What Courses Do I Take?
A Worksheet for Master's Students

The first step in designing a program of study and choosing courses is for students to review advising materials and contact an academic advisor. The following worksheet is intended to guide you in making course selections to discuss with your faculty advisor. Other than the two required core courses, LIS 501 and 502, there are no rules about what you must take. Your advisor, mentors, instructors, coworkers, supervisors, and fellow students all may advise you but, in the end, you need to take responsibility for your academic program and make a commitment to your course selection.

The worksheet divides the curriculum into foundational (required and recommended) and topical (or specialized) LIS courses that prepare you for particular types of work. The 400 level courses are designed as upper level undergraduate and graduate courses. Only courses at the 400 level and above may be counted toward the MS degree. The 500 level courses are the graduate master's courses. The two required courses are 501 and 502. Please note that most doctoral seminars are open to master's students who have the necessary course background and "consent" of the instructor. The notation "vc" means the course is offered for variable credit, usually half credit (2 hours) or full credit (4 hours).

General guidelines:

• take the required core courses as soon as they are offered
• take the recommended courses of interest to you very early in your program
• use other topical or more specialized courses to hone skills or develop a concentration to offer prospective employers.
• Consider the LIS 591 Practicum (2 hours) for new professional training and experience.

NOTE: Not every course is available on a regular basis or available via LEEP. On-line students might consider taking some specialty courses on-campus (e.g., concentrated two-week summer courses in special collections). All students might consider constructing an Independent Study (LIS 592) or Practicum (LIS 591) in an area not covered by your coursework, or where more depth and experience is desired.

Foundational Courses | Courses to Fulfill Professional Goals | Electives Available Outisde of GSLIS

Foundational Courses

The courses listed below are considered basic foundational courses for all types of library and information science employment. Courses listed here are offered on a regular basis. Other courses are offered occasionally and new courses continue to be added, so students should check the current course timetable.

Required Courses: the "core"
501	Information, Organization and Access; for on-campus students, LIS 501 is offered in the Fall and 502 in the Spring. For LEEP On-line students, LIS 501 is offered in the Fall and 502 in the summer.
502	Libraries, Information and Society (vc)

Recommended Courses: It is strongly recommended that students take the following courses, which are considered fundamental and essential to understanding basic LIS theory and practice.
504	Reference and Information Services
505	Administration and Management of Libraries and Information Centers
507	Cataloging and Classification I

Courses serving as an introduction to applications of technology include:
451	Introduction to Network Systems
452	Foundations of Information Processing in Library and Information Science

Courses to Fulfill Professional Goals

In addition to the required and recommended foundational courses, the following courses may be selected to meet more specific professional goals and career paths.

Librarianship

General Librarianship
458	Instruction and Assistance Systems (vc)
503	Use and Users of Information (prereq 501)
512	Histories of Libraries (vc)
526	Searching Online Information Systems (prereq 504 or consent, vc)
544	Library Cooperation and Networks (prereq 505)
578	Technical Services Functions
582	Preserving Library Materials
590CD	Collection Development
590EV	Evaluating Programs and Services
590HB	History of the Book
590IL	Global Perspectives in Library and Information Science
590LR	Literacy, Reading, and Readers

Public Librarianship Also consider courses in General Librarianship, such as 503, 526, 544, 590CD, 590EV, and 590LR, and courses listed under Children's and Young Adult Services.
490CE	Community Engagement
506	Youth Services Librarianship: Prins and Pracs in School and Public Libraries
510	Adult Public Services
590CI	Community Information Systems (vc)
590KK	Adult Popular Literature (vc)

Children's and Young Adult Services/School Librarianship* Also consider courses in General Librarianship, such as 458, 503, 544, 590CD, 590EV, and 590LR.
403	Literature and Resources for Children (vc)
404	Literature and Resources for Young Adults (vc)
409	Storytelling (vc)
506	Youth Services Librarianship: Prins and Pracs in School and Public Libraries
514	History of Children's Literature
590IF	Intellectual Freedom and Library Services for Youth
590ML	Media Literacy and Youth (vc)
590NF	Information Books and Resources for Youth (vc)
590SM	School Library Media Center
590VV	Fantasy Literature and Media for Youth

*For additional information about school media, see our full description of K-12 School Librarianship.

