Master of Information

The MI degree is a  20-month  course of study for full-time students. A total of 16 half-credit courses (48 credit hours) and the non-credit Practicum are needed to complete the degree

• Full-time status:  a minimum of 3 half-credit courses in a single term is considered full-time status. Typically, full-time MI students take 4 half-credit courses in both the fall and winter terms.
• Part-time status:  less than 3 half-credit courses in a single term is considered part-time status. Students taking the degree part-time have 7 years to complete the degree.

The curriculum responds to the ever-changing, broad-based nature of the information management field. For MI students wanting a more specialized learning experience, we offer a suite of MI Certificates. These Certificates offer students the ability to concentrate their studies within the following areas: Librarianship, Librarianship – Youth & Children’s Services, Archives, User-Centred Design, Information Management and Policy, and Data Management. See below for more details.

Each certificate requires completion of  three Elective Courses (9 Credits).  During their degree, MI students can choose to complete  up to two Certificates . The electives within the Certificates will count toward both the Certificate and the Degree.

• The  Librarianship Certificate  will recognize the particular knowledge, behaviours, skills, competencies and attitudes considered critical to success within the Library sector. The Librarianship Certificate aims to help students explore the theories, principles, and practices of modern librarianship. The foundations of modern librarianship rest on essential core values that reflect the history and ongoing developments in the practice. This certificate will prepare students with the application of standards, and bibliographic classification systems, while examining trends and future directions of relevant theories of learning and a consideration of how these approaches may be effectively managed for to engage communities. This certificate is reflective of a range of library settings including academic libraries, public libraries and special libraries.
• The  Librarianship - Youth and Children’s Services Certificate  will recognize the particular knowledge, behaviours, skills, competencies and attitudes considered critical to becoming a Youth Or Children’s Librarian. Research indicates the vital role libraries play in the intellectual and social development of children. The Youth and Children’s Services Certificate focusses on understanding the range of tools, processes and resources necessary to meet the ongoing needs of children and youth within modern libraries. The courses are designed to allow students to explore the key foundations of providing information based services to children and youth, including understanding the role of pleasure reading, and reading practices, as well as fostering an interest in technology.
• The  Archives Certificate  will recognize the particular knowledge, behaviours, skills, competencies and attitudes considered critical to working in an Archival setting. The goal of the certificate is to provide students with the foundations of knowledge regarding modern archival work, focussing on a Canadian context. The suite of courses within the Certificate are designed to build from a basic to a more advanced understanding of the archives practice, as well as the core tools for description and to manage collections which range from print, to audio visual, and digital. Students will develop an understanding of the relevant standards and guidelines within archival science.
• The  User-Centred Design Certificate  will recognize the particular knowledge, behaviours, skills, competencies and attitudes considered critical to becoming a User-Centred Design Specialist. The goal of the certificate is to provide students with the foundations of knowledge regarding a human centred designing approach to services and tools. As organizations embrace digital platforms there is a growing need for skills related to the understanding the behaviour of users, and how to use this to information design. The suite of courses within the Certificate is designed to meet this need, and to develop within students an awareness of the principles of human centred design, based on an in-depth understanding of how humans interact and work with information, and best principles.
• The  Information Management and Policy Certificate  will recognize the particular knowledge, behaviours, skills, competencies and attitudes considered critical to working in a broad range of Information Management and Information Policy contexts. The goal of the certificate is to provide students with the foundations of knowledge regarding the foundation of information management within a range of workplaces, as well as the key policy and legislative frameworks required to ensure privacy and security. Managing information, data and knowledge has become central to all organizations. The suite of courses within this Certificate is designed to develop the knowledge, skills and guiding principles to professionally manage information and data as corporate assets.
• The  Data Management Certificate  will recognize the particular knowledge, behaviours, skills, competencies and attitudes essential to working with data in a range of contexts, and using a variety of tools. The goal of the certificate is to provide students with the foundations of data management, as they relate to a number of different context, types of data, as well as expose students to modern data analysis and visualization tools. Skills related to data, including data literacy and management have become core to knowledge work, and this Certificate allows student to demonstrate their fluency with data.