The University of the West Indies, Mona

Admission to this programme may be subject to interview by the Head of Department. The programme consists of a total of ninety (90) credits and students must complete a minimum of 51 credits in Information Studies with the remaining 3credits coming from University Courses and other Faculty courses.

• Registration Form (year 1)
• Registration Form (year 2)
• Registration Form (Year 3)
• List of Courses

The programme consists of two components:

1. Satisfactory completion of ninety (90) credits earned from 30 regular courses at least fifteen (15) of which should come from Information Studies. Note that all students are required to take TWO 
2. NON-DLIS courses at EACH LEVEL. Three (3) credits earned from (6) six weeks compulsory field work, usually undertaken during the summer immediately after completing all required Level TWO courses. Students are usually placed in designated information centres under the supervision of information professionals. The award of the degree will only be made after satisfactory completion of this component.

INTRODUCTION

The B.A. Information Studies is designed to produce graduates who will work in information units such as museums, galleries, archives and documentation centres. This programme includes three unique courses aimed at preparing students for the specific information units in which they will work. These are LIBS2703 Archival Concepts and Practices; LIBS2704 Introduction to Museums and Galleries; and LIBS2705 Government Information in the Commonwealth Caribbean; the latter two will be open to students from other departments. Graduates of this programme may gain employment as information officers, records managers, marketing agents within the book industry, online searchers, web masters, researchers and information brokers among others.

ADMISSION

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.

HUMN 3099 (AR3X0)- Research Paper

Final year students in the Faculty of Humanities and Education are required to do a research paper HUMN3099 (6 credits) OR any 6 credit research linked course OR any 3 credit research linked course plus any other 3 credit course. In order to do HUMN 3099(AR3X0), you need to have a B+ average for second level courses; otherwise you need special permission from the Head of Department to take this course.

The Department has developed one such research linked course LIBS3901 – Access to Information in the Caribbean. For students opting to do this you must do an additional 3 credit course.

Non Library and Information Studies Courses

Kindly note that for each of the three levels of the programme students must take 6 credits (excluding the foundation courses) in non-Library and Information Studies subjects leading to a total of 18 credits by the final year. Nine of these credits must come from within the Faculty.

OR Any other elective approved and offered from time to time. Not all electives are offered in any one designated semester. Offerings will depend on the availability of staff and the number of students wishing to take any particular course.

N.B. Concerning the Non-Library and Information Studies Faculty courses taken, one subject of two such courses taken in the first semester SHOULD be continued in the second semester and in the four succeeding semesters (i.e. the two LEVEL II and LEVEL III courses). 

BA IN INFORMATION STUDIES

YEAR I/LEVEL I

Semester 1

LIBS1003 – Introduction to Information Studies LIBS1401 – Introduction to Online Searching Any ONE of the following

LAW1010 Law and Legal Systems HIST1703 Introduction to History COMP1220 Computing and Society

Semester 2

LIBS1004- Reference Services

LIBS1502- Information Technology for Information Professionals

YEAR II/LEVEL II

Semester 1

LIBS2702 – Information Architecture: Web Access and Usability

LIBS2703 – Archival Concepts and Practices

MRKGT2001 – Principles of Marketing

Semester 2

LIBS2704 – Introduction to Museums and Galleries (Not offered in 2016/17) LIBS2705 – Government Information in the Commonwealth Caribbean(Not offered in 2016/17)

Any TWO of the following

LIBS2502 - Information Systems for Information Managers MGMT2224 Introduction to Entrepreneurship EDHE2908 Local and Community Studies

EITHER

COMM2110 Media Ethics and Legal Issues

OR

LIBS2301 Research Methodology for Information Professionals

Semester 3 - SUMMER

LIBS3803 - Internship in Information Studies

YEAR III/LEVEL III

Semester 1

LIBS3604 – Teaching Information Literacy

LIBS3901 – Access to Information in the Caribbean

HIST3901 – Urban Heritage of Jamaica

Semester 2

LIBS3007 – Caribbean Libraries and Information Units Any TWO of the following

LANG3101 – Organisational Communication: Principles and Practices LIBS3702 – Preservation Management for Library & Information Units LIBS3801 - Records Management: Principles and Practices