Information Sciences, MS

SIS alumnus and archivist Eric Dawson holds up and looks at a large negative in the archives he manages at the East Tennessee Historical Society in Knoxville.

Our American Library Association accredited master’s program prepares students to effectively manage, navigate, analyze, and turn information into action in public and private sectors.

School of Information Sciences

Program overview

If you’re looking for a hands-on learning environment with the convenience of online courses, look no further. With more than two decades providing distance education options, students seeking their ALA-accredited Master of Science in Information Sciences (MSIS) degree receive the same great educational experience whether they choose our online or on-campus course options.

Online: SIS online classes promote strong engagement in real-time between faculty and students. Students enjoy the benefits of a tight-knit, online community as they pursue their information sciences journey. You can learn more about the on-line program at Vols Online.

On-Campus: On-campus students also enjoy access to campus facilities, resources, and services such as student health services and recreation facilities. If you choose to study on the Knoxville campus, your three core classes may be offered in a physical, traditional classroom, but a majority of your classes will be online.

Courses are typically offered at times that fit the busy schedules of working professionals, allowing for those who are looking to advance or switch careers the flexibility to attend our synchronous courses.

Download the MSIS Handbook (PFD)

Why study Information Sciences?

The MSIS program provides a variety of pathways into various information sciences careers, which are:

Pursuing these pathways and tailoring your program to your desired objectives by including a hands-on practicum for credit can help set you up for success after graduation. Every MSIS student is paired with a faculty advisor who aligns with their areas of interest so they can get one-on-one guidance on their master’s degree journey.

In addition to these pathways, we offer four graduate certificates that can be earned in conjunction with a MSIS degree for students who have specific goals in mind, such as getting licensed to be a librarian in a school.

Points of Pride

A Top 10

library program in the nation,

according to US World & News Report

90%

of graduates

from the MSIS program are working in the Information Sciences field within one year of graduation.

50+ years

of American Library Association accreditation

What can you do with a MS in Information Sciences after graduation?

Careers in information sciences continue to evolve during this age of information, with a continued and growing need for professionals who can manage and organize data and information. From libraries to national labs and corporate landscapes, information sciences continues to thrive as a field.

Here’s a few of the titles our alumni from the MSIS program have:

Academic librarian
Technical services librarian
Special collections archivist
Assessment specialist
Data curator
Science informationist

Digital services librarian
Spatial data analyst
Map cataloger
Information architect
UX researcher
Children’s librarian

I feel like they [SIS] have a finger on the pulse of what employers are looking for, and what is new and needed in the field, which I appreciate. I think they’re on the cutting-edge of the trending topics in information sciences, and really preparing graduates to get a job at the end of it.”
Amanda Liford (’19)
Science Data Manager at the US Geological Survey, and alumnus of the UT Master of Science in Information Sciences program

Amanda Lifted leands against a rock wall with snowpcapped mountains in the distance behind her.

Featured Courses

INSC 563 – Data Management

Foundational data management concepts and models used to describe the creation, organization, distribution, storage, access, retrieval, management, use, and preservation of data throughout the data lifecycle. Includes a review of socio-technical systems, including people, infrastructures, and stakeholders used to understand data management best practices, guidelines, and policies.

INSC 562 – Digital Curation

Value-added, lifecycle management of born and reborn digital objects and databases. Content creation, digitization, selection, appraisal, ingest, storage, preservation, access, use and re-use. Digital and data repository standards, policies, and management.

INSC 541 – Knowledge Management for Information Professionals

Tools and techniques for knowledge acquisition, assessment, evaluation, management, organization and dissemination applied to business situations. Topics include knowledge generation, coordination, codification, transfer, and reuse. Strategies and information technologies to facilitate KM. Roles of information professionals in developing knowledge management initiatives.

INSC 586 – Usability Testing and Evaluation

Comprehensive overview of theory and practice of usability evaluation. Assessing information systems from a user-centered design perspective using methods including usability testing, heuristic evaluation, web analytics, eye tracking and interaction modeling. Focus on usability testing and its various techniques including Think Aloud protocol, performance testing, face-to-face testing and remote testing.

INSC 516 – Geospatial Technologies

Creation, distribution, growth, use and misuse of geospatial data. Application of geospatial technologies to generate maps, tables and imagery.

INSC 542 – Social Informatics

Causes and consequences of accessing and using information and technologies by individuals, communities, organizations, governments, and society.

Computational Science Graduate Minor

On-campus master’s students may pursue a nine-hour Interdisciplinary Graduate Minor in Computational Science (IGMCS). The minor requires coursework in three areas: computer and information sciences, applied mathematics, and a selected discipline outside of information sciences. Because this is an interdisciplinary minor, distance education students may not be able to pursue the minor, as courses offered by departments outside of SIS require in-person class attendance.

SIS courses that support the minor include human-centered computing, knowledge discovery and data mining, and digital libraries, among other topics. For more information about the IGMCS, contact Professor Peiling Wang at peilingw@utk.edu.