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Program Requirements & Courses
The LIS PhD program begins in the Fall term.
Course requirements
Doctoral students are required to complete six courses, including:
Required courses
- GRADLIS 9801 - Advanced Research Methods 1 (fall of first year)
- GRADLIS 9802 - Advanced Research Methods 2 (winter of first year)
- GRADLIS 9800 - Introduction to Doctoral-Level Scholarship
Three elective courses
Students must complete three electives, including at least one of:
- GRADLIS 9811 - Information Policy
- GRADLIS 9822 - Information Retrieval
- FIMS 9878 - Human Information Practices
Students may also choose to take a relevant elective course from the Media Studies doctoral program, the MLIS program (with additional assigned work), or one-term courses from other Western graduate programs.
Non-course requirements
- Comprehensive Exam (written exam)
- Research Proposal (including an oral presentation to the broader FIMS community)
- Thesis Submission and Examination
- Presentation of a public lecture on thesis
LIS Courses
Please use the filters below to reset the page to display required, elective, and other types of Library & Information Science (LIS) courses, on a term-by-term basis.
"All Courses" is a list of the entire LIS course catalogue. Not all courses are offered in every term or every year.
LIS PhD Co-op Program
The LIS Co-op program formally integrates a student's academic study with paid work experience, allowing eligible students to participate in one or two work terms before completing their final academic term of the PhD program.
Why do co-op as a PhD student?
Co-op placement allow eligible students to gain valuable professional experience in librarianship and information management. Full-time, paid positions allow you to build practical skills and network with others in the industry.
Scope of the program
Work terms last a minimum of fourteen weeks, a period which corresponds to the academic term. Co-op work terms do not reduce the number of courses a student must take to complete the PhD program and accordingly extend the time required to complete the academic program. For PhD students, the timing of the Co-op terms is flexible but must take account of the maximum registration period.
Most co-op positions are outside the London area, generally in Ottawa and Toronto, though positions have ranged as far afield as the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland. The number of places in the Co-op program depends on the number of positions made available by cooperating libraries and other organizations. Both public and private sector organizations participate.
Participation criteria
Current students must have at least a 78% average in their courses, and must not have any outstanding incomplete academic requirements. Those applying for a second Co-op term must have completed their first Co-op term successfully. Participation in co-op is not guaranteed - students must meet the grade requirements and demonstrate professional readiness to be accepted into the program.
Student Profile
Libraries, languages and motherhood: PhD candidate defies stereotypes
PhD in Library & Information Science
Dayanqi Si’s hometown in China only had two public libraries. As a child, she never had the opportunity to visit either of them. Little did she know, this fact would deeply influence her future academic journey.
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