Academic and Special Librarianship Also consider courses in General Librarianship, such as LIS 458, 503, 526, 578, 582, 590CD, and 590EV, and also 510 in Public Librarianship, and choose one of the specialized Information Sources and Services courses.
522	Information Sources and Services in the Sciences (prereq 504, vc)
523	Information Sources and Services in the Social Sciences (prereq 504, vc)
524	Information Sources and Services in the Arts and Humanities (prereq 504, vc)
525	Government Information (prereq 504)
530	Information Needs of Particular Communities: possibly choose one (see under Access--Collections and Uses)
581	Administration and Use of Archival Materials
590CD2	Current Topics in Collection Development
590RB	Rare Books and Special Collections
590SL	Special Library Administration
590TL	Theological Librarianship

Information Science and Library Technology

Technical Cluster Knowledge and skills covered by at least one course in this category is strongly suggested.
451	Introduction to Network Systems
453	Systems Analysis and Management
490DB	Introduction to Databases
590II	Interfaces to Information Systems
590LW	Web Design and Construction for Organizations

Library Science Technology Cluster
452	Foundations of Information Processing in LIS (vc); provides the foundation for 556, 590DP, and 590DS
490MUI	Understanding Multimedia Information: Concepts and Practices
490SE	Search Engines and Information Retrieval Systems
590DI	Digital Libraries: Research and Practice

Information Science Cluster
454	Networked Systems Administration (prereq 451, vc)
456	Information Storage and Retrieval (vc)
556	Implementation of Information Storage and Retrieval (prereqs: 452 and 456, programming proficiency, or consent)
590DM	Document Modeling
590DP	Document Processing (prereq 452)
590DS	Implementation of Distributed Information Systems (prereq 452, 454, or consent)

Areas of Focus

The Organization of Information Also consider courses in General Librarianship, such as 503, and courses on Management, Information/Knowledge Management, such as 590RM
511	Bibliography (consent, vc)
577	Cataloging and Classification II (prereq 507)
578	Technical Services Functions
590CS	Seminar in Classification Systems for the Organization of Knowledge
590I	Indexing and Abstracting (prereq 501 and 507, or consent)
590MD	Metadata in Theory and Practice
590RO	Representing and Organizing Information (vc)
590TC	Thesaurus Construction (vc)

Management and Consulting for Information Systems and Services
General Management
453	Systems Analysis and Management
544	Library Cooperation and Networks (prereq 505)
548	Library Buildings (vc)
578	Technical Services Functions
582	Preserving Library Materials
590CM	Change Management (prereq 505, or consent)
590EV	Evaluating Programs and Services
590FM	Financial Management
590ISM	Information Service Marketing
590MG	Project Management for LIS
590S	Human Resource Management in Libraries and Information Centers
Policy Issues
490IE	Information Ethics
490TC	Social History of U.S. Telecommunications
549	Economics of Information
590IL	Global Perspectives in Library and Information Science
590IP	Information Policy
590LI	Legal Issues in Library and Information Science (vc)
590RGS	Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Information Professions (vc)
590SJ	Social Justice in the Information Professions (vc)
Information/Knowledge Management In addition to the courses in General Management and Policy Issues, you may want to select one or more of the following.
581	Administration and Use of Archival Materials
590CI	Community Information Systems (vc)
590CTI	Competitive Intelligence
590EP	Electronic Publishing and Information Processing Standards
590IC	Information Consulting (vc)
590LT	Learning Technologies
590RM	Records Management
590SL	Special Library Administration
590ST	Strategic Information Management

