Department of Information Studies

The UCLA Ed&IS Department of Information Studies is a powerhouse in an increasingly vital field. As a leading architect of the agenda for how information is disseminated and deployed in the 21st century, we believe that open and frictionless access enables incredible outcomes and creates a better and more equitable world. The Department is home to UCLA’s iSchool. The international iSchool community is dedicated to advancing the information fields. iSchools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management, with a core commitment to concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information.

Through scholarship, teaching, institution and community, our Department of Information Studies strives to set new standards in the preservation, architecture, accessibility and utility of knowledge through information. We cultivate stewards of today's and tomorrow’s information, always with an eye on reimagining systems for increased inclusivity. It is our mission to produce globally renowned leaders in the field of information studies whose work pushes the world forward. To IS students, alumni, faculty and staff, the freedom to engage with and absorb information is a human right.

We share a strong, specific ethical commitment to the advancement of social equity, social justice, and individual and community empowerment, and to the promotion of diversity, accountability, and intellectual openness. Rather than focusing on particular context-specific technologies and institutions, we focus on people as actors and agents in their worlds (instead of as users, patrons, or consumers); on communities as networks of belonging that foster agency and the construction of identity among their members; on culture as both the means for, and the result of, people’s cultivation of their capabilities; and on artifacts as the objects through which culture is preserved, reproduced, and reimagined.

The Department of Information Studies offers students unique opportunities to study cultural diversity issues related to library, archival, and information studies at both master’s and doctoral levels. The School of Education & Information Studies values diversity of all kinds as a key component to our community.

Resources developed by UCLA Information Studies Faculty and Students

The IS Library and Media Preservation Lab are a hub of activity supporting the research, instruction, and professional development of students, faculty, and staff in the UCLA Department of Information Studies. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology and practice, the IS Library and Media Preservation Lab act as a liaison between academia and industry.

The Information Studies Colloquia provides a forum for intellectual exchange and professional networking. All events are free and open to interested members of the community unless otherwise noted.

The UCLA iSchool Mentorship program matches current iSchool students with professional mentors. Our mentor pool is composed of UCLA Library staff and UCLA iSchool alumni employed at a variety of institutions in Los Angeles and around the country.