University of Toronto Faculty of Information

The Faculty of Information (or the iSchool at the University of Toronto) is an undergraduate and graduate school at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It offers the following programs: Bachelor of Information (BI), Master of Information (MI), Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), and PhD in information. As a member of the iSchool movement,^[1] the Faculty of Information takes an interdisciplinary approach to information studies, building on its traditional strengths in library and information science, complemented by research and teaching in archives, museum studies, user experience, information systems and design, information policy, culture and technology, knowledge management, digital humanities, Artificial Intelligence, data science, and other related fields. It is located on the St. George Campus, in the Claude Bissell building at 140 St. George Street, which is attached to Robarts Library and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.

University of Toronto Faculty of Information

University of Toronto, Faculty of Information, Claude T. Bissell Building
Type	Faculty, public professional school
Established	1928 (97 years ago) (1928)
Dean	Javed Mostafa
Academic staff	76 (St. George, UTSC, and UTM; Full-time and Adjunct)
Students	1,283
Location	Toronto , Ontario , M5S 3G6 , Canada
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	iSchool Organization, American Library Association
Website	www.ischool.utoronto.ca

History

The Faculty of Information was founded as the University of Toronto Library School within the Ontario College of Education in 1928 and was housed at 315 Bloor Street.^[2] In 1965, the school was designated as an independent unit within the university and became known as the School of Library Science and thus moved it quarters to 167 College Street and 256 McCaul Street.^[3] In 1971, SLS moved again to its present location at 140 St. George Street.^[3] In 1972, the name changed to the Faculty of Library Science (FLS), as the school attained faculty status.^[3] The name changed again to the Faculty of Library and Information Science (FLIS) in 1982 and then the Faculty of Information Studies (FIS) in 1994.^[3] In 2005, FIS joined the iSchool movement and accordingly in 2006, it was renamed the Faculty of Information (FI).^[3]

Sign outside the Faculty of Information building.

The faculty has offered a variety of degrees since its inception, which reflect the changing requirements of entry into librarianship and more recently, into other information professions. Between 1928 and 1936, it offered one-year Diploma in Librarianship, and from 1936 to 1970, a one-year Bachelor of Library Science degree, which was accredited by the American Library Association in 1937.^[4] The late 1960s saw the emergence of the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree as the first professional degree in librarianship, which was introduced in the school in 1970 and required four semesters to complete.^[5] The doctoral program was established in 1971, with Claire England holding the first PhD in library science that was awarded in Canada in 1974.^[6] In 1988, the faculty began to offer a Master of Information Science (MIS) degree. In 1995, the MLS and MIS degrees were both replaced with the Master of Information Studies (MISt) degree, which had three areas of specialization: archival studies, information systems, and library and information science. The name of the degree was changed to Master of Information (MI) in 2009. In 2019, the school welcomed the first cohort of its Bachelor of Information program.^[7][3]

Since 2006, when the Department of Museum Studies joined the Faculty of Information Studies as a program, the faculty began to offer a Master of Museum Studies degree.^[3]

Programs

The Faculty of Information currently offers a second-entry, two-year bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Information (BI), and two master's degrees, Master of Information (MI) and Master of Museum Studies (MMSt), which are also offered together as a combined degree program (CDP).^[8] In addition, students can also enroll in a PhD program.^[8]

• Bachelor of Information (BI)
• Master of Information (MI)
  • Archives and Records Management (ARM)
  • Critical Information Policy Studies (CIPS)
  • Culture and Technology (C&T)
  • Human-Centred Data Science (HCDS)
  • Information Systems and Design (ISD)
  • Knowledge Management and Information Management (KMIM)
  • Library and Information Science (LIS)
  • User Experience Design (UXD)
• Master of Museum Studies (MMSt)

Combined Degree Program (CDP)

This program permits graduate students to complete a Masters of Information (MI) and a Masters of Museum Studies (MMSt) concurrently within the span of three years. This option was changed from Concurrent Registration Option (CRO) to Combined Degree Program (CDP) beginning in September 2018.

PhD Program

The Faculty of Information offers a PhD in Information, a four-year advanced research degree, attracting students from a wide range of backgrounds, who conduct research at the intersection of information, technology, culture, people, and communities.

