Courses of Study 2019-2020 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
Courses of Study 2019-2020 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Information Science


Faculty


W. Arms, S. Azenkot, S. Barocas,  L. Blume, C. Cardie, T. Choudhury, D. Cosley, C. Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, N. Dell, D. Easley, S. Fussell, G. Gay, P. Ginsparg, C. Gomes,  F. Guimbretiere, K. Harms, H. Hirsh, S. Jackson, T. Joachims, W. Ju, M. Jung, R. Kizelec, J. Kleinberg, L. Lee, G. Leshed, K. Levy, M. Macy, D. Mimno, M. Naaman, H. Nissenbaum, T. Parikh, M. Pollack, J. Rzeszotarski, P. Sengers, E. Tardos, D. Williamson, C. Zhang

The Information Science Major:


Information Science (IS) is an interdisciplinary department that explores the design and use of information systems in a social context: the field studies the creation, representation, organization, application, and analysis of information in digital form. The focus of Information Science is on systems and their use rather than on the computing and communication technologies that underlie and sustain them. Moreover, Information Science examines the social, cultural, economic, historical, legal, and political contexts in which information systems are employed, both to inform the design of such systems and to understand their impact on individuals, social groups, and institutions.

Major Requirements


Majors are required to take core courses that introduce them to the variety of theories and methods of study within the discipline. Students will specialize in a particular area of interest in Information Science by choosing courses from one concentration that will provide in-depth study in that area. Courses under each concentration come from within and outside the department. In addition to the courses in their chosen concentration, students are required to complete three elective classes that will contribute to their studies in either breadth or depth.

Overview of Major Requirements:

  • Students must complete the five core courses; INFO 1200 , INFO 1300 , INFO 2040 , INFO 2450 , INFO 2950 .
  • Students must take CS 1110 , and one Calculus, and one Statistics course.
  • Students must complete AT LEAST one Concentration from the options listed below. 
  • Students must complete three electives. See the Elective requirements guidelines.

All courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade. Affiliated students must earn a C- or better in all courses used for the major.

Requirements:


PROGRAMMING AND MATH REQUIREMENTS


CONCENTRATIONS


Each of the introductory Information Science courses is the beginning of a path of in-depth study. We call these paths Concentrations. Each one is described in further detail below.

SELECT ONE:


BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE


This concentration provides students with an in-depth understanding of the behavioral and social aspects of interacting with and through information technology.

CHOOSE ONE COURSE FROM SECTION C

*Please note that you will choose one course from one of the Context sections: either Sociological, Network or Design. NOT one from each.

C1. BEHAVIOR IN SOCIOLOGICAL CONTEXT:

C3: BEHAVIOR IN DESIGN CONTEXT:

DATA SCIENCE


This concentration will equip students to learn about the world through data analytics.

DIGITAL CULTURE AND PRODUCTION


This concentration explores computing as a cultural phenomenon. It equips students to analyze technology’s role in society and culture, to understand it historically, and to produce media artifacts.

This concentration can be completed by following either of the two options below:

  1. One course each from A, B, and C; an additional course from A or C.
  2. One course each from A and B; 2 additional courses from A or C.

For the Media, Art, Design component: Any ARCH elective course or option studio at the 3000 level or higher that addresses IT as a significant component can work for this portion. Elective courses can be found on The College of Arts, Architecture, and Planning website.

INFORMATION ETHICS, LAW, AND POLICY


This concentration provides training and insight into the ethical, legal, and policy dimensions of contemporary information technology.

D. TOOLS AND TECHNICAL DOMAINS: CHOOSE ONE COURSE

INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES


This concentration provides students with the analytical and technical skills they need to design and build functional technical systems.

NETWORKS, CROWDS, AND MARKETS


This concentration helps students to understand formal models, data and policy issues surrounding networked systems.

UX (USER EXPERIENCE)


This concentration is designed to help students gain a better understanding of user experience design through studies in design and user perception.

ELECTIVES


All students are required to complete three electives that are chosen from the following classes; INFO 2300 , CS 2110 , CS 3110 CS 3410  and any INFO 3000+ or higher course including INFO 4900 . These courses must be taken for a letter grade, each must earn three or more credit hours, and all must be completed with a grade of C- or higher.

The Minor:


A minor in Information Science is available to undergraduate students in all colleges. The minor has been designed to ensure that students have substantial grounding in all three tracks: Human-Centered Systems, Information Systems, and Social Systems. Detailed information about the minor can be found in the CIS section  of Courses of Study as well as on the Information Science website.