The aim of the coursework component is to prepare students to think like information scientists and to lay the foundations for developing a dissertation in this field. Students are introduced to the origins, scope, key concepts and variables, issues, methods, theoretical frameworks, and assumptions that define the discipline of information science.
Students engage with the discourse of the discipline.
They debate the merits of competing or contradictory perspectives. They read the empirical and conceptual literatures of the discipline and critique the work of key theorists and researchers. They design and critique information systems. In the coursework component of the Ph.D. program, students are prepared as advocates for, and practitioners of, the discipline of information science. The coursework component of the Ph.D. also provides students with the opportunity to pursue other areas related to their intellectual interests or needs through elective study.