Course List

* Core Course † Required Course

* Core Course † Required Course Foundations & Required Courses 

LIBR 514 (1-13) Topics in the Bibliographic Control of Information

• Management Requirement†, 2 courses (6 credits) from the following list: LIBR 504, LIBR 570, LIBR 571, LIBR 574, LIBR 575, and LIBR 576.

Information Behaviour, Materials, and Services for Children & Young Adults

Information Behaviour, Materials, and Services for Adults

LIBR 538 (1-13) d Specialized Literatures
LIBR 539 (1-13) d Specialized Materials

Additional Information Behaviour, Materials, and Services Courses

LIBR 542 (1-13) d Services for Youth
LIBR 544 (1-13) d Services for Adults

LIBR 548 (1-13) d Issues in Information Services

Information Technology & Systems

LIBR 559 (1-13) d Topics in Computer-Based Information Systems

Information & Society 

LIBR 569 (1-13) d Current Issues and Trends in Library Services and Information Science

Management of Information Organizations

LIBR 579 (1-13) Topics in the Management of Libraries and Archives

Text & Collections

Individual Study Courses

LAIS 609 (3-6) Advanced Seminar in Library, Archival and Information Studies:

• LAIS 620 (6) Advanced Study in Major Area
• LAIS 621 (6) Advanced Study in Minor Area
• LAIS 699 (0) Doctoral Dissertation

Students in the MACL program should consult the MACL "Courses" webpage for details on approved courses.

Courses within the School that may be taken by MACL students are:

MAS and MLIS Students:

• Elective courses other than those designated ARST (for MAS students) and LIBR for (MLIS students) may be applied to the program, whether taken at UBC or another institution.
• External courses may total no more than 12 of the 48 credits required for the MAS or MLIS degree.

Dual MAS/MLIS Students:

• Elective courses other than those designated ARST and/or LIBR may be applied to the program, whether taken at UBC or another institution.
• External courses may total no more than 9 of the 81 credits required for the Dual MAS/MLIS degree.

Undergraduate Courses:

• All courses external to the degree program must be at the 300-level or above (or the equivalent at another institution).
• A maximum of 6 credits at the undergraduate level in courses numbered 300 to 499 may be counted toward the requirements of a master's degree.
• Students completing the First Nations Curriculum Concentration are allowed a maximum six (6) credits of approved First Nations coursework at the 300- or 400-level in their Master’s degree program.

Process to Apply for External Credit:

• Students do not need permission to take iSchool courses outside their program and may elect to take cognate courses from other units at UBC. However, only 12 credits of external coursework can count toward the MLIS or MAS degree (9 credits for the DUAL MASLIS), including courses transferred or taken at other universities. Students should consult with their faculty advisor and/or the Graduate Advisor before selecting courses outside their program.
• Permission must also be obtained from the instructor of the course and the host department/institution. Some fees may apply for courses taken outside of the department and/or university. Students should consult directly with the hosting department/institution. UBC has exchange agreements with some post-secondary institutions through the Western Dean's Agreement, the Graduate Exchange Agreement, and the Go Global program.

Some courses are listed in the UBC Calendar with a choice of credit value. This permits the School to offer several different courses in the same area of specialization carrying the same course number. The form (3-9) indicates that courses within a specialization group number may be taken more than once for credit (with different content each time, as designated by different letters following the course number, and worth 3 credits each time). Within a specialization area, a letter differentiates the courses, e.g. 575A. Courses at UBC iSchool are worth 3 credits.

• INFO 100: (De)coding Information and Why It Matters
  In this course, learners will develop critical perspectives to engage with data, information, and technologies. Activities and discussions will support learners in practicing applications and developing pragmatic, reflective strategies to take forward in their studies and daily interactions with information. [Syllabus]
• INFO 200: Foundations of Informatics
  The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the area of informatics by exploring how processes and technologies to store and retrieve information have transformed human societies. This foundational course will introduce students to histories, theories, and concepts used to analyze, design and evaluate information objects, activities, systems, and infrastructures in contemporary societies. [Syllabus]
• INFO 300: Information and Data Design
  This course will examine human capabilities and behavior as they relate to the design of these interactive information systems. This course will survey contemporary theories and findings from the social sciences and information design literature, with special attention given to how these concepts influence the way we design for human interaction with information. [Syllabus]

• INFO 250: Networks, Crowds, and Communities
  This course introduces network concepts and methods for exploring social and organizational connectivity for work, socializing, and knowledge production. Examines the impact of social media on connections that span space and place; peer production on authority structures; ubiquitous mobile connectivity on daily life. [Syllabus]
• INFO 301: Cultural Informatics: Digital Collections
  The goal of this course is to prepare students to design, build and critique digital collections of cultural materials. It introduces a cultural informatics perspective, including central notions such as culture, representation, ethics, access and ownership. Students gain experience building a digital collection of cultural materials. [Syllabus]
• INFO 303: Search Engines and Society
  This course introduces aspects of technical implementation and societal impact of search engines, and explores how Google and other Internet search engines are powerful, global, and non-neutral tools that drive economies and shape our views of the world. [Syllabus]
• INFO 419: Information Visualization
  The goal of the course is to provide scientifically-grounded design principles to represent information visually, to understand the effect of different representations on understanding and meaning, and to develop practical design skills to visually represent information in a way that effectively addresses the requirements of specific audiences. [Syllabus]

• INFO 302: Socio-technical Perspectives of Information Systems
  This course advances capabilities to evaluate the implications of the design of information systems on historical, social and political dimensions, and envision possible implications for socially and culturally diverse groups and communities.
• INFO 304: Memory and Identity in the Digital Age
  This course explores how identity and memory are constructed, preserved, obscured and forgotten through the collection and curation of textual accounts, photos, videos, artifacts, and memorabilia. Individual, community, government, and institutional collections tell the stories of historical events, social movements, personal and collective grief and trauma, and public life.
• INFO 441: Information and Media Design for Contemporary Childhood
  This course explores the values inherent to new media that are designed for young people. Adopting a sociocultural perspective, it examines the cultural narratives and practices promoted by different technologies and the tensions they can create.
• INFO 456: Information Policy and Society
  This course provides students with the basic knowledge and skills needed to identify, evaluate, adapt and (re)design policy relating to information and communication technology (ICT) and media practices in contemporary societies. [Syllabus]