Archives and Special Collections Graduate Certificate

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Certificate Description: The 18-credit hour certificate combines online coursework related to archival history, theory, methods, organization, and ethics, with an archival practicum. This course of study can be taken as part of a student’s MLIS degree or as a post-master’s certificate for those holding a master’s degree in a related field. Non-LIS graduate students are required to take LIS 505 - Cataloging and Classification as a prerequisite. Only 12 hours can be counted toward both the certificate and the MLIS degree.

Program Goasl/Objectives: To prepare students for careers in archives and related fields such as special collections, museums, and digital libraries.

Required Courses

LIS 645 - Digital Preservation 3 hrs.
LIS 646 - Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice 3 hrs.
LIS 647 - Introduction to Archival Organization 3 hrs.
LIS 648 - Archival Practicum 2-4 hrs. (3 hrs. required)
LIS 652 - Metadata for Digital Collections 3 hrs.

Electives

(choose one)

LIS 506 - Cataloging Multimedia Objects 3 hrs.
LIS 533 - History of the Book 3 hrs.
LIS 580 - British Studies: Studies in Librarianship 3 hrs.
LIS 631 - History of Libraries and Librarianship 3 hrs.
LIS 634 - History of Children’s Literature 3 hrs.
LIS 692 - Special Problems in Librarianship 1-3 hrs. (approved archival topic)

Certificate Assessment

After successfully completing the required coursework, students are required to write a 2500 to 4500-word paper on an approved topic related to archives, special collections, or digitization that is approved by faculty teaching archival-related courses.