MLIS Requirements
Students are admitted to the program only during the fall quarter. As indicated above, applicants must hold a bachelor's degree, or equivalent, from an institution of recognized standing. The department also requires a statement of purpose, résumé, and letters of recommendation.
Write the statement of purpose carefully. The UCLA Department of Information Studies offers a very rich and distinctive environment in which to pursue your graduate education. In writing your statement, please consider the vision of the Department and indicate why you believe that this program and its areas of specialization are a good match for your particular background, experience, outlook professional interests, and personal passions and aspirations. Your statement should also include any additional information that may aid the selection committee in evaluating your preparation and your aptitude for graduate study in the Department.
In addition, the Department requires satisfaction of the following entrance requirements:
- A college-level course in statistics (three semester units or four quarter units) taken within the last five years with a minimum grade of “C”. The course must have covered descriptive and inferential statistics.
- A computer programming requirement, met by completing either a college‑level course (three semester units or four quarter units) taken within the last five years, with a minimum grade of “C”. Most standard languages, such as C++, PASCAL, Java, or Perl are acceptable. At least one third of the course grade should be based on programming assignments.
Entrance requirements should be completed before beginning the MLIS program. However, one requirement may be satisfied in the fall quarter of the student’s first year. Failure to complete both requirements by the end of the first quarter will result in a recommendation of termination of student status. Please note that fulfilling these requirements may require an overload in the first quarter of the first year or a longer time to degree.
PhD Requirements
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.
Additional information is available on Admission to the Ph.D. Program in Information Studies
