Ethena Lighty shares her experience as an information science major and tells us what's next in her future.
Information scientists help organizations make more informed decisions. Graduates from this degree are equipped with skills desired in businesses, state agencies and non-profits. As an information science student, you will learn how to analyze, implement, manage and lead. Whether you like working with data, technology, or people, a degree in information science provides sought after skills, useful in a variety of settings.
This undergraduate degree prepares students to examine how people and organizations use, store, communicate and transfer information. Our students learn to work with data in a variety of contexts, allowing them to excel in everything from data science to communications. Some even go on to launch their own startups.
By taking selected courses, you can develop specializations in one of the following areas:
You will learn how AI impacts society and the advantages and challenges that come from its application. Topics will cover information storage and retrieval systems and transforming unstructured text into a structured format to identify meaningful patterns and new insights.
You will learn to engage with data and ethically advocate for ethical data policy. Classes cover the ethical challenges that arise from the growth of big data and what can be done to mitigate these problems.
In this track, you will learn how to verify and create textual and visual information, digital and otherwise. You will also understand the psychological and social causes of sharing false information.
Students will have hands-on experience with user experience research, learn the most common user experience design tools, and practice user experience research.
Data skills are in high demand across all job sectors, but employers often struggle to find qualified workers to fill these positions. That’s because many data-focused degree programs teach the technical skills but not the big picture: how to apply them effectively within an organization (soft skills). In the iSchool, students develop the skills needed for a rapidly evolving job market. Our courses will prepare you to work with technology such as Tableau, R and JavaScript/JQuery. You’ll graduate ready to earn a competitive salary in a growing field.
As an information science major, you'll get flexibility in the types of classes you take. You can combine the basics with other areas of study, creating a degree program that will help you land your dream job. Want to be an investigative reporter? Combine this with journalism. Interested in launching the next Candy Crush? You can tailor a program that includes computer science. Here, you'll learn how to analyze, implement, manage, and lead. You'll also study how people and organizations communicate and use information for making decisions and solving problems. Learn more about the courses you will take as an information science student in the university's academic bulletin.
You have the opportunity to enhance your classroom experiences and build upon your skill set by participating in leadership roles outside of the classroom. Want to help analyze information for cancer researchers? Crunch numbers to help people retire? Create systems to keep networks working smoothly? Work with local communities on health initiatives? Our students did this and more on recent internships. Companies are lining up to see who's next. Your required internship will give you real-world experience and prepare you for your career.
Other examples of beyond the classroom experiences that may help you become more marketable to employers include study abroad, research and community service.
The iSchool offers a number of scholarships for exceptional freshmen through the Dean's Scholars Program. Among the criteria considered for these awards are SAT scores, high school grade point average and extracurricular activities. Dean's Scholars are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve and for their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities. You must be an information science accepted student in order to apply for this scholarship.
As an information science student, you also have an opportunity to gain a solid foundation for graduate study. Further your skills and understanding of information science techniques with graduate-level courses through our accelerated master’s plan.
As a graduate, you'll be stepping into an evolving field of possibilities. Some careers titles include data analyst, knowledge manager, systems analyst, web developer, or information architect — just about any job that uses and analyzes information. We have graduates at non-profits, large public companies and prestigious cultural institutions. The skills you acquire in the information science program transfer to almost any field. Here are some more career ideas for you.
We get these questions all the time in the School of Information Science: "What is an information science major, and where do alumni work when they graduate?” Who better to answer than our BSIS alumni? These iSchool Spotlights are based on interviews with some of our many happily employed alumni. Learn who they are, where they work, how their BSIS degree helped make them career-ready, and much more.
Jacob comes from a long line of software developers, so his interest in information science came naturally. He is now using the skills he learned at Check Point Software Technologies.
As a social media community manager for PepsiCo, Adia serves up content for Quaker’s ready-to-eat brands — Cap’n Crunch and Quaker Chewy.
See what a client case representative and an IT tech from two different cities have in common.
A product consultant for Deloitte, he works in development and design to help create the applications for sale to clients.
See what a policy analyst for a law and lobbying firm and a technology consultant at Ernst and Young (EY) have in common?...
He used his degree to get his career off the ground — first as a flight instructor for Auburn University and as a pilot for Envoy Air in.
He made headlines last year after winning the undergraduate division of The Proving Ground, an annual startup competition.
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