College of Information Studies
0216 Hornbake Library, North Wing
Phone: 301-405-2038
infosci@umd.edu
http://ischool.umd.edu
Dean: Keith Marzullo, Ph.D.
Associate Deans: Renee Hill, Ph.D. (Interim), Katherine Izsak, Ph.D., Wayne Lutters, Ph.D., Mega Subramaniam, Ph.D., Susan Winter, Ph.D.
The University of Maryland (UMD) College of Information Studies (INFO) is a leading research and teaching college in the field of information science. At INFO, students are prepared to be tomorrow’s thought leaders in applications of information and technology for social good – fostering access to information, improving information interfaces, and expanding how information is used in an evolving world. We offer undergraduate programs in information science, social data science, and technology and information design. We also offer several combo bachelor's-master's options in which students graduate with both degrees in five years. Our students learn from expert faculty, known for their research and scholarship, and top industry professionals who join us as prestigious lecturers. The undergraduate programs at INFO are known for their culture of diversity and inclusion. Across the college, you'll join 2200+ students from 52 countries (35% from underrepresented groups, 42% female). Located just outside of Washington, D.C., our students have unmatched internship and career opportunities.
Directors: T. Bezbabna (Assistant Director - Shady Grove), T. Clegg (Technology and Information Design Program Director), P. Duffy (Information Science Program Director - College Park), G. Madjaroff Reitz (Information Science Program Director - Shady Grove), R. Padrón (Director of Undergraduate Operations - College Park), K. Shilton (Social Data Science Program Co-Director)
Professors: J.Bertot, J. Golbeck, P. Jaeger, J. Lazar, W. Lutters, R. Marciano, K. Marzullo, D. Oard, M. Subramaniam, G. Vanderheiden
Associate Professors: E. Choe, T. Clegg, S. Erete, V. Frias-Martinez, A. Gibson, K. Kraus, S. Paletz, K. Shilton, B. St. Jean, J. Vitak, P. Wang
Assistant Professors: W. Ai, C. Buntain, J. Chan, G. Ciampaglia, K. Fenlon, B. Fotouhi, G. Gao, D. Greene, N. Hassan, Z. Jelveh, H. Kacorri, A. Lazar, D. Marsh, A. Ndumu, M. Sauter, I. Sivan-Sevilla, S. Skakun, V. Van Hyning, D. Weintrop, C. Williams-Pierce
Professors of the Practice: J. Baron, A. Lim
Principal Lecturers: V. Diker, R. Hill, B. Kules
Senior Lecturers: S. Campbell, D. Frezzo, K. Lawley, H.D. Loshin, G. Madjaroff Reitz, K. Weaver
Lecturers: J. Aston, P. Duffy, D. Heidenblad, J.Klein, H. Lee, A. Leitch, R. O'Grady, A. Szendro Sevilla
Principal Faculty Specialists: K. Izsak, S. Winter
Faculty Specialists: A. Fellows, P. O’Rourke
Faculty Assistant: C. Boston, E. Dacquisto
Associate Research Professor: C. Harry
Senior Research Software Architect: G. Jansen
Assistant Research Professor: C. Antoun
Assistant Research Scientists: E. Bonsignore, C.Dempwolf, D. Fregolent Mendes de Oliviera, J. B. Jordan
Affiliate Faculty: M. Carpuat, J. Farman, S. Jette, D.Kirsh, B.Liu, D. Niemeier, S. Oates, P. Paredes, H. Peng
Professors Emeriti: A. Druin, J. Liesener, C. Lowry, M. Neuman, J. Preece, A. Prentice, D. Soergel, M. White
Professor of the Practice Emerita: A. Weeks
Advisors will help you make informed decisions and feel confident about your plans, which will assist you in meeting your program goals. Your advisor will assist in helping you understand your degree requirements and your options, but you make the decisions, you are in charge of your education!
Advising is mandatory for all new InfoSci students and is available both virtually and in-person. Students have access to an advisor during their remaining time in the program, and are encouraged to complete a senior audit roughly a year out from graduation. This review will ensure students are progressing through the major in a satisfactory manner. We encourage all InfoSci students to schedule regular advising meetings and make sure you are on track to meet your academic and professional goals.
