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A Ph.D. in Information prepares researchers for careers in which they conduct original research in academia, government, and industry.
The ever-increasing pace of technological innovation requires a more information-savvy workforce that understands not only the how, what, where, when, and why of technology and data but how to apply that knowledge. At the University of Arizona’s School of Information, we have faculty and students engaged in research and education around all aspects of the information sciences without regard for disciplinary boundaries. We do research in: artificial intelligence; data management and curation; computer vision; computer-mediated communication and learning; natural language processing; social networking; human computer interfaces; dark networks; computational art creation; eCommerce, eGovernment, and eHealth; computational music; library sciences; educational and entertainment technologies; and much more.
We are preparing our graduates to be the doers, thinkers, solvers, and game-changers, not only of the problems and opportunities we see now, but also of the myriad scenarios we can’t yet imagine but are sure to arise during our students’ lifetimes.
**The Masters of Information degree has undergone a name change effective Spring 2023. Interested future students should search for the Masters of Science in Information Science, with sub-plans in either Machine Learning or Human-Centered Computing**
College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
Applicants must meet Graduate College admission requirements and apply to the Graduate College.
Admission to the doctoral program is competitive and based on both the applicant's abilities and faculty interest and expertise in the student's proposed area of study. School of Information may deny entry to an otherwise qualified applicant if there is insufficient faculty intellectual overlap for working with that applicant.
Admission to any graduate program at the University of Arizona is the responsibility of the Graduate College. The School of Information and other schools and departments with graduate programs make recommendations to the Graduate College. Please note that most schools and departments, including School of Information, prefer to set a standard for admission that is higher than the absolute minimum levels for admission to the Graduate College.
The following are guidelines. The faculty consider the overall package when making candidate evaluations:
Admissions Procedures
Admission to the doctoral program normally occurs in the fall semester, with a deadline of January 20.
The Graduate Committee makes recommendations to the faculty, who then vote for admission or rejection with a simple majority prevailing. Faculty expertise and interest in the student’s area of study are major factors in the admission decision.
Please complete this online application for admission to the Graduate College with a $90 application fee. As part of the online application, you are required to submit the following materials.
Please email official e-Transcripts to si-transcripts@arizona.edu directly from the institution or mail one official transcript to the following address (do not send to the Graduate College). Official transcripts from ALL higher education institutions attended are required.
School of Information
The University of Arizona
Harvill Room 409
1103 E. 2nd St.
Tucson, AZ 85721
If an international applicant, please see minimum language test requirements for Graduate College admissions. Please note: **International Applicants: Per immigration regulations, students admitted to a graduate program must enroll in a total of 9 units, of which 6 of those units must be courses taught in-person and only 3 online units may be used toward full-time enrollment. For questions regarding enrollment, please contact the School of Information (si-info@email.arizonal.edu) for assistance.
The School of Information views as a priority funding PhD students in their first three years of study. Opportunities exist within the School and on campus for graduate assistantships, scholarships and other forms of support.
To quality, the student need to have had an active role in a grant proposal development or have applied for support money from other internal/external sources (e.g., SBSRI, Confluence, NSF Dissertation Improvement) this year before applying for this SI travel fund. Only doctoral students with annual reports files in year two or beyond and in good standing qualify.The travel grant may be spent only on university allowable travel and conference expenses. You must demonstrate that you are a presenter at the event. No funds are provided to simply attend conferences as a spectator. In your application, a description of the qualifying funding proposal and your proposed research presentation clarifying your role on the project should be included. Description of your participation in the event and outcomes must be included in your annual review materials.
To qualify, the student must have filed annual reports in year two and beyond and be in good standing. In addition, the student must have completed comprehensive exams or have them scheduled for the very near future. The activities and expenditures for this support must be after comprehensive examinations are successfully completed. The work must have been approved by your committee as being related to your dissertation or preparation of the dissertation proposal. This small fund for research support can be used for such purchase as equipment needed for gathering pilot data, subject/participant remuneration, fees associated with processing data gathered for the dissertation-related project. All IRB and other requirements for ethical research must be met. Funds may not be used to report findings but could be used to travel to conferences or meetings if that travel is to gather dissertation related data. In principle, one SI dissertation improvement grant is made per dissertation this year. Students must have applied for but not necessarily received a grant in the past year including for example university dissertation improvement grants. Students may resubmit dissertation improvement proposals for this SI funding if it is for the same activity for which you are requesting funding. You may only legally receive funding for the same expense once. There should be acknowledgement of the SI Dissertation improvement grant funds in the dissertation and any publication resulted from the dissertation funding.
