A cross-institutional analysis of data-related curricula in information science programmes: A focused look at the iSchools

Abstract

Our rapidly growing, data-driven culture is motivating curriculum change in nearly every discipline, not the least of which is information science. This article explores this change specifically within the iSchool community, in which information science is a major unifying discipline. A cross-institutional analysis of data-related curricula was conducted across 65 iSchools. Results show that a majority of iSchools examined (37 out of 65, 56.9%) currently offer some form of data-related education, particularly at the master’s level, and that approximately 15% of their formal degree offerings have a data focus. Overall, iSchools have a greater emphasis on data science and big data analytics, with only a few programmes providing focused curricula in the area of digital curation. Recommendations are made for iSchools to leverage the interdisciplinary nature of information science, publish curricula and track graduate success so that iSchools may excel in educating information professionals in the data area. Future data education in iSchools may benefit from further interdisciplinary data education, including data curation curricula.