For more information on the program, including courses and policies, please visit the the Student Services website for undergraduate student services. For any other inquiries please contact the iSchool Undergraduate Student Services Office at ugadvising.ischool@umd.edu.
Undergraduate Research Experiences
Opportunities for undergraduate research experience in the iSchool's research centers become available from time to time. Participation in an on- or off-campus internship, co-op, or other experiential learning opportunity is strongly encouraged. See the Information Science program staff for information on performing research in an iSchool center or lab and contact the Campus Career Services office for assistance in obtaining off-campus positions or experiences.
Internships
Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one internship during their course of study. The iSchool hosts an internship and networking fair in fall and spring semesters to help students find internship sites. Students should also consult the Career Center for additional internship opportunities.
The iSchool also offers a summer internship course that allows students to partner critical reflection on professional development with an existing internship opportunity.
Scholarships and Financial Assistance
The Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) administers all types of federal, state and institutional financial assistance programs and, in cooperation with other university offices, participates in the awarding of scholarships to deserving students. For information visit their website.
Scholarships administered by the iSchool for undergraduate students include:
User Information Needs & Assessment Award
The User Information Needs & Assessment Award is a merit-based scholarship given to current InfoSci students who have taken INST352 and earned at least an A-. Students interested in this award must clearly articulate how the study of information behavior fits within their career goals. Preference will be given to students with demonstrated financial need. This scholarship was established in 2023 to return all royalties earned on the INST352 textbook (Understanding Human Information Behavior: When, How, and Why People Interact with Information) authored by iSchool instructors Beth St. Jean, Ursula Gorham, and Elizabeth Bonsignore to one or more outstanding InfoSci students.
Westin Scholar
The Westin Scholar is a merit-based scholarship funded by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). It is given to an advanced InfoSci, SDSC, or InfoDesign student interested in a career in information privacy. Students interested in applying for this award must clearly state their post-baccalaureate educational and/or career goals and how those goals intersect with privacy issues. Students should highlight privacy-related courses they have completed, and co-/extra-curricular engagement in privacy topics or activities.
The award also includes 2 years of membership with the IAPP, 3 complimentary exams for IAPP certifications (CIPP, CIPM, CIPT), and unlimited access to online training for the recipient's selected IAPP certification programs.
The Turner Family Optimal Solutions Endowed Scholarship
This is a merit-based financial award given to InfoSci students who are able to demonstrate an application of information science to economics, environmental studies, public policy or other social science disciplines and provide a compelling case for how this financial assistance will aid them in obtaining their degree. Preference will be given to InfoSci students who are completing a dual major, minor, certificate, or coordinated study with the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences; but all students are encouraged to apply.
Awards and Recognition
Dean’s Award for an Outstanding iSchool Project
The Dean’s Award for an Outstanding iSchool Project will be presented to an iSchool student or a group of students (which includes at least one iSchool student) for an outstanding design or development project completed for an iSchool course. Projects must be nominated by a faculty member(s) and must represent outstanding work that furthers understanding by offering new insights into development or design or displays excellence in applying existing state-of-the-art methods and knowledge.
Laurence B. Heilprin Award
The Laurence B. Heilprin Award will be presented to an iSchool student or a group of students (which includes at least one iSchool student) for an outstanding paper on a topic in library and information science which has been written for an iSchool course. Papers must be nominated by faculty and must represent outstanding work that furthers understanding by offering new insights, incorporating original research, and/or analyzing existing information in new ways.
Dr. Joan Giesecke Best Student Paper on Health Informatics Award
The Dr. Joan Giesecke Best Student Paper on Health Informatics Award will be presented to a graduate student or a group of graduate students for an outstanding paper which has been written for an iSchool course and which focuses on any aspect(s) of Health Informatics. The iSchool defines Health Informatics broadly, including any work that focuses on health information management; health information technologies; health data analytics; health-related information needs or behaviors; health librarianship, etc. Papers must be nominated by faculty and must represent outstanding work that furthers understanding by offering new insights on issues relating to Health Informatics, incorporating original research, and/or analyzing existing information in new ways.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Achievement
The Dean’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Achievement will be presented to an undergraduate student or a group of undergraduate students for an outstanding research paper or project that has been completed for an iSchool course. Projects/papers must be nominated by a faculty member(s) and must represent outstanding work that furthers understanding by offering new insights into development or design or displays excellence in applying existing state-of-the-art methods and knowledge.
