Information Studies, PhD, Online PHD
Join the next generation of information scientists. The online Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Information Studies, offered by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Information Studies, focuses on the representation, storage, retrieval, use and impact of information resources on society. Our online modality breaks down the barriers of traditional advanced education.
Through independent research and collaborative projects, and with one-on-one mentorship, you’ll contribute knowledge to the field and learn how to use information to shape society. Upon graduation, prepare to take on leadership roles where expertise in information science is essential.
Start Dates: Fall
Cost per Credit: $800 (Total Cost: $24,000*)
Credit Hours: 30
*Total cost will vary based on the number of credits transferred into UWM.
Program Type
Doctoral
Program Format
Online
Why Information Studies at UWM?
- Participate in Information Studies doctoral seminars through livestreams with local students and faculty.
- Earn a PhD in Information Studies through a STEM-designated program with Optional Practical Training (OPT) eligibility, offering international students the opportunity to extend their work authorization, gain valuable U.S. experience and enhance their career prospects in STEM fields.
- Learn from leaders in the field. Information Studies faculty rank 10th in productivity among U.S. LIS and iSchool faculty, according to John M. Budd’s study “Productivity of U.S. and ischool faculty” (October 2015) in Library & Information Science Research. All instructors teach in-person and online courses.
- Benefit from the School of Information Studies ranking fourth internationally and second in the U.S./Canada in department contributions to library and information science (LIS) literature, as reported in a study by Walters & Wilder (2015) in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology.
The PhD program at SOIS establishes a dynamic, inclusive and supportive intellectual environment from a combination of advising, mentoring and involvement in research projects with faculty.
Students enrolled in the online PhD in information studies are self-funded. The Office of Student Financial Services can help you find financial resources and answer your questions about program costs.
Note: The School of Information Studies does not provide financial support for the online information studies program option.
PhD Brochure
PhD Handbook
You must meet Graduate School requirements plus the following departmental requirements to be considered for admission to the online PhD in Information Studies program:
- Have a cumulative GPA in coursework for the master’s degree of at least 3.5 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Applicants possessing a Master of Library and Information Science or a master’s degree in an allied discipline are encouraged to apply.
- Submit three letters of recommendation from qualified people who can attest to your aptitude for doctoral study. At least one letter must be from an academic representative.
- Submit a one- to two-page reason statement outlining your background and your educational, research and career goals.
- Submit a writing sample that demonstrates your analytical and critical thinking skills. This may take the form of a published research paper, a term paper from a previous graduate program or an earlier completed thesis.
- Submit a curriculum vitae.
- Verbal and quantitative scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken within the past five years are optional but not required for admission consideration.
- You are encouraged to bring at least two years of relevant professional experience prior to entering the PhD program.
- If you lack the requisite GPA or academic area, you may be considered for admission on probation and may be required to complete preparatory coursework.
Applications are accepted only for the fall semester. Students begin the Information Studies doctoral program in the fall. An applicant whose file is incomplete will be asked to contact the Graduate School. Online students must also meet the UWM Graduate School residency requirements. Physical residency in Milwaukee is not necessary.
In-Person Requirement
As an online information studies student, you will be required to attend a one- to two-day orientation on campus at the beginning of the program. You also must be physically present for all major program milestones, including preliminary exam defense, dissertation proposal defense and formal defense of the dissertation. You will be responsible for meeting all other program requirements through online courses or other approved means.
Technology Requirement
Review the following technology requirements for earning an information studies PhD online.
Required: Broadband internet connection with 5Mbps download and 5Mbps upload and a home network to reliably support these speeds
Highly Suggested: 15Mbps download and 5Mbps upload
Required: Intel i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 160GB HDD
Highly Suggested: Intel i5 CPU, 16GB RAM, 250GB SSD
Monitor capable of displaying 1920×1080 or higher
Webcam capable of 1080p resolution (Suggestion: Logitech C920)
Microphone (Suggestions: Rode Procaster, Blue Yeti, Shure SM58)
Quality Headphones (Suggestions: Shure SRH440, Sennheiser HD 280 PRO)
Windows 10 (preferred), macOS Sierra
It is important to have a comfortable and quiet space that is free from environmental noises like kids or traffic. It should provide good lighting so your peers can see and hear you on virtual calls without interference.
The information studies PhD curriculum covers foundation courses, research methods and design, and a specialized area of your choice. You can choose from the following concentrations:
- Information Policy
- Information Retrieval
- Information Studies
- Organization of Information
Program Requirements
You must complete a minimum of 30 credits of approved coursework at the 700 level or higher to earn a PhD in information studies.
Note: Standard Graduate School minimum and maximum credit loads apply. Full-time students are discouraged from taking more than 9 credits per semester.
Courses
Take courses in current information studies issues, research techniques and more. You and your faculty advisor will create a plan for your coursework that allows you to carry out research in areas that interest you. While you’re not required to identify a dissertation topic upon entry to the program, you should begin to think about potential ideas soon after.
- INFOST 901: Current Issues in Information Studies
- INFOST 910: Doctoral Seminar in the Organization of Information
- INFOST 960: Doctoral Seminar in Information Policy
- INFOST 970: Doctoral Seminar in Information Retrieval
- INFOST 903: Qualitative Research Methods
- INFOST 904: Quantitative Research Methods
Note: Students must select a minimum of three additional credits in approved research methods coursework.
