The School of Library and Information Studies, the only graduate professional library and information studies program in the prairie provinces, offers the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) degree. The MLIS degree is offered on campus or completely online.
As a professional degree, the MLIS represents a program designed to develop the knowledge, understanding, attitudes, and skills that will prepare graduates to help people define their information needs, make their information seeking more effective, use information tools efficiently, evaluate information, critically examine Internet resources, make informed decisions about what to read, and help organizations manage their records and knowledge.
The MLIS program is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association. This accreditation is also recognized by the Canadian Library Association.
The MLIS program may be taken as either a course-based or a thesis-based degree.
Course-based MLIS:
Students must complete a minimum of ?39 in coursework, including a capping exercise.
Required courses (?21):
LIS 501 - Foundations of Library and Information Studies - normally a prerequisite for the rest of the program
LIS 502 - Organization of Information
LIS 503 - Reference and Information Services
LIS 504 - Leadership and Management Principles for Library and Information Services
LIS 505 - Introduction to Research in Library and Information Studies
Two ?3 courses from the approved Information Technology courses (see SLIS website for current offerings)
Elective courses (?18):
Six ?3 courses.
With approval, students may select elective courses outside of SLIS.
Capping Exercise:
LIS 600 - Capping Exercise
Professional Development Requirement:
Students in the course-based Master of Library and Information Studies programs fulfill the FGSR Professional Development Requirement throughout their program, culminated in the LIS 600 capping exercise course.
Thesis-based MLIS:
Students must complete a minimum of ?30 in coursework and a thesis.
Required courses (?24):
LIS 501 - Foundations of Library and Information Studies - normally a prerequisite for the rest of the program
LIS 502 - Organization of Information
LIS 503 - Reference and Information Services
LIS 504 - Leadership and Management Principles for Library and Information Services
LIS 505 - Introduction to Research in Library and Information Studies
LIS 597 - Advanced Scholarship and Research in LIS (or equivalent)
Two ?3 courses from the approved Information Technology courses (see SLIS website for current offerings)
Elective courses (?6):
Two ?3 courses.
Thesis:
Registration in 900-level THES
Professional Development Requirement:
Students in the thesis-based Master of Library and Information Studies programs fulfill the FGSR Professional Development Requirement throughout their program.
Ethics Requirement:
Students in the Master of Library and information Studies programs fulfill the FGSR Academic Integrity and Ethics Training Requirement through their required courses in which they receive approximately 17 hours of ethics training.
Length of Program:
The maximum time to complete the course-based MLIS program as set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research is six years.
The maximum time to complete the thesis-based MLIS program as set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research is four years.