Information Management, DPS

Contact:

Dr. John Jordan, Professor of Practice; jmjordan@syr.edu; 315-443-1878

Website: http://ischool.syr.edu

Overview:

The Doctorate of Professional Studies in Information Management (DPS-IM) is a 51-credit, part-time executive degree program for working professionals who are interested in the applied aspects of research in the information field. This 36-month degree program prepares executives to be the catalyst for positive change within their organizations.

The professional doctorate serves mid-career information professionals who are already employed in their respective disciplines. Our practice-focused curriculum will prepare them for advanced placement opportunities in executive and senior information management positions in the public, private, defense, academic, and non-profit sectors. Whether the goal is contributions and advancement within an organization, or a shift in specialization within the information professions, a doctoral degree can open a world of new possibilities for a thriving career in a rapidly changing profession.

In particular, the Doctorate of Professional Studies in Information Management will be of interest to those who consume, create, supervise, or evaluate research as part of larger problem solving or information management.

Distinctive Features

• Limited residency, distance-learning format

Online, hybrid, and brief residency course formats provide flexibility for off-campus professionals while encouraging opportunities for interaction among students and with faculty. Two one-week residencies bring cohorts together, typically in May and September.

• Applied focus

The program enriches students’ understanding of the role of information in the knowledge economy and teaches how to apply this expertise to enhance the effectiveness of information-based organizations in the public and private sectors. Students add to their breadth and depth of information, while building a solid foundation for advanced levels of information research, and develop competencies in program evaluation, data interpretation and applied problem solving.

• Doctoral level research

Because most students will enter with one or more relevant masters’ degrees in hand, the program’s emphasis is on the development of the research that underlies the writing of the thesis. This document is focused on the application of existing scholarly and professional literature to management and leadership in information industries, the military and public sector, or librarianship. A distinctive feature of this program is that the cohort of students pursue common deadlines. So, for each cohort, the research question and motivation, the review of literature, the method(s) of inquiry, the thesis proposal, and the thesis defense are pursued in a structured thesis-writing class, relying on each other for encouragement and practical support. All theses in the cohort model will likely follow a similar architecture (across students’ diverse topics) in contrast to the individualized approaches that reflect the iSchool PhD program’s mentor-apprentice model.

• Customizable areas of study

Concentrations and fields of research can focus on any of the school’s many disciplines, including information literacy, technology planning, digital libraries, electronic commerce, human-computer interaction, telecommunications policy, information seeking and classification, global networking, cyber security, data management, government information policy, knowledge management, among others.

Student Learning Outcomes

Develop research questions
Read and synthesize relevant literature
Select theories for use in thesis
Select and apply the appropriate research method(s) to test the theory
Complete data collection and synthesize data
Develop skill in scholarly writing
Application to changing or impacting practice

Curriculum:

The Doctorate of Professional Studies in Information Management curriculum involves coursework, a thesis proposal, and thesis research and writing completed over 36 months starting at the beginning of a summer semester.

The 51-credit program of study requires:

24 Thesis Credits

Typically, 24 of credits are devoted to the DPS thesis - the culminating and critical component of the DPS in Information Management.

IST 999 - Dissertation 1-15 credit(s)

6 Methods and Methods Workshop Credits

Two methods courses and three residential methods workshops (12 credit hours total)

IST 776 - Research Methods in Information Science and Technology 3 credit(s)
IST 800 - Information Studies Seminar 1-3 credit(s) 6 courses (1 credit each)

9 Application of Information Science Credits

IST 621 - Information Management and Technology 3 credit(s)
IST 618 - Information Policy 3 credit(s) OR
IST 687 - Introduction to Data Science 3 credit(s)

12 Residency Credits

IST 801 - Introduction to Doctoral Studies 1-3 credit(s)
IST 880 - Intensive Seminar 1 credit(s) 10 credits of IST 880 and 2 credits of IST 801

Additional Information

The degree program begins with an intensive residential introduction to doctoral study (IST 801) at the beginning of the summer semester (usually in May) for the year in which a student is admitted. During the first residential seminar, students will become more familiar with the program’s coursework, faculty, technology, and each other. This opening residency leads into the summer online research methods course, IST 776.

Students will return to campus in early fall for their second residential Intensive Seminar and have the opportunity to interact with their course faculty, program staff, and fellow doctoral students. The fall online courses address advanced research methods in IST 770 and professional practice in IST 621 Introduction to Information Management.

After completing spring semester courses (a choice between data science and information policy plus the start of the thesis writing sequence), the second summer of the program of study begins with the third residential Intensive Seminar and Methods Workshop. Students also use the summer semester to complete content-based coursework by taking IST 755 Strategic Management of Information Resources.

In the fall semester of the second year of study, students will return to campus for their fourth residential Intensive Seminar, continuing their face-to-face interaction with program faculty, staff, and students across cohorts. Course work in the fall semester of year two and going forward will be focused on the sequence of thesis-writing deadlines.

The third summer semester begins with the fifth resident Intensive Seminar in which the students present their thesis proposals in a public forum. During the final year of the program, students complete their final residential Intensive Seminar in the fall, as well as the remainder of their thesis credits. Theses will be defended in the spring semester, with the objective of having a cohort graduate together in May.