Bill & Melinda Gates Hall
New home of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science.
Information Science is an interdisciplinary department within the Faculty of Computing and Information Science. It brings together faculty, researchers and students who share an interest in studying digital information.
Information Science examines information systems in their social, cultural, economic, historical, legal, and political contexts. Computer science is an important part of the program, but the emphasis is on systems and their use, rather than on the technologies that underlie them.
The diagram symbolizes the three major areas of Information Science and some of the schools, departments and programs that contribute to each area.
Information Systems draws from Computer Science and Operations Research; Human Computer Interaction from Communication, Psychology, and Cognitive Studies; Social Studies of Computing from Science & Technology Studies, Law, and Economics, with many others.
For undergraduates, majors in Information Science are offered in Arts & Sciences (A&S) and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). In Engineering, Information Science is one of the specializations in the major in Information Science, Systems, and Technology (ISST). All undergraduate colleges offer minors or concentrations in Information Science.
The Ph.D. program offers opportunity for advanced study and research in all areas of Information Science.
The Information Science department is home to several large research groups, including the Human-Computer Interaction group, digital libraries research, and the ePrint arXiv.
Information Science brings together faculty, students and researchers who share an interest in combining computer science with the social sciences of how people and society interact with information.
Arts & Sciences and the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences offer undergraduate majors in Information Science. Engineering students can take the major in Information Science, Systems, and Technology (ISST).
"I encourage critical analytic thinking about ideas and evidence across any area of content being considered in the class. Students are asked to be skeptical and think about the logic and procedures behind scientific information."
Jeffrey Hancock
Associate Professor, Comm; Chair, IS