Some purchases may be made by the business office to avoid the need for reimbursement. All other expenses may need to be reimbursements based on receipts and on University regulations. All equipment and software remains the property of the School of Information and the University.
Funding Rates for this policy period FY 2015-2016: $500 Maximum
Your application for the funds will be reviewed by the graduate committee. To apply, please send your CV, a 500 word abstract on your research, including statements that you meet each of the qualication requirement, and a short description and predicted costs for what you need to Zack Lischer-Katz, Director of Graduate Studies, zlkatz@arizona.edu.
Admission Deadline
Fall Semester only: January 20
International applicants may be considered for conditional admission to this program at the department's discretion.
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All Ph.D. students begin by taking a two-course sequence during their first year in the program. In addition to exposing you to current research topics and methods within Information Science, the hope is that this sequence will create a cohort among entering Ph.D. students each year.
You are required to take four elective graduate courses from within the School of Information (INFO/LIS). You should select electives in consultation with a your major advisor. Elective courses outside of the School must be approved by your major advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
You are required to take an additional research methods course that focuses on the methodology that you are likely to use in your own research.
This requirement may be waived if you have acquired sufficient methodological grounding prior to entering the Ph.D. program (in that case, you will be required to take one additional elective to complete the 36 units of major coursework).
INFO 900: Research (1-9 credits)
You are required to take two research seminars in the School of Information in addition of the first-year courses. The research seminars will focus on various specific topics in Information Science. Normally, you will be required to read and discuss research articles on that topic. and also write a research paper or carry out a research project on the topic.
Typically, one or two seminar courses are offered each year. Course information will be distributed to students prior to registration.
INFO 696E: Information Resources (6 Units) - seminars
You are required to take a total of 9 units of directed research (LIS/INFO 692) where you will apprentice on a School of Information faculty member's research project. Directed research credits should be selected in consultation with your major advisor, cover both quantitative and qualitative methods, and help you prepare for your comprehensive exams and anticipated dissertation research.
Most students work on three separate projects under the supervision of three separate faculty members in order to provide a breadth of knowledge of research methods. The number of credits awarded for working on a particular project may vary depending on the size of the student's contribution to that project.
You may take Directed Research under a faculty member outside of the School of Information only if it is in an area not offered by our faculty. Petitions to work with outside faculty are reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies and your major advisor.
INFO 692: Directed Research (9 credits)
After comprehensive exams, you will take a total of 18 units Dissertation Research (LIS/INFO 920). You are required to submit a 1-page proposal approved by your advisor before registering in Dissertation Research. The proposal will form a basis to evaluate your performance in the course and assign grading.
INFO 920: Dissertation (18 units)
Minor courses in another discipline chosen by the student
A Ph.D. minor in Information consists of an approved 9 units of School of Information courses (passed with grade B or better) and a written and oral examination (which forms part of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam). Some of our graduate courses have pre-requisites, but you may confer with the instructor to see if they can be waived depending on your background.
Graduates from one of our master's programs, who are also doing a Ph.D Minor with us, may not need to complete 9 units depending on their previous course work. Just what will be required in cases like these will be a decision made by the candidate’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
Successful admission will be contingent, in part, on there being a core/primary graduate faculty member of School of Information willing to serve as a member of the your Ph.D. minor committee. A second faculty member is optional and may be a School of Information affiliated faculty member.
To declare Information as a Ph.D. minor, you should first consult with a preferred minor faculty advisor and then discuss with your committee in your home department. Once all parties agree you will enter the faculty names for your committee on GradPath.
The form of the Ph.D. minor written exam would typically be a 2-hour paper. Alternatively, it could be devised to be in a format aligned with the major exam of the your home department, but reflecting content for the School of Information.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
| Program-level Information | |
|---|---|
| Application Acceptance Rate | 21.74% |
| Avg. Time-to-degree (years) | 4.45 |
| Department-level Information | |
| Enrollment Percent Male | 35.29% |
| Enrollment Percent Female | 64.71% |
| Enrollment Percent International | 38.24% |
| Enrollment Percent URM | 26.47% |