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Get Started with a Higher Standard

Demand is increasing for people with skills to handle information in many settings—professionals who can access and interpret a wealth of internal and external information rapidly and effectively for organizations in the public and private sectors.

For more than 90 years we’ve been there. Inspiring learners. Producing leaders. Shaping the world of library and information science so that individuals and families everywhere get the most out of their library experience. At the School of Information Studies, ours is a higher standard—a standard founded on rigorous programming, exceptional and personalized instruction, and a deep understanding and appreciation for the needs of working professionals when it comes to graduate education. Many SOIS students are already working in libraries and information centers while attending graduate classes, bringing a myriad of real-world experiences and relevant perspectives.


Expand Your Career Opportunities with a Dual Degree

The School of Information Studies also offers an MLIS degree in combination with a second master’s degree. In this unique program, you can choose from a master’s in business administration, social work, public history, divinity, youth literature and information management—all while completing your MLIS. Learn more about our dual degree programs.

Our Programs

Chicago’s iSchool offers options for becoming an information professional in a variety of situations and organizations. There is also an array of opportunities for professionals looking to expand their knowledge and advance their careers.

Master of Library and Information Studies

Master of Science in Information Management

Master of Arts in Youth Literature

Master of Professional Studies

Doctor of Philosophy

Certificates

²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù the School of Information Studies 

Dominican University’s School of Information Studies (Chicago’s only iSchool) has long been a presence on the region’s higher education landscape. Read more about our school here:

The SOIS began with an undergraduate library science degree in 1930 and introduced the master’s in library science in 1949. Our school works to stay ahead of trends, expanding its library science graduate programs to encompass the modern breadth of library and information science. But even with all the changes we’ve seen since the 1930s our values and mission remain the same—to educate true innovators and library leaders who can have a positive impact on their library or institution every day. In libraries, museums, schools, research labs, Fortune 500 companies and many other professional settings across the country, you’ll find Dominican SOIS graduates achieving great things. Their knowledge, their talents and their leadership impact countless lives every day.

The School of Information Studies, through its various degree programs and certificates, empowers students to become professionals who connect individuals and communities to the world of information and learning with reason, compassion, and a commitment to service and radical inclusion.

Echoing the university's vision, SOIS will be an innovative leader in empowering graduates from diverse backgrounds to meet the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world.

Our faculty come from across the country and around the world, bringing with them a wealth of real-world experience and visionary approaches to advancing the field. They are passionate educators who thrive in Dominican’s setting, where personal attention and individualized mentorship are the primary focus. Meet our faculty.

The School of Information Studies is committed to anti-racism and that includes supporting research and conversations that disrupt structures in higher education that normalize and facilitate oppression, that enable and activate equity-minded practice, and that help us all develop in our critical consciousness around social justice.

A complete description of Dominican University’s academic policies and regulations can be found in our .

The School of Information Studies Advisory Board meets four times a year to review possibilities for program expansion and review existing projects. Members include library and information professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, associations and libraries. 

Members of the board are:
 
  • Sumayya Ahmed, executive director, Black Metropolis Research Consortium
  • Chris Barkoozis, director of content management services, Allied Vaughn
  • Fred Barnhart, dean, University Libraries, Northern Illinois Libraries
  • Leslie Bednar, executive director, Illinois Heartland Library System
  • Joslyn Bowling Dixon, interim library director, Goshen Public Library and Historical Society
  • Caroline Crozier, CEO, LatinX DLN
  • Monica Harris, executive director, Reaching Across Illinois Library System
  • Mary Ellen Messner, chief strategy officer and first deputy commissioner, Chicago Public Library
  • Heidi Nickisch Duggan, library director, American Dental Association
  • Cyndi Robinson, executive director, Illinois Library Association
  • Scott Thomson, library director, Rush University Medical Center
  • Conrad Zadlo, cyber security engineer, Argonne National Laboratory

Signature Events

The School of Information Studies hosts annual lectures characterized by high-profile speakers and thought leaders in the field of library and information science. These events are free and open to the public with registration required.

Butler Lecture

This annual event showcases award-winning creators of books for young people and academic experts who speak on issues related to children's literature.

