Course Catalogs

Information Management, DPS

Contact

Dr. John Jordan
Program Director
igrad@syr.edu
(315)443-2911

Website

https://ischool.syr.edu/academics/doctor-of-professional-studies-in-information-management/

Overview

The Doctorate of Professional Studies in Information Management (DPS-IM) is a 51-credit, part-time degree program for working professionals who are interested in the applied aspects of research in the information field. This 36-month degree program serves mid-career information professionals and prepares them to be a catalyst for positive change within their organizations. This program will be of particular interest to those who consume, create, supervise, or evaluate research as part of larger problem solving or information management.

Our practice-focused curriculum will prepare students for advanced placement opportunities in senior information management positions in the public, private, defense, academic, and non-profit sectors. Whether the goal is enhancing one’s contributions and advancement within an organization, or pursuing 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.

Distinctive Features

Limited residency, distance-learning format

The combination of online and brief residency course formats provides flexibility for remote learners while encouraging opportunities for interaction among students and with faculty. Two required one-week residencies per year bring cohorts together, typically in May and September.

Applied focus

The program enriches students’ understanding of the role of information in the 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 conceptualization, build a solid foundation for advanced levels of information research, and develop competencies, data interpretation and domain-specific 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. 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 many of the Information School’s disciplines, including inquiries that connect information studies to business, engineering, communications, or policy studies.