and the relationships among them. 

The solutions to many of society’s critical problems are rooted in interaction, participation in information networks, and processes of civic engagement. Societal challenges include the achievement of healthy people and communities; maintaining a thriving democracy and useful public policy; preparing new generations of leaders; creating humane, productive, and empowering organizations; and development of individual skills, self-understanding, and personal fulfillment.

SC&I has over 20 research groups focusing on areas such as school libraries, organizational development and leadership, and communication related to health issues.

SC&I, located on the Rutgers flagship New Brunswick campus, was created in 1982 with the merger of the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, the School of Communication Studies, and the Department of Urban Journalism.  The journalism and library science programs each had roots in programs established in the 1920s at Rutgers, and the communication program was established during the 1970s.

Distinguished faculty of the school have been elected to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (vice president), to the Association for Library and Information Science Education Board of Directors, and to the Society of American Historians; named International Communication Association fellows, Knight News Innovation Fellows at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, a Whiting Foundation Public Engagement fellow, a British Psychological Society fellow, and a resident fellow at the Leon Levy Center for Biography; appointed a Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; included in the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics trademarked list; winners of a Peabody Award, numerous National Communication Association awards, the American Association of School Librarians Distinguished Service Award, the ALA Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award, the APHA Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award (honorable mention), Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence (inaugural winner), Association of Internet Researchers book award, Marilyn Sternberg Award; appointed to the American Library Association Council and the Botswana-Rutgers Mahube Partnership for Transformation; invited to participate in the Geneva Trialogue; and are recipients of various Rutgers University awards for teaching, research, and service, among other honors, including the Jeff Tellis Outstanding Advisor Award and a Loyal Son of Rutgers Award, among other honors.  

Our outstanding students have received numerous awards, including the Emerging Researcher Award by the Social Informatics Special Interest Group at ASIS&T (SIG SI), several International Communication Association awards, the 2020 Paul Robeson Renaissance Award, the 2021 iSchools Doctoral Dissertation Award (runner up), the National Communication Association Donald P. Cushman Memorial Award, an American Association of University Women American Dissertation Fellowship, and Johnson & Johnson fellowships. Many are honors society inductees, and one was named an Association of Research Libraries Diversity Scholar.  

Undergraduate Majors

• Communication
• Information Technology and Informatics
• Journalism and Media Studies

Undergraduate Minors

• Data Science Minor 
• Digital Communication, Information and Media Minor
• Gender and Media Minor

Masters

• Master of Communication and Media
• Master of Information

Doctoral

Students in the SC&I's Ph.D. program can choose from the following areas:

• Communication
• Library and Information Science
• Media Studies

Continuing and Professional Studies

Certificate programs are taught by renowned industry leaders. All courses run for four weeks and are 100% online, flexible, asynchronous, and self-paced.

• Business Communication Certificate
• Crisis Communication and Reputation Management Certificate 
• Digital Asset Management Bronze Certificate
• Digital Asset Management (DAM) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Silver Certificate 
• Advanced Creative Operations Silver Certificate 
• Digital Asset Management for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (DAM for GLAM) Silver Certificate
• Public Relations Certificate
• Strategic Digital Asset Management (DAM) Operations Silver Certificate

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a leading national research university and the state of New Jersey’s preeminent, comprehensive public institution of higher education. Established in 1766, the university is the eighth oldest higher education institution in the United States. Nearly 69,000 students and 22,000 full- and part-time faculty and staff learn, work, and serve the public at Rutgers locations across New Jersey and around the world. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education voted on June 21, 2018 to reaffirm the accreditation of all Rutgers University locations for the period July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2027.  

Free Expression at Rutgers

The university has launched a centralized website that affirms our longstanding commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech, reiterates our policies related to student conduct and professional ethics, and articulates clear guidelines for free expression.

Review free expression policies and guidelines