Program Overview

Areas of Specialization

There are two broad areas of research and teaching specialization in the doctoral program in LIS:

1. Information & Society
2. Information Organization & Technologies

These broad, dynamic areas reflect current research and teaching specializations of faculty members in the doctoral program in library and information science. The detailed lists of topics in each broad area are updated as research and teaching activities change over time.

Only topics for which the Program has faculty expertise at the doctoral supervisory level will be accepted for thesis research.

Research Clusters

The two broad areas of specialization in the LIS doctoral program as noted above provide a general description of the diverse research activities undertaken by faculty within the program. However, in some cases, faculty members who work within common areas of interest may wish to collaborate on a specific topic or set of topics. Accordingly, LIS Research Clusters are a mechanism for indicating areas of research commonality and associated activities for various LIS faculty and doctoral students.

Current clusters:

• Information and Communication Technologies
• Health Information and Policy
• Marxist Political Economy of Information
• Social Relations of Information Practices, Reading and Libraries
• Theoretical Problems in Information Studies: Philosophy, Ethics, Epistemology
• Webometrics & Informetrics