Learn more about the Butler Lecture

Follett Lecture

With a focus on library and information science issues, this lecture features the year’s Follett Chair, an academic honor established by Dominican University and the Follett Corporation.

Learn more about the Follett Lecture

Our Partnerships Enhance Your Education

Successful library and information professionals place a high value on partnerships and collaborations. The School of Information Studies is no different. Working together with partners who have similar or complementary strengths, needs and goals enables all of us to achieve more than we could on our own. 

Our partnerships include:

College of DuPage (COD)
Dominican University and College of DuPage offer a partnership program allowing students to complete an LTA certificate or associate's degree at COD, then transfer to Dominican to complete a bachelor's degree and Master of Library and Information Science—all in as little as five years. The program allows students interested in careers in library and information science to become highly qualified regardless of their current education level.

Roosevelt University
SOIS has partnered with Roosevelt University in Chicago to offer the opportunity for students in Roosevelt's MA program in history to seek SOIS's Certificate in Archives and Cultural Heritage Resources and Services. The intersection and complementary nature of these two areas of study and professional preparation create a logical disciplinary partnership. History students are frequently attracted to careers such as the curation and management of special historical collections of manuscripts, artifacts, and media. This opportunity provides advanced history students with an additional career avenue.

Skokie Public Library 
This innovative partnership represents a competitive opportunity for three SOIS students to work as interns in an award-winning public library—and earn six hours of course credit and two courses’ worth of tuition waiver. Opportunities include public services, community engagement, virtual initiatives and more; mentorship from library staff; registration for the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Chicago; guidance from a SOIS faculty advisor; and monthly cohort meetings with advisors, mentors, students and staff.

Community Archives Partners 
SOIS partners students with community archives and small cultural heritage institutions. These include Bethel West Evangelical Lutheran Church, IPIKU, Austin Coming Together, Southwest Organizing Project, Haitian American Museum of Chicago, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, The Fred Hampton House and the Fred Hampton, Jr. Radio Podcast, the Gerber Hart Library and Archives, the Claretian Missionaries of Chicago Archives, and the John David Mooney Foundation. Some of the partnerships are funded through the Mellon Foundation Public Knowledge Grant Program. SOIS students help document, process, preserve, and provide access to records and stories; ensure that the voices of small, often marginalized communities are included; apply knowledge of standard archival principles and practices; reflect on how standard principles and practices can be challenged by community rules and norms; and propose ways in which community rules and norms are respected in the archives discipline.

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
With the Butler Children’s Literature Center, SOIS partners with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators to support the vibrant Illinois children’s literature community. This includes professional development events for students, creator access to the Butler Center’s review/mentor text collection, a network of local speakers for school talks, guest book reviewers and more. 

Illinois Storytelling, Inc. 
Illinois Storytelling and SOIS joined forces in 2005 to cultivate storytelling as art and storytellers as artists. The collaboration now includes a monthly event, Traditions and Truth: A Virtual Open Mic, which features national and international storytellers. An annual Fall Festival of Stories, the Ellin Greene Storytelling Tea, as well as shared resources for new and established tellers, add to this partnership.

Information Sessions

Attend an upcoming session to meet our faculty and students, and learn more about our programs.

Schedule Now

More to Explore in the School of Information Studies

Butler Children’s Literature Center

An Examination Center of Youth Literature

Off the Shelf

The SOIS Alumnae/i and Community Newsletter

Accreditation

The Master of Library and Information Science program is accredited by the  (ALA). On January 20, 2023, ALA's Committee on Accreditation voted to continue the Dominican MLIS's full accreditation status for another seven-year term. The next comprehensive review will take place in 2029.


Chicago's Only iSchool

Dominican University is also a member of the , dedicated to advancing the information field. As Chicago’s only iSchool, Dominican’s School of Information Studies has long been a presence on Chicago’s higher education landscape, first offering library science programs in the 1930s.


CRTcollective

The School of Information Studies is proud to sponsor the , whose vision is to provide an inclusive outlook on critical race theory with roots in historical representation and ethical considerations to engage and encourage continuous dialogue and scholarship while building a collaborative movement of intellectual advocates and activists addressing injustice.

For more information,
please contact:

School of Information Studies
sois@dom.edu