Doctor of Professional Studies in Information Management

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Take your career to the highest level of mastery.

You’ve gained valuable experience throughout your career. Now, you’re looking for the next step, something that will help you gain fresh perspective, hone your skills, and become a leader in your organization or industry.

Our DPS in Information Management is designed for mid-career professionals like you. You’ll join a cohort of peers across industries, all seeking to advance their knowledge and practice in the information field. From IT professionals, to data analysts, to project managers, and beyond, you’ll study alongside a diverse group of experts who will broaden your thinking and strengthen your network.

We have seen a climate scientist studying information design, data scientists working on ethical algorithms, a business analyst facilitating teacher training in remote areas of Africa with portable Internet connectivity, data scientists advancing the adoption of quantum computing, and digital marketers helping address crucial issues of workforce development and consumer privacy. Everyone will leave the program with an entirely new set of perspectives and insights.

Over three years of study, you’ll complete a thesis in which you’ll examine how to apply cutting-edge research and advancements in your field to the work you do every day. And you’ll graduate with knowledge and a set of skills that will help you drive innovation, take on new leadership roles, and advance in your career.

The program requires 51 credit hours over three years, taking courses 3 semesters per year. In eight of of nine semesters, the load is 6 credits, which preserves the standard federal student loan credit requirements for part-time study.

Over the 36 months of the program, you will attend six three-day residencies that bring cohorts together on campus. Residencies include shared milestones (such as thesis proposal presentations), professional development, and in-person engagement with the wider iSchool community.

Students come from different backgrounds connected to the field of information studies, so we do not teach required or elective courses in such topics as IT management, librarianship, or information security. Instead, all coursework is common to the cohort and focuses only on teaching you how to conduct research as practitioners and complete a thesis.

In the first year, you will take three courses on theories of information and research methods primarily through a synchronous, online delivery. Our faculty work with you to develop skills in reading and analyzing scholarly writing and to learn key research tools. By the end of the first year, you have defined a research topic and established a relationship with your thesis advisor

We use a cohort-based lockstep model to position you to complete and defend your thesis in timely fashion. Everybody undertakes a five-chapter thesis, with the same chapter architecture, written in the same order. For example, in semester 4, everybody writes their literature review. From semester 4 to semester 8, you and your cohort will write one chapter draft per semester. In semester 9, everyone defends and graduates together.

We are finding that the cohorts grow exceptionally close. With peer inspiration and support, individuals are finding themselves capable of successful doctoral research and writing. More than one student has characterized their achievement as “the hardest thing I’ve ever written.”

If you are interested, please contact us via email. We would like to hear about your potential research interests and share some of our current student stories to help you to imagine your specific pathway to earning your doctorate in a program that seeks to embody the best aspects of information studies: its rigor, diversity of perspectives, multidisciplinary tool kit, and balance of theory with practice..

View Curriculum in Course Catalog

The primary learning outcome is applied research expertise. This is accomplished through the writing and defense of a thesis. 

We are already seeing the power of the cohort model as people are sharing expertise as well as holding each other accountable. The cohorts we are building are diverse in many ways – demographically, intellectually, temperamentally, and in their skills and experience. In short, the program is as much about the “who” you are learning with as about the “what” you discover in your research.

Here are the official learning outcomes: as published in the course catalog:

  1. Develop research questions
  2. Read and synthesize relevant literature
  3. Identify and use theory to support a professionally relevant research effort
  4. Select and apply the appropriate research approach
  5. Collect and generate data
  6. Analyze and synthesize data
  7. Develop skill in scholarly writing

Below are some examples of research our current DPS students are engaged in:

  • Visually Displaying Uncertainty in Climate Model Outcomes
  • Words Matter: Ensuring the inclusion of marginalized populations in the digital surveillance of depression and suicidal ideation
  • The Impact of Sociocultural Barriers on Information Seeking Behaviors of First-Generation Haitian Americans’ Financial Literacy
  • A Novel Framework to Improve the Findability of Research Open Datasets
  • What factors Influenced the degree to which U.S. Army Signal Brigades adopted and accepted videoconferencing groupware technologies during the Covid-19 lockdown?
  • Enhancing Teacher Training in Rural Ghana Using the Internet Backpack
  • Measuring Completeness of County-level Cybersecurity Compliance with Election Security Mandates
  • What We Will Believe Tomorrow Based Only on Today: Assessing Transition Probability Estimation Methods for Social Media Beliefs
  • How the democratization of design education is changing the practices in design: A case study looking at the Do-It-Yourself Designer
  • How Disruptions in Indirect Procurement Impact an Organization’s Adoption of Technology: An Applied Research Thesis
Lifelong Network

Connect with experts across industries.

Your cohort of mid-career professionals will learn alongside you throughout the program, which means you’ll experience a diversity of perspective, and gain a lifelong network.

The Future is Information Science

From the library stacks to the C-suite, Dr. Sarah Chauncey has a wealth of experience in the information field.

Admissions

Join our ranks.

If you embrace the interdisciplinary nature of information, invite alternative views and approaches to research, and commit yourself to pursuing your career at the highest level, then the iSchool is the place for you. Start your application today and take your career to the next level.

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What You Need to Apply

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Your future, starting now. Get it touch to learn more. Apply. And join us. We can’t wait to welcome you.  

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