Degree requirements and process for the Information Science Ph.D.
A total of 90 credit hours will be required for this degree, following IU Indy’s graduate degree requirements. No more than 30 of those hours would be counted from a master’s degree taken at Indiana University or a graduate program at another university.
The 90 credit hours shall consist of courses in the Information Science core areas, theory and methodology, specializations, and dissertation work. Ph.D. students must take at least 18 credit hours of courses in Library and Information Science at or above the 500 level. Students will take a minimum of 36 hours of formal courses, reading courses, or directed research exclusive of the dissertation. Students who enter with no graduate background can expect to take additional hours of formal courses, reading courses, or directed research exclusive of the dissertation.
Students will be required with the help of an advisor to take courses that sample the breadth of Library and Information Science. A grade average of B+ (3.3) is required for the 18 credit hours of required Library and Information Science courses. This is in addition to the University’s Graduate School requirement of a B (3.0) average for all courses taken.
Typically conducted at the end of the first year, students undergo a comprehensive evaluation to provide them with early feedback on their potential for success in a Ph.D. program. This evaluation is overseen by an advisory committee chaired by the student's advisor.
Annual Review (see below): During this evaluation process, each student is required to adhere to the Annual Review guidelines and submit necessary documents, excluding publication requirements. However, it is strongly recommended that students include a sample paper from their previous courses as part of their submission.
Advisory committee: The advisory committee typically consists of faculty members who have taught the student, along with the advisor as the committee chair. This committee evaluates the student's mastery of specific subjects, their preparedness to continue in the program, and their development of research skills, including the ability to identify research problems.
Review result: Following the review, the chair (advisor) communicates the results to the student. The possible outcomes for the first-year review are categorized as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. An unsatisfactory review indicates that the student has not demonstrated sufficient progress and is expected to undergo a follow-up review with faculty before the end of the fall semester of the second year, with the aim of addressing identified issues. A second unsatisfactory supplemental review may lead to a suspension of financial support or dismissal from the program. Regardless of the outcome, recommendations for improvement are provided to the student.
All IS Ph.D. students will be reviewed by the Annual Review Committee, which consists of tenured and tenure-track LIS faculty. The purpose of this review is twofold. Firstly, it allows the faculty to conduct a comprehensive assessment of student development and advancement towards achieving candidacy or preparing for dissertation defense. Students enrolled in the program are anticipated to demonstrate ongoing progress in broadening their expertise in their field, enhancing their analytical and critical thinking abilities, embracing effective research practices, actively participating in the scholarly community both within and outside the department, and refining their presentation and communication skills. Secondly, the review offers faculty members a chance to offer constructive feedback to students with the aim of enhancing the quality, rigor, professionalism, and potential for publication in their scholarly work.
Annual review documents
For the Annual Review, students are required to submit following documents
Research agenda (1-2 pages): a statement of research interest and agenda
Self-assessment: a reflection on progress in the program (1-2 pages); a list of papers written that year with copy attached; a summary of coursework completed; and an outline of plans for the coming academic year.
Up-to-date CV that is clearly identifying new accomplishments in the last year, including:
Faculty advisor(s)
Committee members (when formed)
Selected minor degree (if decided)
New accomplishments of reviewed year, such as, 1) Scholarship (e.g., publications, presentations, studies planned, in progress, or completed, contributions to research grants); 2) Teaching activity (if any), and 3) Contribution to service (school/dept, profession, organizations)
Review result
Following the review, the chair (advisor) communicates the results to the student. The possible outcomes for the Annual review are categorized as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. An unsatisfactory review indicates that the student has not demonstrated sufficient progress and is expected to undergo a follow-up review with faculty before the end of the fall semester of the second year, with the aim of addressing identified issues. Multiple unsatisfactory supplemental reviews may lead to a suspension of financial support or dismissal from the program. Regardless of the outcome, recommendations for improvement are provided to the student.
Each student will be notified in writing of their review results and provided with feedback about their materials shortly following the conclusion of the review committee meeting. If a follow-up review is required due to an unsatisfactory outcome, the student will be notified of the date of the follow-up review and the specific requirements that they must meet for reinstatement to satisfactory standing as part of this written notification.
