PhD: Information Science
The PhD in Information Science at CU Boulder is for students who want to not only imagine what today’s technology makes possible, but to invent new things society can do with technology.
Whether conducting empirical investigations of existing technologies and cultures or designing and building new systems and approaches, students will work in an interdisciplinary, collaborative environment to address real problems and create an impact on our society.
Our research program is exceptionally strong in human-computer interaction, data science and social and collaborative computing, and our faculty expertise covers a broad range of areas including interaction design, recommender systems, technology ethics, health informatics, education and learning, marginalization and identity, and more!
The College of Media, Communication and Information is holding virtual information sessions on Oct. 16 for prospective graduate students that will include a breakout session with members of the Information Science graduate committee who will be available to answer questions. View additional information about these sessions (PDF). If you are unable to attend these sessions and have questions about our program, please see the contact information at the bottom of this page.
Diverse Students
Information Science is a broad discipline, and our students come from a range of backgrounds. Some have computer science degrees, and come prepared to take on information science with a toolkit of computational and data science methods. Some have little to no experience in computing, but have backgrounds in social science or qualitative research. Some come to us with a rich knowledge of domains (e.g., public health, education, or journalism) to which information science research and techniques can be applied. Some come straight out of undergraduate programs, others have already completed graduate degrees, and others have years of professional experience.
Our program is designed to help Ph.D. students tailor their education towards their own research interests and skill sets while developing a shared body of knowledge around methods, computational techniques, theoretical frameworks, and design practices.
Student Voices: Why CU?
“As a second career PhD student, the Information Science Program at CU has empowered me to grow in both personal and professional ways. The faculty I have been able to work with are empathetic and brilliant. They push me to be a more effective scholar and give me the freedom to shape my impact on the field.”
"I looked for a long time to find a graduate program that was the right fit to combine my interest in how science communities collaborate around information. The students and faculty here bring together diverse ways of knowing and expertise. This has been a productive and supportive place for me to learn and grow as researcher. It is also exciting to be in a place that I can apply what I learn so rapidly to my research."
"I love the interdisciplinary nature of the information science department at CU Boulder! The community is inclusive and open to new ideas. Together we all work on important and interesting topics around people and technology."
"The CU Boulder information science department truly embodies the principles of an intersectional education. I have found mentorship in both quantitative data analytics skills and qualitative research methods all within a deeply supportive academic community. This department is an ideal environment to grow as a scholar engaged in applied topical research."
Student Voices: Fellowships & Industry Research Internships
"This summer I worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a graduate student researcher. It was really exciting because I was able to work hands on within the government lab and get a glimpse of what that entails. It was great to see all the diverse work that was being done and how my interests were reflected in that. I came out having pushed myself to achieve our project goals and motivated to bring that into my personal research. There was also a fun connection because the people I worked with had collaborated with a past CU Information Science PhD!"
"At Substantial, I conducted research for an Ed-Tech company including interviews and a co-design session to distill insights on how early faculty can be supported in teaching underserved STEM undergraduates. I also worked with the other intern on a capstone project to create an Equity-Centered Design Maturity Assessment Tool. In addition to research, I received professional development as a burgeoning UX Researcher and facilitated a workshop on the Black Mirror Writer’s Room Exercise with the design team. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first industry internship and look forward to collaborating with them again in the future."
"I am so grateful to have been awarded a PhD fellowship from Google for my research on fairness and transparency in recommender systems. Getting funded from big tech gives me a great chance to show that AI ethics research is important outside of academia, and gives me an opportunity to tap into the industry while completing my PhD."
"I am honored to have been awarded the Meta PhD Research Fellowship. Meta offered me a Fellowship with the AR/VR Future Technologies team to conduct studies to envision future technologies for remote workers’ wellbeing. I’m excited to generate new ideas on how AR/VR technologies can be situated in a home with a focus on social interaction for two years."
PhD Requirements
The PhD in Information Science is for students who want to engage in empirical investigations of interdisciplinary problems. Students in the PhD program will learn a diversity of methods, theoretical frameworks, design practices and computational techniques. A PhD student's scholarly practice will include collaborative research on grant-driven projects.
The scholarly skills required of PhDs in information science are fundamentally analytical, creative, interdisciplinary and in constant interaction with information that is generated, manipulated and transformed within and across domains. The PhD aligns culturally with the grant-driven, collaborative “lab model” of research that characterizes the natural and engineering sciences, but is nevertheless deeply integrative of the social sciences and humanities in its scholarly pursuit and intellectual contributions.
The PhD program in information science requires a minimum of 30 course credit hours and 30 thesis credit hours. Students are encouraged to take courses outside of the department beyond any departmental foundation courses pending approval by their advisor and the graduate committee. After a written and oral preliminary exam, students go on to specialize in a dissertation area in consultation with their committees. Completion of the PhD will take approximately five years.
See INFO PhD program handbook for more information.
Contact the Department of Information Science
CMDI Department of Information Science (INFO)
1045 18th Street, UCB 315
Boulder, CO 80309
303-735-7581