Digital technologies have become pervasive in culture, economy, law, government, and research, dramatically changing the way people work and live. The proliferation and significance of these complex technological systems of information demand a new focus in academic scholarship - one committed to cross-disciplinary study, astute about both the technical and the social, and devoted to integrating theory, investigation, design, and practice.

At Cornell, graduate work is organized as fields, each with a Director of Graduate Studies. The field of Information Science studies the design and use of information systems in a social context: it studies the creation, representation, organization, application, and analysis of information in digital form.

The focus of the Information Science Ph.D. program 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. The field's interdisciplinary research combines multiple methodologies, including mathematical analysis, computer modeling, software system design, experimental studies, and critical social evaluations, from such traditional disciplines as computer science, cognitive psychology, social science, cultural studies, and history.

The program has four concentrations:

Information Systems examines the computer science problems of representing, organizing, storing, manipulating, and using digital information.

Human Computer Interaction uses an interactive, user-centered design approach to study the interplay between technology and what people do with technology.

Cognition focuses on the human mind, which is the ultimate producer and user of information.

Social Aspects of Information studies the cultural, economic, historical, legal, political, and social contexts in which digital information is a major factor.

A student who is awarded a Ph.D. in Information Science will need to achieve three objectives: (a) breadth in the disciplines that contribute to the field, (b) depth in several aspects of the field, (c) original research, on a topic from one or more of the Information Science concentrations.

Some concepts and techniques are so fundamental to Information Science that all students are required to demonstrate mastery of them. During their first two years, students will normally take a specified group of 600-level courses. There is no qualifying examination, but students must pass the required courses with a grade of B+ or better.

The required courses are selected by the graduate field based on the following criteria.

(a) While the field of Information Science is too broad for the students to study all topics in depth, the group of courses covers the major aspects of the field.

(b) The prerequisites for each course are kept to a minimum and there is a clear prerequisite path for students who have gaps in their background.

(c) Each course is also taken by students in the home department that teaches it.  This means that Information Science students work alongside graduate students in other fields.

(d) The department that teaches each course is committed to continuing the course and pleased to have it be a requirement for the Information Science Ph.D. students.

The graduate field plans to review the set of courses annually. The following courses have been identified as the initial group of required 600-level courses.

See list of Required & Recommended courses.

Students are expected to make a thesis proposal by the end of their third year. Before making a thesis proposal, a Ph.D. committee will be formed with three members, one of whom will be a minor advisor. As part of the thesis proposal, the student will be required to demonstrate depth in at least one concentration, sufficient to carry out fundamental research. The student's Ph.D. committee will decide how this expertise will be evaluated.

In addition to the required group of 600-level courses, the student's committee may require additional courses before approving the thesis proposal.

Concentration and Minors

Each Ph.D. student will select a concentration within Information Science and a minor from a second concentration within the field. In addition, the student is required to have a minor in another graduate field. This will often be a closely related field, such as Cognitive Studies, Communication, Computer Science, Science & Technology Studies, Economics, Linguistics, Mathematics, Operations Research, Psychology, or Sociology.