School of Information Studies
Dean: Jane B. Robbins; Associate Deans: Kathleen Burnett, Don Latham; Assistant Dean: Bob Brooks
The field of information studies includes some of the most diverse and fascinating professional opportunities available today. Graduates in this field work in positions ranging across a wide variety of disciplines such as design, implementation, and use of online information systems. Essentially, information professionals are engaged in the business of helping other people locate, use, and understand the information they need for daily living and decision making. The current emphasis on the information sector of our economy makes this an exciting field of study.
Information studies offers the opportunity to blend the basic human need for information with involvement in cutting-edge technology and the development of systems for acquiring, storing, organizing, and delivering information. The tasks of fitting information systems to human needs rather than requiring human needs to fit information systems is the critical function of the information professional.
Information professionals are found in such areas as:
- Information Services and Support
- Network Management
- Network Services
- Usability Analysis
- End-user Training
- Information Product Evaluation
- Information Technology Planning
- Website Development and Administration
- Information Research
- Information Architecture
This important and fascinating field has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. As such, it offers diverse and challenging opportunities for working with emerging technologies from a humanistic point of view.
The school offers a bachelor of science (BS) degree in information studies, a master of science (MS) degree in library and information studies, a specialist (S) degree, and a doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree.
The School of Information Studies at The Florida State University was established in 1947 as a professional school and has been one of the top-ranked programs in the nation for many years. The master's degree program is accredited by the American Library Association and the school is a member of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE).
Requirements for All Incoming Students
All new main campus undergraduate students who enter the School of Information Studies beginning in Fall 2003 are required to provide their own laptop computer and the appropriate software. Specific information may be found on the school's website at http://www.lis.fsu.edu.
Requirements for a Major
Students are eligible to major in information studies after completing a program of liberal studies with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better. All students of The Florida State University must fulfill the Liberal Studies Program requirements set forth in the "Undergraduate Degree Requirements" chapter of the General Bulletin.
Transfer students who have earned an associate of arts (AA) degree from a Florida public community college or state university will be considered to have met the liberal studies requirement.
Program Prerequisites are:
- MAC 1105 College Algebra (3)
- CGS 2060 Computer Literacy (3)
- COP XXXX Computer Programming course in C, C++ or Java (3)
For additional information concerning undergraduate degree programs, please refer to the school's website at http://www.lis.fsu.edu.
Core Program
To major in information studies, a student must complete a minimum of thirty-six (36) semester hours in information studies, including the core courses:
- LIS 3201 Information Needs and Preferences (3)
- LIS 3267 Information Science (3)
- LIS 3353 Technologies for Information Services (3)
- LIS 3602 Information Sources and Services (3)
- LIS 4276 Quantitative Methods in Information Studies (3)
- LIS 4351 Interface Design (3)
Note: All courses must be completed with a minimum grade of "C–."
Requirements for a Minor
With the approval of the Academic Dean of the School of Information Studies and with the consent of the major department, a minor in information studies may be obtained upon completion of at least four (4) of the six (6) core courses required for the major. All courses must be completed with a minimum grade of "C–." All program prerequisites must be met for a minor in information studies.
Facilities
The School of Information Studies resides in the Louis Shores Building, which houses classrooms, computer laboratories and administrative offices. The New Technology (NT) Laboratory includes small-scale Local Area Networks, experimental servers, digital video equipment, and other cutting-edge technology. It provides students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in network administration, UNIX server administration, multimedia resource production, and is used for special independent and group projects under the supervision of information studies faculty and staff. Made possible in part by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, the Usability Center is a fully equipped usability laboratory for conducting, observing, recording and analyzing usability evaluations. The Harold Goldstein Library on the main floor includes professional and reference materials as well as the juvenile and young adult literature collections. The library holds a book collection of approximately 85,000 volumes, a serials and journals subscription list of over 400 titles, audio-visual items, and computer resources for online searching.
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