iSchools and Undergraduate Education

Abstract

Undergraduate education is an important component of many i-Schools and of potential interest to many others. The nature of undergraduate education within the i-School movement will, no doubt, have a significant effect on our collective future. Undergraduate programs are often the most visible programs to other departments within the Universities in which we reside. They help shape first impressions of many current and prospective students. And, they force us to synthesize our various interests into a more basic core. While all i-Schools have significant graduate programs, i-Schools vary widely in their stance toward undergraduate education. Some offer a full Bachelor Degree program, others offer a minor, and still others teach a single course at most. What’s more, the undergraduate courses and curriculum vary widely across schools. This diversity is likely a natural outgrowth of historical processes unique to each University and is unlikely to disappear. Indeed, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with i-School undergraduate education. However, despite our different needs, there are some fundamental issues that all i-School undergraduate programs must grapple with: the interdisciplinary nature of i-School education, the shared domain knowledge, and the need to explain our relatively new curriculum and programs to the wider University, students, and employers. This session is designed to start a conversation about these (and other) commonly shared issues and provide a platform for us to learn from one another’s experience. It is most likely to benefit faculty members and administrators involved with undergraduate education in their schools. It is also intended to be useful for schools considering expanding their undergraduate program.