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Studies & Degrees in Information Science

Information science studies how information is created, organised, stored, found and used, by people and by machines. The University of North Texas sums up its programmes as dealing with the collection of both traditional and digital information resources and with the user-oriented processes involved in their manipulation, storage, dissemination, publication and retrieval. The subject grew out of library science and documentation and now reaches into data and computing. It is not the same as computer science: the focus is on information and its users, and the methods come from the social and behavioural sciences as well as from computing and linguistics, as the iSchools organisation puts it.

Students learn how to describe and classify information, how search and retrieval systems work, how people look for and use information, and how organisations manage records, data and knowledge. Typical concentrations are information organisation, information architecture, human information behaviour, health informatics, knowledge management, archives, digital libraries and librarianship.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree. In Europe a bachelor's degree has 180 or 240 ECTS credits. In Spain the official degree in this field is the Grado en Información y Documentación, with 240 ECTS credits. The Universidad de Salamanca has taught it since the 2009-10 academic year; its 2026 curriculum includes 12 ECTS credits of external work placements. It prepares graduates to manage information and documentation in libraries, archives and documentation centres. In the United States, bachelor's degrees in information science are offered by information schools and departments such as the one at the University of North Texas.
  • Master's degree. This is the main professional qualification. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), librarians typically need a master's degree in library science, which some universities call Master of Information Studies or Master of Library and Information Studies; students need a bachelor's degree in any major to enter, and programmes usually take one to two years. The Master of Library and Information Science of the University of Pittsburgh is a 36-credit programme that can be completed in three consecutive terms of full-time study, on campus or online. In the United Kingdom master's degrees take one year full time: the MSc Information and Library Studies of the University of Strathclyde lasts 12 months and is open to graduates of any discipline, and the Information Management MSc of The University of Sheffield requires 180 UK credits, including a dissertation. In Spain official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.
  • Doctorate. A PhD leads to research and university teaching.

Professional accreditation matters for library posts. The American Library Association (ALA) accredits master's programmes in library and information studies in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico; the Pittsburgh programme states that it was re-accredited in 2021 until 2028. In the United Kingdom the professional body is the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), which accredits the Sheffield and Strathclyde programmes named above. According to Sheffield, CILIP has reciprocal agreements with the ALA and with the Australian and Irish library associations. Ask each school which accreditation its programme holds.

Where to study information science

SpainExchange lists 72 active schools for information science. The United States has 31 of them, the United Kingdom 6, China 5 and Spain 4. Japan and India have 3 each, Germany and Mexico 2 each, and Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark one each.

In the United States the list includes the University of Pittsburgh, the University of North Texas, Drexel University, The Pennsylvania State University, The Ohio State University and Temple University. In the United Kingdom it includes The University of Sheffield and the University of Strathclyde. Elsewhere it includes Kyoto University in Japan, Fudan University in China, Massey University in New Zealand, the University of Madras and the University of Calcutta in India, and the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru.

Many information schools belong to the iSchools organisation, which says it brings together over 130 universities on all inhabited continents. Programmes in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are taught in English; in Spain and Latin America the degree is taught in Spanish. Elsewhere, check the language of instruction of each programme.

Careers

Graduates work as librarians, archivists and records managers, documentalists, information and knowledge managers, data curators, information architects and user-experience researchers. Employers include public and university libraries, archives, museums, media companies, hospitals, law firms, public administration and any organisation that manages large amounts of documents and data.

For the library profession, the BLS projects that employment of librarians and library media specialists in the United States will grow 3 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations, with about 12,600 openings each year. In Spain, many posts in public libraries and archives are filled through competitive examinations.

Frequently asked questions

Is information science the same as computer science?

No. Computer science concentrates on computing itself. Information science concentrates on information and the people who use it, and draws on the social and behavioural sciences as well as on computing.

Do I need a master's degree to work as a librarian?

In the United States, usually yes: according to the BLS, librarians typically need a master's degree in library science. In Spain the entry qualification is normally the Grado en Información y Documentación. Requirements differ by country and employer.

How long does a master's degree in information science take?

One year full time in the United Kingdom, for example 12 months at the University of Strathclyde, and usually one to two years in the United States.