The qualifying examination is aimed at assessing students’ readiness to carry out successful, independent research in the IS discipline. The qualifying examination must be taken after the student completes their third year in the PhD program. As such, all coursework as defined by the PhD Plan of Study in Year 1-3 must be completed by this time (end of Spring of third year). It is very important that students work with their advisor to work out a course schedule to make sure they complete all necessary courses in preparation for the written qualifying exam.
Pre-Qualification Requirement
Complete all coursework
Present two papers that were submitted for publication (e.g., conferences, journals, and workshops)
One of the papers should demonstrate an emerging level of understanding on community engaged scholarship.
As preparation of the oral examination, a student should submit a written package to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the student’s knowledge in IS field as well as the research statement.
Statement on research problems of interests
Literature review of identified area(s): Typically, 2-3 areas of interests from the Statement
Review of methodology
Oral Qualification Examination
The purpose of the oral examination is to assess the student’s overall ability to articulate reflective, critical and in-depth responses on the core topics of the discipline. After acceptance of the written package by the examining committee, the oral exam will be conducted. It will have the same scope as a written exam package.
Review Result
Students who do not successfully complete either the written package (Pre-Qualification Requirement) or oral portion of the examination can retake that portion of the exam a second time but only for one part, either written or oral. That is, failure to pass either the written or oral portion of the examination on a re-take will result in dismissal from the program.
When a student passes both the written and oral portions of the qualifying examination, they advance to candidacy.
A dissertation is a written elaboration of original research that makes creative contributions to students’ chosen area of specialization. Students will enroll multiple times in INFO I890 Thesis Readings and Research (1-12 cr.) as you work to complete your dissertation. All requirements must be completed within seven years of passing the qualifying exams. The dissertation process includes the following components:
Dissertation Proposal
Upon successful completion of the Qualifying Examination, the student in consultation with the adviser forms a dissertation committee and prepares a dissertation proposal to present to the committee.
The research proposal for the dissertation must be approved by the student’s research committee.
That committee may have the same membership as the advisory committee, or the student may choose different members. The committee shall consist of at least four faculty members and the majority of the voting members should be from within the LSICE. At least one of the other members of the committee should have a primary appointment outside of the IUI. In cases of four-person committee, if the vote is a tie, the defense is failed. The chair for the dissertation shall be a faculty member in the LSICE and a member of the Graduate Faculty. The chair may not be the student’s primary research advisor The student shall defend the proposal at a public colloquium in the school. The zoom option may be arranged as a rare exception, subject to prior request and approval by the committee. The proposal defense should be completed within one-year after passing the Qualifying Examinations. It is considered unsatisfactory progress if a student has not shown substantial progress one year after completing the exam.
Dissertation
The successful culmination of a doctoral dissertation signifies an innovative addition to the realm of knowledge. This achievement involves the identification and delineation of a research-worthy subject, the application of a suitable research methodology, the systematic organization and analysis of pertinent data pertaining to the subject of inquiry, and the presentation and interpretation of the data in accordance with the established standards of scholarly work.
Dissertation Defense
A written elaboration of significant original research must be successfully presented to the research committee in a public defense as described in the Graduate School Bulletin.
Coursework
All requirements for the degree must be completed within eight years from the date of first enrollment in the program. Candidacy expires seven 7 years from the date that the student passed the qualifying exam.
All students shall be required to have a minor from either the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering or another school at IU Indy. The minor must complement the student’s degree but may not overlap with its coursework. Minors shall be selected with the advisor’s recommendation. The selected minor should be appropriate for the student’s focus or specialization within LIS. Some of the courses included in the minor may also be counted towards the student’s Theory and Methodology requirement or other requirements.
For an external minor, the student must fulfill the requirements of the external department including the number of credit hours, typically 12 to 15. Appropriate minors outside the school include but not limited to Africana studies, Diversity Science, Environmental Policy & Sustainability, Health Communication, Philanthropic Studies, Public Management, Non-Profit Management, Social and Behavior Science, Sociology, and Women’s Studies.
For an internal minor, the student must complete at least nine credits in courses outside LIS, an area of specialization, and Readings and Research. Possible PhD minors within the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering include Human–Computer Interaction, Health Informatics, and Data Science. The area and the courses must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.
For an individualized, interdisciplinary minor, a student must take at least 12 credits spanning at least two Indiana University departments/degree programs, to be recommended by the student’s advisory committee and approved by the IS Program in advance of any coursework.