Access--Collections and Users
522	Information Sources and Services in the Sciences (prereq 504, vc)
523	Information Sources and Services in the Social Sciences (prereq 504, vc)
524	Information Sources and Services in the Arts and Humanities (prereq 504, vc)
525	Government Information (prereq 504)
530A	Music Bibliography (vc)
530B	Medical Literature and Reference Work
530C	Slavic Bibliography (2 hours)
530E	Business Information
530G	Law (Legal Resources) (vc)
530M	Bibliography of Africa (vc)
590CD	Collection Development
590CD2	Current Topics in Collection Development
590KK	Adult Popular Literature
590LA	Librarianship for Latin American, Iberian, and Latina Studies
590SL	Special Library Administration

Community Informatics
490CE	Community Engagement
590CI	Community Information Systems
590CO	Community Informatics Concepts
590IBL	Inquiry-based Learning
590SJ	Social Justice in the Information Professions
590PAR	Participatory Action Research (doctoral seminar)
590PT	Pragmatic Technology

Literacies
491	Literacy in the Information Age
590LR	Literacy, Reading, and Readers
590ML	Media Literacy and Youth
590NL	New Literacies (vc)

Information Science Foci
Data/Document Processing, Retrieval, and Publishing
452	Foundations of Information Processing in LIS (vc); provides the foundation for 556, 590DP, and 590DS
590DC	Data Curation
590DM	Document Modeling
590DP	Document Processing (prereq 452)
590DS	Implementation of Distributed Information Systems
590EP	Electronic Publishing
590IM	Information Modeling
590TX	Text Mining
Information Storage and Retrieval Systems
453	Systems Analysis and Management
456	Information Storage and Retrieval (vc)
490GI	Geographic Information Systems
556	Implementation of Information Storage and Retrieval (prereqs: 452 and 456, programming proficiency, or consent)
590DS	Implementation of Distributed Information Systems

Digital Libraries
Fundamentals and Theory To provide general background of a fundamental and/or theoretical nature. These courses are specifically not intended as implementation, practice, or system-building courses per-se.
452	Foundations of Information Processing in LIS (vc)
590DM	Document Modeling
590IM	Information Modeling
590RO	Representing and Organizing Information Resources (vc)
590TX	Text Mining
Technical Practice and Experience These courses are designed to provide practice with and implementation of concepts and tools for actual digital libraries and their components (e.g., interfaces, knowledge organization, collections)
556	Implementation of Information Storage and Retrieval (prereqs: 456 and 452, programming proficiency, or consent; vc)
590DE	Design of Digitally Mediated Information Services
590DI	Digital Libraries: Research and Practice
590DP	Document Processing (prereq 452)
590EP	Electronic Publishing
590MD	Metadata in Theory and Practice
590PD	Digital Preservation
Social and Institutional Contexts These courses are designed to provide analysis of human, social, and contextual issues for digital library development and use, considering any of the "approaches to digital libraries" above.
590EV	Evaluating Programs and Services
590IP	Information Policy

Informatics
490MU	Museum Informatics
590BDI	Biodiversity Informatics: From Information to Policy
590BI	Introduction to Biological Informatics Problems and Resources
590MIH	Medical Informatics and Healthcare Infrastructure

Research-Oriented Courses
592	Independent Study (vc)
599	Thesis Research (vc)

Electives Available Outside of GSLIS

Up to 12 hours can be earned outside of GSLIS:

• Graduate-level course work in library and information science can be transferred from an ALA-accredited master's program (maximum 8 semester hours).
• The student may transfer approved graduate-level course work in a field other than library and information science taken:
• at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (maximum 12 semester hours), or
• as a University of Illinois extension course, or
• from any accredited institution (maximum 4 semester hours).

Please note: 100-, 200-, and 300-level courses cannot be transferred for graduate credit, although they might provide a solid foundation or prerequisite for upper-level courses.

Selective courses in the following UIUC departments might be relevant to your academic program and career-goals. You may consider appropriate courses in other departments as well. Please consult with your advisor about your course interests before registration to ensure the credit will be transferable.

Accounting
Business Administration
Business and Technical Writing
Communications
Computer Science
Education, College of: departments including Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, and Human Resource Education
Geography
Journalism
Leisure Studies
Mathematics
Urban and Regional Planning

For additional information about academic advising, contact -advising, at support.lis.uiuc.edu-

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