Community Informatics

Community informatics (CI) is dedicated to enabling communities through information and communication technologies. The CI program welcomes applications from students who are interested in understanding and creating working relationships between communities and their technologies, working collaboratively with community members to address their information needs, promoting the needs of underserved groups in society, and pursuing a career that gives the opportunity to contribute to their communities. The Community Informatics Initiative (CII, one of the three GSLIS research and teaching centers) especially aims to encourage access to and participation in careers in library and information science by individuals from U.S. populations traditionally underrepresented in graduate study and research.

Working with community members, students in CI build innovative community technology centers and networks, software, and library services in local, national, and international communities. Coursework focuses on theory, research, and practice in community informatics, social entrepreneurship, and community library and information services. Students are prepared to apply what they have learned to the creation of information services across a wide range of community-based and public interest organizations.

Hands-on engagement via strong ongoing programs in Champaign-Urbana, East St. Louis, and Chicago makes for a blended experience that emphasizes service learning. A partnership between GSLIS and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago provides special opportunities for students to pursue their coursework in an inner-city neighborhood famed for its innovative approach to community-based learning. CII also has a growing suite of symposia and research efforts throughout Chicago, among other locations.

Students can participate in the CI program on either a full- or part-time basis, as an on-campus or LEEP student.

Courseload | Curriculum | Financial Aid | Admission Requirements

Courseload and Limits

The master's degree program requires 40 hours of graduate study, including two GSLIS core courses, "LIS 501: Information Organization and Access" and "LIS 502: Libraries, Information, and Society." Students in the CI program take an additional three required courses: "LIS 590CE: Community Engagement," "LIS 590 CO: Community Informatics Concepts," and "LIS 590: Research Methods." To complete the program, students choose electives that meet their interests and needs.

See the master's degree program information for rules governing how the remaining hours may be earned. Refer to the LEEP Online Education information for the specific requirements for the online degree program.

Curriculum

GSLIS Core

LIS501 Information Organization and Access (4 hours)
LIS502 Libraries, Information, and Society (2 or 4 hours)

CI Core

LIS490CE Community Engagement (4 hours)
LIS590CO Community Informatics Concepts (4 hours)
LIS590 Research Methods (4 hours) (under development; to be offered first in Spring 2009)

Recommended CI Electives

LIS451 Intro to Network Systems
LIS490DD Digital Divide: Policy, Research and Community Empowerment
LIS490GI Geographic Information Systems
LIS490MU Museum Informatics
LIS581 Adm and Use Archival Materials
LIS590IBO Inquiry-Based Learning
LIS590IN Information Networks
LIS590ML Media Literacy and Youth
LIS590PT Pragmatic Technology
LIS590RO Representing and Organizing Information Resources
LIS 590ST Strategic Information Management

Students may also supplement their program of study by taking electives outside GSLIS and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Financial Aid

The Tuition and Financial Aid page in our Admissions information will give you details about the types of financial aid students may be eligible for, and how to go about applying for it. See the CII Grad Assistantships and Fellowships page for specific aid available to CI program students.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for the CI program are the same as those for all master's degree program applicants. Please review the general MS program information as well as the admissions section of our website for minimum admission requirements and to learn how to apply. For further information, contact GSLIS Associate Professor Ann Bishop at -abishop, at uiuc.edu-.

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