What are the Information Sciences?
People. Information. Technology.
The information sciences focus on helping people to discover better information, design and use better technology, and make better decisions to solve problems. Whether those problems are in business, healthcare, education, the arts, or any number of other fields, information professionals are able to grapple with the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.
i3 welcomes students from all majors and academic disciplines. The information sciences are incredibly diverse and interdisciplinary. With so many different specializations, there’s a home for every student and scholar.
Mapping Your Major to the Information Sciences
| Undergraduate Major | Graduate Courses, Specializations, & Research Areas in the Information Sciences | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science Information Systems Engineering Mathematics Statistics | Artificial Intelligence Big Data Analytics Bioengineering Database and Web Systems Geoinformatics Homeland Security | Human-Computer Interaction Information Security & Privacy Intelligent Networks Machine Learning Robotics Software Engineering | Systems Analysis Systems Engineering Telecommunications & Distributed Systems Ubiquitous Computing |
| Accounting Actuarial Science Business Management Economics Finance Marketing | Applied Information Economics Business & Competitive Intelligence Decision Support Analysis Digital Communications & New Media Digital Media Innovation E-Commerce | Enterprise Architecture Enterprise Risk Management Healthcare Informatics Information Industry Strategies Information Security Management Information Visualization & Presentation | IT Capital Planning IT Strategy & Management Knowledge Management Organizational Behavior Project Management Social Computing Social Media in the Enterprise Usability Analysis & Testing |
| Africana Studies Art History Classics English Literature History Philosophy of Science Humanities Linguistics | Archives & Records Management Academic Libraries Digital Libraries & Collections Digital Scholarship Community Knowledge Practices Corporate Knowledge Practices | Intellectual Freedom Information Analysis & Retrieval Information & Culture Information Literacy & Education Organizational Cultures & Diversity | Preservation of Information Public Libraries Moving Image Archives Social Informatics Special Libraries (Medical, Business, etc.) Scholarly Communication |
| Communication Education Journalism Political Science Pre-Law Psychology Public Administration Sociology Urban Studies | Digital Advocacy & Persuasion Digital Communications & Journalism Disaster Communication Educational & Assistive Technologies E-Government Game Design Globalization, Media, & Social Change | Health Communication Intellectual Property Information Literacy, Learning, & Teaching Information Policy Information Privacy Information Security Policies Information Visualization & Presentation Interface Design | Learning Theory, Media, & Curriculum Planning Outreach Services Social Informatics Technology Design Understanding, Designing, and Building Social Media Usability Analysis & Product Testing |
| Biology Chemistry Environmental Studies Geography Health Management Medicine Physics Public Health | Agriculture Biosecurity Bioinformatics & Biostatistics Bioengineering Cheminformatics Disaster Communication Disease Networks Environmental Informatics & Sustainability | Evolution & Comparative Genomics Geographic Information Systems Geoinformatics Health Communication Health Information Management | Medical Informatics Next-Generation Genomic Sequencing Neural Networks Public Health & Outreach Services Spatial Cognition Telemedicine |
Interdisciplinary Research and Studies
Because information is so central to every academic and professional field, the information sciences are incredibly interdisciplinary and diverse. iSchool faculty members often collaborate with colleagues in other schools and colleges for research and teaching purposes, which translates into iSchool students being able to take advantage of a wide variety of classes and projects that build valuable experience.
i3 research projects are diverse and interdisciplinary. Here’s a sampling of some past projects:
- Information Occupation: Using Information Science to Explore the Occupy Wall Street Social Movement
- iGo Green: A Life Cycle Assessment of Apple’s iPhone
- Entering the Boys’ Club: An Analysis of Female Representation in Video Game Culture
- Social Network Identity: Facebook, Twitter, and Identity Negotiation Theory
- Tweet for Democracy: Examining the Monitorial Citizen
- “Our Experiences Are Not Unique”: An Exploratory Study of Common Motivators and Inhibitors For Latinas in STEM Fields
- Effects of Social Networking Sites on User Experience
- To Give or Not to Give: How Does Emotion Evoked from Crowdfunding Videos Influence Donations?
iSchools Organization
i3 serves as a pipeline for talented undergraduate students into iSchool graduate programs. “The iSchools organization is a consortium of Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field. These schools, colleges, and departments have been newly created or are evolving from programs formerly focused on specific tracks such as information technology, library science, informatics, information science, and more. While each individual iSchool has its own strengths and specializations, together they share a fundamental interest in the relationships between information, people, and technology.” (excerpt from www.iSchools.org)