Select a minimum of nine credits related to the specialized area(s) of the dissertation topics from the following:
- Approved existing graduate courses within SOIS
- Advanced special topics classes offered within SOIS at the 700-level or higher
- INFOST 999: Independent Research
- Courses offered outside of SOIS
With a comprehensive understanding of research processes, evaluation and information value, you’ll be positioned to advance the discipline and take on influential roles as a scholar and leader in the field.
Recent graduates of the Information Studies PhD program have secured faculty positions at top universities in the U.S. and abroad. Others have taken on prominent research careers in industry, academia and private organizations.
Faculty Positions:
- Arizona State University
- Chicago State University
- Chungnam National University
- King Saud University
- Kuwait University
- Louisiana State University
- Nanjing University
- Renmin University of China
- Simmons University
- Tamkang University, Taiwan
- University of Kentucky
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Washington
Post-Doctoral Scholars:
- Penn State/Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
- University of California-Berkeley
- University of Maryland
- University of Missouri
Dissertation Titles by Year
Benjamin Omwando
Investigation of Malaria-Related Information in Africa on YouTube
Sukwon Lee
Examining Individual Document Evaluation: An Eye-Tracking Analysis
Shannon Crawford Barniskis
Convivial Making: Power in Public Library Makerspaces
Meghan Dowell
‘The Same Information is Given To Everyone’: Algorithmic Awareness of Online Platforms
Tae Hee Lee
Information needs of Korean immigrants in the United States: Selection and use of social media
Bradley Wiles
‘For What We Do Today Becomes the History of Tomorrow’: A History of the Bay View Historical Society, 1979-2015
Mutasim Abdulrahman A. Alfadhel
The Analysis of User Characteristics on Twitter During Early Stage of The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Comparison Study Before and After Declaration of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Xin Cai
Application of the Markov Chain Method in a Health Portal Recommendation System
Jean Rene
Exploring the Information Experience of the Immigrant Toward Public Libraries in New York City
Yifan Zhu
An Optimization Analysis of the Subject Directory System on the MedlinePlus Portal – An Investigation of Mental Health, Children, Teenagers, and Older Adults Related Health Topics
Yazeed Alhumaidan
A New Framework of Privacy Concerns Assessment in The Context of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT): Mixed-Methods Sequential Exploratory Analysis of YouTube Users
Laura Ridenour
Examining the Notion of the Boundary Object in Information Systems: The Transdisciplinary Oeuvre of Cognitive Science
Sukjin You
The Ensemble MeSH-Term Query Expansion Models Using Multiple LDA Topic Models and ANN Classifiers in Health Information Retrieval
Musa Dauda Hassan
Consumer Health Information Needs, Seeking and Searching Behavior by Rural Residents in the Kachia Grazing Reserve, with a Focus on Vector-Borne Diseases
Adrianna McCleer
It Was Never About The Books
Maali Alghnimi
Digitization Guidelines for Static & Non-static (Audiovisual) Media: Compliance & Challenges in Academic Libraries.
Hyoungjoo Park
The Impact of Research Data Sharing and Reuse on Data Citation in Stem Fields
Yuehua Zhao
An Investigation of Autism Support Groups on Facebook
Yanyan Wang
Analysis of Family-Health-Related Topics on Wikipedia
Inkyung Choi
Toward a Model of Intercultural Warrant: A Case of the Korean Decimal Classification’s Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Dewey Decimal Classification
Ann Graf
Facets of Graffiti Art and Street Art Documentation Online: A Domain and Content Analysis
Jennifer Stevenson
Social Network Analysis on Wisconsin Archival Facebook Community
Hyejung Han
Understanding Children’s Help-seeking Behaviors: Effects of Domain Knowledge
Carol Sabbar
The Information-seeking Strategies of Humanities Scholars Using Resources in Language Other Than English
Jennifer Thiele
Information Access in Rural Areas of the United States: The Public Library’s Role in the Digital Divide and the Implications of Differing State Funding Models
Renee Bennett- Kapusniak
Baby Boomers and Technology: Factors and Challenges in Utilizing Mobile Devices
Melodie Fox
Gender as an ‘Interplay of Rules’: Detecting Epistemic Interplay of Medical and Legal Discourse with Sex and Gender Classification in Four Editions of the Dewey Decimal Classification
Nicholas Proferes
Informational Power on Twitter: A Mixed-methods Exploration of User Knowledge and Technological Discourse About Information Flows
Dalal Al-budaiwi
The impact of culture and religion on the perception of freedom of expression between older and younger generations in South Africa and State of Kuwait: An international and comparative study | Advisor: Britz
Jeremy Mauger
Framing the policy debate: Competing portrayals of technology in online content regulation and lessons from science and technology studies | Advisor: Zimmer
Soohyung Joo
Investigating User Search Tactic Patterns and System Support in Using Digital Libraries | Advisor: Xie
Jihee Beak
A child-driven metadata schema: A holistic analysis of children’s cognitive processes and book selection behaviors | Advisors: Olson & Smiraglia
Anna Lauren Hoffman
Google Books as Infrustructure of In/Justice: Towards a Sociotechnical Account of Rawlsian Justice, Information and Technology | Advisors: Britz & Zimmer
Edward Benoit III
MPLP: A comparison of domain novice and expert user-generated tags in a minimally processed digital archive | Advisor: Xie
Chunsheng Huang
Understanding novice users’ help-seeking behavior in getting started with digital libraries: Influence of learning styles | Advisor: Xie
Suyu Lin
A Comparative Study on Institutional Repositories (IRs): Comparing Organizational Factors Influencing Initiation and Implementation of Two IR Projects | Advisor: Britz
Kun Lu
Assessing systematic topic difficulty based on query and collection features | Advisor: Wolfram