Special Advantages and Facilities
At the iSchool, faculty and students are exploring how people access and use information. From developing smart city technology to creating new archival methods, we seek to improve the individual experience as well as to foster connected communities. At our research centers and labs, we enable discovery, creativity, problem solving, and fun while tackling real-world challenges and developing impactful solutions.
The college operates six research centers: the Center for Advanced Study of Communities and Information (CASCI), the Computational Linguistics and Information Processing Lab (CLIP), the Center for Archival Futures (CAFE), the Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL), the Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC), the Trace Research and Development Center.
iSchool 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, English, and Sociology, the Robert H. Smith School of Business, and the College of Education.
Research Units
The iSchool is home to a number of research centers and labs:
Computational Linguistics and Information Processing (CLIP)
Phone: 301-405-6722
http://wiki.umiacs.umd.edu/clip/
Director: Dr. Vanessa Frias-Martinez
The Computational Linguistics and Information Processing Lab (CLIP) at Maryland creates and evaluates systems that allow computers to effectively and efficiently use human language – together with large-scale information networks – to perform tasks such as search, translation, summarization and ontological reasoning. It is a part of the broader language science initiative at Maryland and of the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS).
Center for Archival Futures (CAFe)
cafe-info@umd.edu
http://cafe.ischool.umd.edu
The Center for Archival Futures (CAFe) develops and disseminates human-centered approaches to creating the systems, processes, and institutions which enable the use of and care for digital objects and data over time. We take a holistic view of archives and digital curation as a research area, education domain, and growing profession that transcends disciplines and organizational contexts.
The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL)
2117 Hornbake Bldg, South Wing, College Park
Phone: 301-405-2769
hcil-info@cs.umd.edu
http://hcil.umd.edu
Director: Dr. Jessica Vitak
Associate Director: Dr. Joel Chan
The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) transforms the experience people have with new technologies. From understanding user needs to developing and evaluating the technologies that support users’ needs, the lab’s faculty, staff, and students have been leading the way in HCI research and teaching for over 30 years. It is critical to understand how the needs and dreams of people can be reflected in future technologies. To this end, the HCIL develops advanced user interfaces and design methodology. The primary activities include collaborative research, publication and the sponsorship of seminars and brown bag talks, workshops and an annual symposium. The HCIL, though referred to as a lab, is actually a research center that is jointly administered by the iSchool and UMIACS, and has multiple labs, faculty, and students associated with it.
Trace Research and Development Center
Room 2117 Hornbake Bldg, South Wing, College Park
Phone: 301-405-2043
trace-info@umd.edu
http://trace.umd.edu
Director: Dr. Jonathan Lazar
The Trace Center’s purpose is to apply engineering, computer science, disability studies, public policy, and information science to prevent the barriers to, and capitalize on the opportunities presented by, current and emerging information and communication technologies. Our vision is of a world that is accessible and usable by people of all ages and all abilities – each experiencing ICT in a way they can understand and use. Founded in 1971, Trace has been a pioneer known for high-impact research and development, including access features implemented in computer operating systems, leadership in development of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and many other accessibility standards, and techniques used to increase the accessibility of self-service kiosks in post offices, train stations, and airports. Trace is currently a leader in the development and large-scale deployment of a Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure that combines cloud computing, web, and platform services to make online information and services available for people facing accessibility barriers.
Social Data Science Center (SoDa)
http://socialdatascience.umd.edu
Co-Directors: Dr. Brian Butler and Professor Frauke Kreuter
The Social Data Science Center (SoDa) – a Center established by the College of Information Studies and the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) within the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences – is an inter-disciplinary academic and research center. SoDa plans to sponsor seminars, workshops and focused conferences designed to bring attention to the rapidly expanding universe of digitized data and new forms of behavioral data, as well as developments in data science that can benefit investigators in the social sciences.