University of North Texas 
Information Science Ph.D.
Doctoral Degree
Program type:
Major
Format:
On Campus
Hybrid
Est. time to complete:
3-4 years
Credit Hours:
60 (with master's) or 72 (with bachelor's)
Explore innovative ways to use technology to harness information and enhance lives.
The UNT Information Science Ph.D. Program emphasizes the interrelationship of the
economic, social, cultural, and technological aspects of an evolving information society.
The intent is to unify knowledge systems, problem-solving approaches and research
methodologies regardless of their disciplinary roots, and to produce graduates who
will be leaders in the information age.
Why Earn an Information Science Ph.D.?
The University of North Texas Information Science Ph.D. program, responds to the varied and changing needs of an information age, increasing recognition of the central role of information and information technologies in individual, social, economic, and cultural affairs.
The mission of the University of North Texas (UNT) Information Science (IS) Ph.D. Program is to provide a center of excellence in graduate education and research. Its primary goals are to:
- Nurture critical and reflective thinking on the fundamental issues and elements of problems of utilization of information
- Foster an environment of substantive and productive mentoring and apprenticeship
- Prepare scholars passionate about the role of information in human affairs
- Foster cross-disciplinary thinking and research.
Students are recruited to the program from a wide range of disciplines and encouraged to expand and refocus their expertise and skills in cutting-edge areas of information science that cross disciplinary boundaries. The multifaceted nature of information science warrants the focusing of resources, courses, and faculties from a broad range of academic units.
The student, in consultation with the major professor and IS Ph.D. Program Associate Director selects two of the broad Areas of Emphasis:
- Information Theory and Design: This area explores ways to structure information and knowledge for a multitude of information systems and uses, including measures and methods for the evaluation and study of information systems, related communication processes, and subsequent systems application and design or redesign.
- Information Behavior: Studies relate to Human Information and Communication Behavior and the systematic response to these behaviors by using information technologies to advance communication and learning.
- Information Policy and Management: Inquiries focus on Organizational Behavior, with respect to information and the management of information, and of the organizations and systems that handle information.
Marketable Skills
- Research and publication
- Pedagogical practices
- Critical thinking
- Leadership ability
- Data analysis
Information Science Ph.D. Highlights
Special lectures hosted by the college and the department feature renowned scholars
who provide different perspectives and insights into the information science field.
Our students and faculty are active members of different professional associations
and learned societies, such as the iSchools consortium, the American Library Association,
the Association for Information Science and Technology, and the Knowledge & Information
Professional Association.
The structure of the IS Ph.D. Program deliberately encourages and supports interactions
among students and faculty in different academic units. Faculty and doctoral students
together pursue research in a variety of areas.
The Department of Information Science offers financial support and scholarships to
its students to recognize exceptional academic and creative accomplishments.
The Career Center is one of the many valuable resources available to you at UNT. The
Career Center can provide advice about internships, future employment opportunities
and getting hands-on experience in your major.
Instruction is offered in a variety of formats, including face-to-face, online and
blended, that allows you to balance classes with full-time or part-time employment.
What Can You Do With an Information Science Ph.D.?
Graduates of the program are prepared to contribute to the advancement and evolution of the information society in a variety of roles and settings as administrators, researchers, and educators.
Information Science Ph.D. Courses You Could Take
Seminar in Communication and Use of Information (3 hrs)
Nature of information as a phenomenon and of the communication processes. Conceptual
linkage to treatments in various fields. The role of information and communication
in individual, social and institutional behavior.
Reading in Information Science (3 hrs)
Broad reading in a defined area of information science related to the student’s research
interest. Requires the critical evaluation of sources with particular emphasis on
methodological and theoretical issues.
Theory Development in the Information Sciences (3 hrs)
Focuses on the structural components and research processes related to the origination,
construction and evolution of theory in information science, library science and related
social science disciplines. Provides students with an awareness of the historical
and social conditions that influence a tradition of ideas. Explores the nature of
theory from a philosophical and analytical perspective.
Information and Communication Measurement (3 hrs)
Criteria for development of measures suitable for information and communication. Includes
measures from such physical sciences as entropy and such social sciences as impact
measures. Bibliometric and scientometric empirical laws and patterns. Measurement
in communication science.
Management of Information Resources in Organizations (3 hrs)
Role of information in decision making, and management as an information-intense activity.
Information and productivity. Information audit in organizations. Special issues and
problems in managing information in different organizational environments.
Seminar in Information Science (3 hrs)
Students are recruited to the UNT IS PhD Program from a wide range of disciplines
and encouraged to expand and refocus their expertise and skills in cutting-edge areas
of information science that cross disciplinary boundaries. The multifaceted nature
of information science warrants the focusing of resources, courses, and faculties
from a broad range of academic units. At UNT, IS PhD students take courses from a
variety of departments.
Learn More About UNT
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