Information Science in Leadership and Community Engagement (ILCE)

Graduate Degree Program
College: Information 

Abstract

Success in a great many major life areas – literacy, education, employment, health care, civic engagement – hinges heavily upon equitable access to, and equitable ability to apply information. The Doctor of Information Science in Information Science Leadership and Community Engagement (D.Inf.Sci.) will prepare current and future leaders in industries such as cultural heritage, education, public interest, government, and industry to prioritize equitable access to information. The Doctor of Information Science (D.Inf.Sci) in Information Science Leadership and Community Engagement will prepare current and future leaders in industries such as cultural heritage, education, public interest, government, and industry to prioritize equitable access to information. The D.Inf.Sci is designed for working professionals and is tailored to their needs. It aims to prepare “researching professionals” as opposed to the professional researchers produced by traditional doctoral programs, with a focus on knowledge application over knowledge generation / theory development. More specifically, our students will synthesize scholarship and literature on the practice of information organizations to identify a relevant problem space focusing on a leadership and community engagement issue within a professional organization with which they are/have been associated. Next, they will develop a tailored solution to the problem they identify through use of participatory action research and evaluation methodologies, as well as other methods as necessary. The overarching goal will be for students to generate findings with some degree of generalizability and applicability to various kinds of leadership and community engagement issues that often occur within galleries, libraries, archives, museums, government agencies, and other types of information institutions.

What Are the Unique Aspects of the Doctoral Program?

Maryland’s INFO College is at the center of groundbreaking research in the fast-moving field of information. With a multidisciplinary faculty studying such diverse topics as online communities, information systems, information policy, human-computer interaction, and digital cultural heritage, the INFO College cultivates doctoral students from a wide range of backgrounds. The PhD program offered at the INFO College provides students with training in interdisciplinary theory, research, and pedagogy as preparation for original research that connects communities, technologies, and information.

The INFO College's location near Washington, DC, the information capital of the world, offers unparalleled opportunities for students to pursue research and employment opportunities. Our PhD students hold internships at and conduct research in government agencies, top technology and design firms, and the nonprofit sector; and graduate to jobs in academia, industry, and government.

What are the Goals of the Doctoral Program?

Upon successful completion of the doctoral program, graduates have:

• Knowledge of the foundations of the field of information.
• Mastery of research methods and design.
• Understanding of the research in a specialized content area.
• Proficiency in synthesizing and applying knowledge from a variety of areas.
• Expertise in conducting research and disseminating new knowledge.

Financial Assistance

Information on the availability of financial assistance is available on the Ph.D. program’s website at http://ischool.umd.edu/phd. The College seeks to offer funding to entering doctoral students throughout their study in the doctoral program, contingent on factors such as successful progress through the doctoral program, likelihood of timely completion of the doctoral program, qualifications, and the availability of funding.

Contact

Dr. Paul Jaeger
Director of Prof D Program
4105 Hornbake Building South Wing
4130 Campus Drive
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Email: infoleaderdoc@umd.edu

Website: https://ischool.umd.edu/academics/doctoral-programs/doctor-of-information-science-in-information-science-leadership-and-community-engagement/

Courses: INFM INST LBSC

Relationships: Curation and Management of Digital Assets (online) (Z093)    History and Library & Information Science (HILS)    Human-Computer Interaction (HCIM)    Information Management (INFM)    Library and Information Science (LBSC)    Library and Information Science (online) (LBSO)    School Librarianship (Z114)   Youth Experience (Z113)

General Requirements

• Statement of Purpose
• Transcript(s)
• TOEFL/IELTS/PTE (international graduate students)

Program-Specific Requirements

• Letters of Recommendation (3)
• Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) (optional)
• CV/Resume
• Supplemental Application
• Portfolio PDF Upload (optional)

Additional Admissions Requirements

• The Graduate School application form including a non-refundable application processing fee
• One official copy of each transcript from each academic institution attended sent directly from the institution
• Maryland in-state tuition form, if applicable
• Three recommendations sent directly by the student’s references. It is preferable to request at least one letter from a former professor who is able to give an in-depth evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the applicant’s academic work.

Application Deadlines

RESOURCES AND LINKS:

Program Website: https://ischool.umd.edu/
Application Process: https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions

The College operates six research centers: Center for Archival Futures (CAFe), the Center for Advanced Study of Communities and Information (CASCI), the Computational Linguistics and Information Processing (CLIP), The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL), the Social Data Science Center (SoDA), and the Trace Research & Development Center (Trace). The College also facilitates three interest groups: the Sociotechnical Cybersecurity (STC) Interest Group, the Search Mastery Interest Group, and the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series.

The INFO College faculty and doctoral students also participate in or have affiliations with the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) and the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH), as well as the Departments of Computer Science, Criminal Justice, English, Geographical Sciences, and Sociology, the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the School of Public Policy, and the College of Education and the College of Journalism.
 
Faculty and students participate in cooperative research with staff of the University Libraries, the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL), and other campus units. Students have access through cooperative arrangements and programs to the resources of Archives II, the National Agricultural Library, the Library of Congress, and other prominent research facilities.