The University of the West Indies, Mona

Programme Overview 

The B.A. Information Studies is designed to produce graduates who will work in information units such as museums, galleries, archives and documentation centres. The resources in these information units are mainly primary sources and artefacts, which are organized using different cataloguing systems from that of libraries. Preservation of these resources is of utmost importance and is also done differently from that of the print and electronic resources found in libraries. This programme includes two unique courses aimed at preparing students for the specific information units in which they will work. These are LIBS2703 Archival Concepts and Practices and LIBS2704 Introduction to Museums and Galleries; the latter will be open to students from other departments.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted into the Library and Information Studies programme applicants must have Five (5) subjects at CXC/CSEC (grades 1-3), including English Language and Mathematics) and Two (2) of which must be at A-Level/CAPE.

Applicants may be subject to an admission interview.

Duration

Full-time students will take three (3) years to complete all requirements for the BA in Information Studies.

Part-time students will take four (4) to five (5) years to complete the programme based on the number of courses they do per semester

Programme Description

The programme consists of two components:

1. Satisfactory completion of the regulation ninety (90) credits. Most Information Studies courses are assigned three (3) credits. Students must complete at least forty-eight (48) credits in Information Studies and forty two (42) credits within the faculty.  

2. The obtaining of an additional three (3) credits from an approved internship for six (6) weeks in designated information centres, ideally undertaken during summer and the submission of a written report on the experience.

Foreign Language Requirement

All students are required to take and pass as part of the B.A. degree programme, a preliminary one semester foreign language course.

The following are exempt– a native speaker of any of the foreign languages offered; students who have at least a foreign language pass in the CAPE Functional, CSEC General (1, 2 or 3) or O’Level.

BA IN INFORMATION STUDIES

YEAR I/LEVEL I

LIBS1003 – Introduction to Information Studies
LIBS1004 – Reference Services
LIBS1401 – Introduction to Online Searching

Any TWO (2) of the following:

HIST1704 – The Study of the Past in the Atlantic World
LAW1010 – Law and Legal Systems
LIBS1502 – Information Technology for Information Professionals
COMP1220 – Computing and Society

FOUN1016/FOUN1019
FOUN1002
Foreign Language
Two (2) Free Electives

YEAR II/LEVEL II

LIBS2702 – Information Architecture: Web Access and Usability
LIBS2703 – Archival Concepts and Practices
LIBS2704 – Introduction to Museums and Galleries 
LIBS2705 – Government Documents in the Commonwealth Caribbean

COMM2201 – Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
OR
LIBS2301 – Research Methodology for Information Specialist 

Any TWO (2) of the following:

LIBS2502 – Introduction to Information Systems
EDHE2908 – Local and Community Studies
MGMT2224 – Introduction to Entrepreneurship
COMM2110 – Media Ethics and Legal Issues
MKTG2001 – Principles of Marketing 
FOUN1201
FOUN1301
One (1) Free Elective

YEAR III/LEVEL III

LIBS3007 – Caribbean Libraries and Information Units 
LIBS3604 – Teaching Information Literacy
LIBS3803 – Internship in Information Studies
LIBS3901 – Access to Information in the Caribbean

Any TWO (2) of the following:

LANG3101 – Organization Communication: Principles and Practices
LIBS3702 – Preservation Management: Principles and Practices
LIBS3801 – Records Management: Principles and Practice
HIST3901 – Urban Heritage of Jamaica

Four (4) Free Electives

*Electives MUST include at least three (3) Humanities and Education courses outside of department of major.