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UWM

Academic Catalog 2018-2019
  • Home»
  • Information Studies (School of)»
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Archival Studies

Information Studies (School of)

  • Advanced Study in Archives and Records Administration, Graduate Certificate
  • Advanced Study in Digital Libraries, Graduate Certificate
  • Information Science and Technology, BS
  • Information Science and Technology, Minor
  • Information Science and Technology, MS
  • Information Science and Technology, MS/​Library and Information Science, MLIS
  • Information Studies, PhD
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Anthropology, MS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​English, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Geography, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Health Care Informatics, MS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​History, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Language, Literature, and Translation, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Music, MM
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Urban Studies, MS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Women's &​ Gender Studies, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Archival Studies
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Information Organization
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Information Technology
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Public Library
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School of Information Studies

Library and Information Science, MLIS: Archival Studies

  • Overview
  • Requirements

MLIS: Archives Concentration

Archival studies offers you the opportunity to investigate the processes that shape the historical record. By studying how records are selected for preservation, arranged and described, and made accessible to the public, archives students have a unique opportunity to research a field that mixes history, ethics, technology and philosophy. Through this study, you are able to research the influences that help determine how society views itself.

The Archives Program provides a range of professional development opportunities, as well as alumni and other professional connections around the country in order to ensure that you are competitive in the job market and have a well-rounded view of the complex issues facing archives. Completion of this program provides you with a graduate degree that will help you gain employment at a variety of archives throughout the United States.

Related Certificates

  • Certificate of Advanced Study in Archives and Records Administration
  • Certificate of Advanced Study in Digital Libraries

The School of Information Studies prepares students for careers in libraries and the information professions. The School’s array of graduate programs provides students with the opportunity to develop attitudes associated with progressive information services, and to develop an understanding of the value, role, and application of modern technology as it relates to library operations and the transfer of information.

In harmony with the mission of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a major urban research institute, the School of Information Studies strives to make significant contributions towards extending and enhancing the quality of information services and the promotion of information and technological literacy to a diverse society. The School of Information Studies is committed to excellence in instruction, research, and service.

Goals of the school are:

  1. To prepare professionals who are able to provide leadership and adapt to change in a technological and knowledge-based environment for careers in libraries, school media centers, information systems, and related areas, according to accepted professional standards.
  2. To enrich the library and information science profession through recruitment of students with strong academic skills from diverse cultural, geographic, and subject backgrounds.
  3. To enable undergraduate students to achieve qualifications to pursue careers in the information professions through the provision of degree and certificate programs.
  4. To enable students to develop specializations in the information professions at the graduate level through the provision of single and dual degree programs.
  5. To promote a research orientation through participation in the Doctor of Philosophy degree program.
  6. To contribute to the international knowledge base of library and information science through research and publication.
  7. To facilitate the development, provision, and evaluation of library and information services through consultation services to individual organizations and leadership in professional associations locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally.
  8. To offer opportunities for professionals and the wider community to update their skills and knowledge through advanced and continuing education courses, workshops, and programs offered nationally and internationally.
On This Page
  • Admission Requirements 
  • Credits and Courses

Admission Requirements 

Application Deadlines

Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.

Application

An applicant must apply to both the Graduate School and the School of Information Studies.

Admission

An applicant must meet Graduate School requirements plus the following additional requirements of the School of Information Studies to be considered for admission to the program:

  1. Submission of scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). (GRE or MAT scores are currently required of domestic applicants and will be required of international applicants beginning with the summer 2004 admission term.) The test scores should be sent directly to SOIS.
    The GRE/MAT requirement will be waived for applicants whose overall undergraduate GPA, as calculated by the UWM Graduate School, is at least 3.00, or who already hold another master’s degree or Ph.D., or the equivalent.
  2. Applicants from foreign institutions are required to submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. The minimum acceptable score is 550 PBT or 79 iBT. A score of 6.5 or higher on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) may be submitted in lieu of the TOEFL.
  3. Two letters of recommendation from persons who can testify to the applicant’s likelihood of success in the master’s program in library and information science. References from former teachers or employers are preferred.

No prior coursework in library/information science is required. A student whose undergraduate grade point average is below 2.75 (4.0 basis) may be considered for admission on probation. See the Admission on Probation section of this Web site.

Faculty Mentor

Each student is assigned a faculty mentor in the School of Information Studies at the time of admission to the master’s program. The name of the faculty mentor is included in the student’s letter of admission and may also be obtained from an academic advisor in the School of Information Studies.

Credits and Courses

The minimum degree requirement is 36 graduate credits, 30 of which must be in library and information science and up to 6 of which may be in related areas. Students who have already completed a master’s or doctoral degree in a field other than library science may have the library and information science master’s program reduced to 30 credits. Under special circumstances, up to 6 of these credits may be from another field in a closely allied area with advisor consent. Students who have completed library science courses at the undergraduate level may, upon request, have their coursework reviewed to determine whether the content was the equivalent of that in required courses in the School of Information Studies Program. However, the establishment of such equivalencies will not reduce the total number of credits required for the master’s degree in library and information science, but merely enable the student to avoid unnecessary repetition.

The number of credits needed for each of the coordinated degree programs is 12 credits less than the sum of credits of the two programs if taken separately. All degree requirements of each component program, however, must be satisfied. This includes makeup courses for deficiencies, required courses, and graduation proficiency requirements. The MLIS component of each coordinated program includes 30 credits of SOIS courses including the 12 credits of required courses.

