Joint Degrees in Library and Information Science and English, History, and Arts

In the fields of Library Science and Information Studies, there is a tradition of teaching students about the History of the Book (about the production and legacy of the book as a physical artifact) and about work in Archives and Special Collections that include humanities resources. While these classes, which are often cross-listed with classes in English and History departments, proliferate in library and information schools, they have not spawned many joint degrees that coordinate studies in the humanities with the information fields.

Written in part in response to the panel Digital Humanities as a university degree: The status quo and beyond dh2012, this post gives a brief look at the state of the field in the United States and Canada in terms of joint degrees offered for Library and Information Science and Humanities fields, specifically Art, English, and History. For a little background on recent discussions of DH Degrees in undergraduate and graduate programs, go to “Is there a list anywhere of all the graduate programs that study dh? (including my post on Digital Humanities Inflected Undergraduate Programs).

I wrote this post from a somewhat unique perspective, during an attempt to instantiate a joint degree in English (MA) and Information Science (MSIS) at the University of Texas at Austin. The reasons in particular that I am invested in establishing a degreed program (rather than a certificate or simply a concentration of study) is well-described in our proposal to UT that places this kind of credentialling within the areas of practice and study that prevail in digital humanities. Specifically:

Graduates will emerge from this program with a richer education experience than they would receive through one of the two degrees or the two individual degrees: (1) professional skill that will qualify them to work as information specialists in important cultural repositories such as archives, museums, governmental and non-profit organizations, preservation and conservation laboratories, and academic, public and school libraries, and (2) a high level of specialized research competency that will serve them well in their future careers as information professionals and/or academics. Students with professional ambitions in information organization, digital humanities, database design, usability, information policy, preservation, the cultural status of information and communication technologies, and information architecture are particularly invited to pursue the dual degree.

The proposed program will encourage and provide formal structures for faculty, students, and staff of the two academic units to collaborate on research projects that will apply the study of English Literature and Language to the field of Information Studies, or vice versa, in creative and challenging ways . . .

Below is a list of programs that have existing degrees [This list was originally culled from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). ] These are in the U.S. and Canada. Please add more!

ENGLISH
INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON
The School of Library and Information Science,
54 hours

UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
School of Information Science & Policy,
M.A. / M.L.S.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA, Office of Interdisciplinary Studies
Humanities Computing and Library and Information Studies.
3-year MA/MLIS

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
MA/MLIS 36-credit MLIS program and the 30-credit program for the MA in English.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
School of Libary and Information Science, English M.A. (28 Hours) / M.L.I.S. (27 Hours)

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE
School of Information Studies
MLIS/MA English: 51 credits, of which 21 credits must be in English.

ART AND BOOK ARTS

PRATT INSTITUTE
School of Information and Library Science
Degrees offered: MLS, Dual degree MS (LIS)/MA (Art History), Dual degree MS (LIS)/MFA (Digital Arts)
60 credits

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
Degrees offered: MLIS, Ph.D.; MFA Program in Book Arts.

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
School of Library and Information Science
Degrees Offered: MA in Library & Information Science (LIS) and a joint MA LIS degree with a Certificate in Book Studies

HISTORY

UNIVERSITY OF ALBANY

DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Degrees offered: MLIS; MLIS/MA in Public History in cooperation with Loyola University.

SIMMONS COLLEGE
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Degrees offered: MS, Doctor of Arts in Library Management, concentrated programs in Archives Management, Preservation, and school Library Media. Dual degree programs in Archives/History and School Library and MAT. PhD in Library and Information Science.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
Department of Information Studies
Degrees offered: MLIS (specializations areas: Library Studies, Archival Studies, and Informatics); Post-Master’s Certificate of Specialization; Ph.D. in Information Studies (several areas of specialization, including Information as Evidence); M.A. in Moving Image Archive Studies (inter-departmental program between the Department of Information Studies, the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media and the UCLA Film Archive).  Also joint MLIS/MA degrees in History and Latin American Studies and a joint MLIS/MBA.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
College of Information Studies
Degrees offered: Master of Library Science(MLS), MLS/MA(History), Master of Information Management, Doctor of Philosophy.

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
School of Library and Information Studies
MLIS/MA History of Science

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
MA/MLIS 36-credit MLIS program and the 30-credit program for the MA in History.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
School of Library and Information Science
Degrees offered: MLIS, Certificate of Graduate Study in Library and Information Science, Specialist in Library and Information Science, joint Masters program with Applied History, joint Masters program with English.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
School of Library and Information Science
Degrees offered: MLIS; School Library Certification; Specialist in Library and Information Science; Dual masters’ degrees with Anthropology, History, and Political Science

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Library and Information Science Program
Degrees offered: MLIS; Specialist Certificate in Library and Information Science; Graduate Certificate in Archival Administration; Graduate Certificate in Information Management; Graduate Certificate in Records and Information Management; Joint MLIS and MA in History; Michigan School Library Media Specialist endorsement.

OTHER LINKS
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2011/11/28/new-dual-masters-program-bridges-gap-between-latin-american-and-information-studies

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