The Faculty of Information (or the iSchool at the University of Toronto) is an undergraduate and graduate school that offers the following programs: a Bachelor of Information (BI), a Master of Information (MI), a Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), and a PhD in information studies, as well as diploma courses. As a member of the iSchool movement, the Faculty of Information takes an interdisciplinary approach to information studies, building on its traditional strengths in library and information science, complemented by research and teaching in archives, museum studies, user experience, information systems and design, critical information studies, culture and technology, knowledge management, digital humanities, the history of books, data science and other related fields. It is located on St. George Campus, in the Claude Bissell building, at 140 St. George Street, which is attached to the John P. Robarts Research Library and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
History
The Faculty of Information was founded as the University of Toronto Library School within the Ontario College of Education in 1928 and was housed at 315 Bloor Street. In 1965, the School was designated as an independent unit within the university and became known as the School of Library Science and thus moved it quarters to 167 College Street and 256 McCaul Street. In 1971, SLS moved again to its present location at 140 St. George Street. In 1972, the name changed to the Faculty of Library Science (FLS), as the school attained faculty status. The name changed again to the Faculty of Library and Information Science (FLIS) in 1982 and then the Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) in 1994. In 2004, FIS joined the iSchool Caucus and accordingly in 2008, it was renamed the Faculty of Information (FI), also identifying itself as "the iSchool at Toronto".
The faculty has offered a variety of degrees since its inception, which at the same time reflect the changing requirements of entry into librarianship and more recently, into other information professions. Between 1928 and 1936, it offered one-year university Diploma in Librarianship, and from 1936 to 1970, a one-year Bachelor of Library Science degree, which was accredited by the American Library Association in 1937. The late 1960s saw the emergence of the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree as the first professional degree in librarianship, which was introduced in the School in 1970 and required four semesters to complete. Doctoral program, leading to a Doctor of Philosophy was established in 1971, with Claire England holding the first Ph.D. in library science that was awarded in Canada in 1974. In 1988, the faculty began to offer a Master of Information Science (MIS) degree. In 1995, the MLS and MIS degrees were both replaced with the Master of Information Studies (MISt) degree, which had three areas of specialization: archival studies, information systems, and library and information science. The name of the degree was changed to Master of Information (MI) in 2009. In 2019, the school welcomed its first cohort of its Bachelor of Information program.
Since 2006, when the Department of Museum Studies became part of FIS, the faculty began to offer a Master of Museum Studies degree.
Programs
The Faculty of Information currently offers one bachelor's degree: Bachelor of Information (BI) and two master's degrees: Master of Information (MI) and Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), which are also offered together as a combined degree program (CDP). In addition, students can also enroll in a Ph.D. program and Graduate Diploma of Advanced Study in Information Studies (DAIS).
Bachelor of Information (BI) Master of Information (MI) Archives and Records Management (ARM) Critical Information Policy Studies (CIPS) Culture & Technology (C&T) Human-Centred Data Science (HCDS) Information Systems & Design (ISD) Knowledge Management & Information Management (KMIM) Library & Information Science (LIS) User Experience Design (UXD) Master of Museum Studies (MMSt)
Combined Degree Program (CDP) This program permits graduate students to complete a Masters of Information (MI) and a Masters of Museum Studies (MMSt) concurrently within the span of three years. This option was changed from Concurrent Registration Option (CRO) to Combined Degree Program (CDP) beginning in September 2018.