Admission to the Ph.D. Program in Information Studies

Upcoming Doctoral Program Information Sessions

Deadlines

Students are admitted to the Ph.D. program only in fall quarter each year. All items for fall 2009 Ph.D. admission and fellowship applications must be received or postmarked by December 15, 2009. GRE tests must be taken by December 1, 2009, and TOEFL/TWE tests (if applicable) by November 2009.

Qualifications

Admission to a graduate program at UCLA requires that applicants hold a bachelor's degree from a university-level institution, and, in addition, have at the minimum achieved a "B" (3.0 grade point average) or its equivalent in the last 60 semester-units or last 90 quarter-units of undergraduate work. See the UCLA Graduate Division's Criteria for Admission for full details. Applicants not meeting the required grade point average of 3.0 ("B") may be recommended to the Graduate Division for provisional admission in exceptional cases, if GRE scores, letters of recommendation, work experience, or other factors indicate unusual promise.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program in Information Studies may enter with the M.L.S. or M.L.I.S. degree, other advanced degree, or directly out of a bachelor's degree program. If the prior graduate degree does not include coursework equivalent to the core identified for the M.L.I.S. program, the applicant must complete the M.L.I.S. core after admission to the Ph.D. program.

Procedures

Application for admission to the Ph.D. program in Information Studies must be made in compliance with procedures established by the UCLA Graduate Division. Applicants can review the application procedures and prepare an online application by accessing Admissions - Steps for Applying. Supplementary forms for the statement of purpose, for letters of recommendation, and for ordering official transcripts are available from the Supplementary Materials page on the same site. The name of the Ph.D. program is Information Studies, and the degree code for the doctoral program is 45A.

Application Materials: Checklist

The Graduate Division accepts only online applications. In addition to the online application submitted to Graduate Division, the Department prefers that the following be sent in one package to the Student Affairs Office, UCLA Department of Information Studies, 207 GSE&IS Building, 300 Young Dr N, Mailbox 951520, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1520:

Two copies of official transcripts from all academic institutions you have attended beyond secondary school. Transcripts may be sent to the Department directly from the institutions, or collected in sealed envelopes and sent together with the rest of the application materials. A form for requesting transcripts is available from the Supplementary Materials page on the Graduate Division site.
Fellowship application. Forms are available from the Supplementary Materials page.
Supplementary information, if applicable. A form is available from the Supplementary Materials page.
Statement of purpose. You must use the form available from the Supplementary Materials page. You may word-process this statement, and it may be longer than the space on the form allows.
Three letters of recommendation. Use the forms available from the Supplementary Materials page. Recommenders often write on their own letterhead and attach to the form. Letters may be sent to the Department directly from the recommenders, or collected in sealed envelopes and sent together with the rest of the application materials.
Cross reference sheet, if applicable. This is available from the Supplementary Materials page.
Confidential financial statement. This is required of international applicants only—see the Supplemental Materials page.
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. You are responsible for arranging to take this examination and having official scores sent to the Department. Scores from tests taken more than five years ago are not acceptable.
Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Written English (TWE) scores. The TOEFL/TWE tests are required of all applicants whose native language is not English. You are responsible for arranging to take these examinations and having official scores sent to the Department.
Résumé or vita.
Evidence of research and writing. This could be published work, a master's thesis, or two research papers written in English.
Evidence of completion of Departmental entrance requirements (when complete). It is your responsibility to make sure these entrance requirements are met.

Application Materials: Details

Transcripts

Applicants must submit two copies of official transcripts from all academic institutions attended beyond secondary school.

Statement of Purpose

Write the statement of purpose carefully. The statement should describe one or more proposed areas of specialization, reasons for interest in those areas, and qualifications for pursuing them. Suggesting topics for your own future research is a welcome sign; identification of specific courses is usually not helpful, unless such courses relate to research goals. The statement of purpose is also used to determine whether the specializations provided by the doctoral program are appropriate to the applicant's needs. The applicant is encouraged to identify Information Studies faculty whose areas of research are of special interest.

Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation are required. Of the three, submit at least one, and preferably two, from individuals who hold the Ph.D., have conducted research, and have published in library and information science or a related field. In most cases, letters from faculty, rather than supervisors or co-workers, provide the most useful assessment of your intellectual abilities and potential for research and writing.

GRE Scores

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores from within the last five years are required of all applicants. There is no minimum score for the GRE, but high scores are regarded favorably. Admitted students typically score above the 75th percentile in all areas: Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical. Be sure to schedule the examination and to have the scores forwarded to the Department by the application deadline. Computerized testing, now available at numerous locations throughout the U.S., is offered year-round, three days a week—see GRE: Graduate Record Examinations Information [University code: 4837; Department code: 4701].

TOEFL/IELTS Scores

Applicants whose native language is not English must certify their proficiency in English by submitting scores from the Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Written English (TWE) [University code: 4837; Department code: 90], or from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The minimum established score on the TOEFL, according to the Graduate Division, is 560 or higher on the paper-and-pencil test, and 220 or higher on the computer-based test. The Department expects a minimum score of 600 (paper-and-pencil) or 250 (computer-based) on the TOEFL, and a 4.0 on the TWE. On the IELTS, an Overall Band score of at least 7.0 is the minimum required. Only in exceptional cases are applicants recommended for provisional admission who do not meet the minimum scores; in such cases, strong evidence of competency in English (such as a high verbal GRE score) must be provided. Only those applicants who hold a bachelor's or higher degree from a university in a country where the official language is English and in which English is the spoken tongue and the medium of instruction, or who have completed at least two years of full-time study at such an institution, will be exempted from submitting TOEFL/IELTS scores.

Résumé

A standard résumé or vita should also be included.

Evidence of Research and Writing

Evidence of research and writing is also required, in the form of published work, a master's thesis, or two other research papers such as conference presentations or course papers written solely by the applicant. Submission must be in English.

Departmental Entrance Requirements

The Department has identified one entrance requirement, which should be completed by the time the student begins the Ph.D. program: a college-level course in statistics (3 semester-units or 4 quarter-units) taken within the last five years, with a minimum grade of "C." There is no specific programming requirement for doctoral students. Applicants should have general knowledge of and basic experience in the use of computers (e.g., for word processing, statistics, online searches, spreadsheets, graphics, and web browsing). However, the Department requires that admitted students attend a MIT Lab Orientation Session to familiarize themselves with Department-, School-, and University-wide platforms and applications.

Professional Contributions

Favorable consideration may be given to applicants who have made distinguished contributions to the profession while working as a practicing professional, for instance in publications and/or work with professional societies.

Interview

Applicants will be contacted if the admissions committee wishes to arrange an interview. The committee seeks evidence of an appreciation of research and knowledge of potential research topics. The committee will be particularly interested in the applicant's commitment to a career in information studies education and research, signs of originality and inquisitiveness, and good communication skills.

Enrollment

The Department enrolls approximately eight Ph.D. students each fall quarter.

Updated: 11/12/09