The following are basic required courses:

Course List
Code Title Credits
INFOST 501Foundations of Library and Information Science3
INFOST 511Organization of Information3
INFOST 571Information Access and Retrieval3
INFOST 799Research Methods in Information Studies3
Total Credits12

Minimum Grade Requirement in the Required Courses

The minimum grade requirement for the required courses is a B. Students who earn a grade of B- or lower have not met the minimum requirement and will be allowed to repeat the required course once. Students are responsible for tuition in the repeated course; no credit is earned from the first attempt at the required course, or any required course for which a B- or lower is earned. Those who do not meet the minimum grade requirements upon repeating the course will be recommended for academic dismissal. Students may not register for a course for which any of the required courses is a prerequisite until the minimum grade requirement is met.

Culminating Experience Requirement in Library and Information Science

Effective Fall 2016, INFOST 799 meets the requirement for the culminating event for the MLIS program. If 591 was taken prior to the fall of 2016, it can still be used to meet the culminating event requirement. Said course must be taken in SOIS and cannot be transferred into the program.

Thesis Option

Students may choose the thesis option in order to satisfy the program requirements and must take at least three credits of thesis coursework in addition to the 36 credits required for the comprehensive examination option, making the minimum credits required for the thesis option 39 credits. However, only 3 credits of thesis coursework may count toward the total degree credit requirement of 39.

Those who already have a graduate degree must complete a minimum of 33 credits for this option. Students who choose the thesis option in the coordinated master's degree programs also need to take an additional 3 credits of thesis coursework. Thus, while total degree credits vary among the coordinated master's programs, the Master of Library and Information Science component of each requires 33 credits of SOIS coursework, three of which would be taken as thesis credit.

Students pursuing thesis options in both programs will be required to fulfill each program's thesis requirement and complete two separate theses. Students in the thesis option must take a minimum of 3 credits of research methods. A course other than INFOST 799 may be chosen in consultation with the major professor. Additional courses that do not count toward degree requirements may be required by individual circumstances.

Students must complete the required MLIS and research methods course before they will be allowed to defend the thesis proposal. Students must register for INFOST 898: Master's Thesis (1-3 credits), during every semester of thesis work. Students may select the thesis option at any point in their course of study, but are encouraged to make this decision and form their thesis committee as early as possible to avoid the necessity of taking additional coursework.

The faculty advisor assigned to each student upon admission may serve as the student's thesis advisor, but is not required to do so. It is the student's responsibility to enter into a mutually agreed upon advising relationship with a thesis advisor in SOIS, who then serves as chair of the thesis committee.

Students must pass an oral examination in defense of the thesis. The thesis defense may be repeated once. A student may withdraw from the thesis option; however, the student would need to meet all course requirements for the MLIS degree.

Archives Concentration

Students pursuing the Archives Concentration must take 15 credits of coursework in archives as electives within the overall MLIS program. To pursue the Archival Studies Concentration students must be admitted into the MLIS program and must submit the Archival Studies Concentration Declaration of Intent form (see SOIS website for details). This will allow the program coordinator to track your progress and communicate with you.

The Archival Studies concentration requires 15 credits of coursework planned in consultation with the student’s advisor. Credits for the concentration count as electives for the MLIS. The courses that qualify for the concentration are as follows:

Course List
Code Title Credits
Required
INFOST 650An Introduction to Modern Archives Administration3
Electives
Select at least four of the following:12
INFOST 655
Information and Records Management:
INFOST 656
Electronic Documents and Records Management
INFOST 682
Digital Libraries
INFOST 691
Special Topics in Information Science: (with appropriate subtitle)
INFOST 714
Metadata
INFOST 740
Information Literacy Instruction
INFOST 750
Arrangement and Description in Archives
INFOST 752
Archival Outreach: Programs and Services
INFOST 753
Preserving Information Media
INFOST 759
Fieldwork in Archives and Manuscripts 1
INFOST 791
Topics in Library and Information Science: (with appropriate subtitle)
INFOST 850
Seminar in Modern Archives Administration
INFOST 891
Advanced Topics in Library and Information Science: (with appropriate subtitle)
INFOST 999
Independent Research
Recommended (does not count towards concentration)
INFOST 603
History of Books and Printing
1

Optional, but highly recommended for those without experience working in an archival collection.

Apply Now Request Info Program Website

Information Studies (School of)

  • Advanced Study in Archives and Records Administration, Graduate Certificate
  • Advanced Study in Digital Libraries, Graduate Certificate
  • Information Science and Technology, BS
  • Information Science and Technology, Minor
  • Information Science and Technology, MS
  • Information Science and Technology, MS/​Library and Information Science, MLIS
  • Information Studies, PhD
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Anthropology, MS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​English, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Geography, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Health Care Informatics, MS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​History, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Language, Literature, and Translation, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Music, MM
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Urban Studies, MS
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS/​Women's &​ Gender Studies, MA
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Archival Studies
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Information Organization
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Information Technology
  • Library and Information Science, MLIS: Public Library
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The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Our Catalog is a general source of information about course offerings, academic programs and requirements, expenses, rules, and policies. The University reserves the right to change the information published in this Catalog without notice. Students are advised to consult with their individual School/College or department for the most up-to-date information about program requirements.

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