Collaborative Specializations

Collaborative Specializations are open to all all graduate students in the Faculty of Information^[9]. They are designed to allow students to focus on specialized subject interests and since they are a result of cooperation between different graduate units at the university, separate admission process is required of those who wish enter them.^[9] Currently, there are eight collaborative specializations available: Aging, Palliative & Supportive Care Across the Life Course; Book History and Print Culture, based at Massey College; Environment Studies, Food Studies; Jewish Studies; Knowledge Media Design, led by Faculty of Information; Sexual Diversity Studies; Women and Gender Studies.^[9]

Undergraduate Program

The Bachelor of Information, first offered in 2019, is one of the first of its kind offering undergraduate students an interdisciplinary space to collaborate on work, engage with concepts from a variety of fields, explore professional experiences, and engage in design work.^[10]

Facilities

The iSchool occupies all seven floors of the Claude Bissell building, which is attached to the John P. Robarts Research Library and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. The building houses classrooms, administration, faculty offices, as well as research labs.

Research Institutes

Knowledge Media Design Institute

The Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) was founded in 1996 as the University of Toronto's first virtual institute. KMDI offers one of the collaborative specializations available to graduate students at the University of Toronto.^[11] The current Director of KMDI is Dr. Beth Coleman.

Centre for Culture and Technology

The McLuhan Centre in 2023

Located in the historic Coach House, the centre was first launched in 1963 as the Centre for Culture and Technology. The Centre joined the Faculty of Information as a distinct research and teaching unit in 1994. The Centre for Culture and Technology aims to encourage understanding of the impact of technology on our culture and society.^[12] The Director of the Centre for Culture and Technology is Scott C. Richmond.

Digital Curation Institute

The Digital Curation Institute (DCI) was established in 2010 at the Faculty of Information, is an interdisciplinary unit at the Faculty of Information. The newly established DCI organized an inaugural conference “Curation Matters” in June 2010. It was directed by Prof. Wendy Duff until 2014, and from 2014 until June 2024 by Prof. Christoph Becker. (Prof. Costis Dallas served as DCI director 2019-2020 while Prof. Becker was on sabbatical leave).

Deans

• 2023–Present Javed Mostafa
• 2016–2023 Wendy Duff
• 2009–2015 Seamus Ross
• 2003–2008 Brian Cantwell Smith
• 1995–2003 Lynne Howarth
• 1990–1995 Adele M. Fasick
• 1984–1990 Ann H. Schabas
• 1979–1984 Katherine H. Packer
• 1972–1978 Francess Georgina Halpenny
• 1972 R. Brian Land

Professor Marsha Chechik from the Department of Computer Science at the Faculty of Arts and Science was Acting Dean for a six-month period from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, while Dean Wendy Duff was on administrative leave.^[13]

Professor Javed Mostafa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the current Dean. He took office on September 1, 2023, for a five-year term.^[14][15]

Directors

• 1964—1972 R. Brian Land
• 1951—1964 Bertha Bassam
• 1928—1951 Winifred G. Barnstead

Student Journals and Other Publications

The iJournal

The iJournal is the University of Toronto (U of T) Faculty of Information's (iSchool) open access academic journal.^[16] Founded in 2016, it is written, edited, directed, designed and produced by (mostly graduate) students at the Faculty of Information. The topics of the iJournal reflects the multiple disciplines that make up the information sciences taught at the Faculty.^[16] As of March 2022, the iJournal has published seventeen issues, including one special edition (summer 2017) and three (2016, 2018, 2019) iSchool Student Conference proceedings.

MISC Monthly Newsletter

MISC Monthly Newsletter is published by the Master of Information Student Council (MISC), a group of elected volunteers that work to improve student life for MI students at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.

MUSEletter

The Master of Museum Studies Student Association (MUSSA) at the University of Toronto communicates information about student events, activities, and general updates throughout the academic year.

Other Publications

Informed Newsletter and Magazine

The Faculty of Information’s official Informed newsletter is published monthly, with occasional special editions. The alumni magazine, also called Informed, is now published annually in January.

Alumni Association

The Faculty of Information Alumni Association (FIAA) was first founded in 1929 and represents over 6,700 graduates of the FI.^[17] It sponsors a number of events and programs, including Job Shadowing and publishes an online magazine, Informed, dedicated to news about the FI, faculty and alumni.^[17]