The University of Tennessee PhD in Communication and Information with an Information Sciences (IS) Concentration provides a flexible interdisciplinary curriculum, empowering students to approach research and learning from a holistic perspective and preparing them for research, teaching, service, and administration. Students not only enjoy the benefits of a world-renown information sciences doctoral program, but also a community that values diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity for all.
Information Lights the Way
“The University of Tennessee’s Volunteer spirit figures prominently in how we approach doctoral education. Not only do we help our PhD students develop into outstanding scholars and teachers, we also encourage them to make a difference in the world through service and engagement.”
One Concentration, Four Schools:
Flexible Academic and Research Opportunities
“It’s great to be in this inclusive and open-minded IS program, we have lots of opportunity to collaborate and seek support from different disciplines.”
– PhD Student Cassandra Huang
“Overall, being in this college has been a really great experience, and I’ve especially enjoyed working with different faculty members.”
– PhD Student Iman Tahamtan
“Even doing the online master’s program, I felt so connected to this school and so connected to my classmates. That’s another reason why doing the PhD program here was so important to me – I already felt like I was a part of the community,”
– PhD Student Scott Sikes
“When I first started, [SIS professor] Dr. Kelly encouraged me to tap into the expertise in the various schools to understand the complexities of what I’m researching, and to build relationships with members of the college.”
– PhD Student Kevin Mallary
Diverse Career Opportunities
Our PhD students pursue a variety of research-intensive careers in and outside of industry, including academic, business, government, and research settings. Our graduates work at prestigious institutions like Oak Ridge National Lab and the U.S. Department of Energy, and others have moved into faculty positions at institutions like the University of South Carolina, Kent State University, Syracuse University, and Simmons University. Meet some of our PhD alumni. >>
CURRICULUM
| Our curriculum is designed to help students develop a unified view of the information and communication fields, as well as the specialized knowledge they need to become an expert in whatever aspect of information science that interests them. Students take a core set of courses about the theory and practice of research, and multiple methods courses that introduce them to diverse approaches to data collection and analysis, including both qualitative and quantitative. Our curriculum is both flexible, providing students with the space to customize their program of study, and exacting, providing them with the foundation needed to be scholars of information science. |
Rigorous, Thoughtful and Responsible Scholars
Our brand of information science embraces pluralistic approaches and perspectives that combine social scientific, humanistic and computational thinking, and often focuses on real-world problems and solutions. When it comes to methods and approaches used in information science research, faculty have varied and deep knowledge and expertise. Our goal is to help students develop into rigorous, thoughtful and responsible scholars and teachers through side-by-side collaborations and interactions, and through supportive and encouraging mentorship and dialogue.
WADE BISHOP
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Data Management
Data Discovery
Virtual Reference
Geographic Information Science
Public Libraries
BRIAN DOBRESKI
Information Organization
Information Values & Ethics
Classification
Technical Services Librarianship
RACHEL FLEMING-MAY
Academic Libraries
Assessment
Reference and User Services
LIS Concepts and Foundations
CAROLYN HANK
Sociology of Information
Social Media
Digital Collections: Libraries, Archives and Repositories
Data Curation and Data Management
DIANE KELLY
Interactive information retrieval
Human-computer interaction
Information search behavior
User-centered evaluation
Evaluation methods and measures
Research design
DEVENDRA POTNIS
Technology (adoption, use)
Information (access, use, behavior, literacy)
Academic Libraries (students)
Public Libraries (innovations)
Communities (health, small businesses)
VANDANA SINGH
Open Source Software
Gender & Information Technology; Social Justice
Human Computer Interaction, CSCW
Online Education and Online Communities
Usability and User Experience
Technologies for Libraries
CAROL TENOPIR
Scholarly Publishing
Academic Libraries
Assessment
Science Information
Research Data Management
PEILING WANG
Research Methodologies and Methods
Database Management
Information Seeking Behaviors
Data Analytics
Bibliometrics
Open Peer Review in Open Science
AWA ZHU
Intellectual Property
Digital Rights Management
Open Access/Open Data
Academic Libraries
Social Informatics
Information Policy
Financial Support for Your StudiesSIS offers competitive financial assistance to to students through graduate teaching associateships, graduate research assistantships, conference travel support, and more.
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Admission Requirements for the Information Sciences Doctoral Program Concentration
CCI admits students of exceptionally high competence and promise to the doctoral program. A master’s degree is required for entry. The required application materials and detailed instructions on how to apply can be found on the CCI PhD Admissions webpage.