About the SILS Doctoral Program

The following section provides detailed information about the doctoral program, including degree objectives, requirements for admission, curricula listings and descriptions, and application procedures.

The SILS doctoral program provides an environment that enables creative and energetic students to become innovative thinkers and leaders in information and library science. The program achieves this by providing the flexibility to customize student programs that coordinate student and faculty interests and activities. We seek students who:

·        Enjoy intellectual challenges and demonstrate analytical and critical thinking;

·        Are committed to a life of research and scholarly inquiry;

·        Possess the discipline and will to be independent investigators and the vision and communication skills to be influential leaders in the field;

·        Are attracted to information and library science as a field that incorporates diverse theories, scholars, and methodologies; and

·        Aim to be information leaders in the 21st century.

Admission to the Doctoral Program
Requirements for Admission

The program seeks outstanding students who possess the qualities to be successful independent investigators. Approval of admission is based upon an assessment of the totality of the evidence in support of the application, rather than on a consideration of isolated particulars.

Considerations in the evaluation of applicants for admission include the following: 

·        A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in this country, or its equivalent from a foreign institution. Applicants who possess a master's degree or equivalent from an institution of recognized standing, in an academic or professional field emphasizing one or more of the following areas: information organization, information retrieval, communication and design, and evaluation of information systems are highly encouraged to apply.

·        A GPA of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) in the last two years of the undergraduate program and a record of superior performance in all previous academic preparation.

·        An outstanding written statement of the applicant's research focus and/or interests to be addressed during the doctoral program.

·        Outstanding performance during the applicant's interview.

·        Superior scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) taken within five years preceding application.

·        For applicants whose native language is not English, a minimum TOEFL score of 550, with a minimum score of 50 on each of the three sections of the test. (See the "Information for International Applicants" section.).

On an overall basis, the body of evidence outlined above should establish a correspondence between the student's research interests and those of the faculty. Further, endorsement by one or more faculty willing to assume the advisory role for the student should be another outcome of evaluation of this body of evidence.

Where a student's research interests are not established admission may be granted with the preadmissions understanding that continuation in the program is contingent upon the development of a research program that can be supported by the school's faculty.

Further exceptions to these admission policies may be allowed for students with the potential for outstanding research contributions through their special background or experience.

Application for Admission 

To be considered for admission to the doctoral program, applicants must submit the following materials and evidence:

·        Three recommendations from those familiar with the applicant's past academic and professional performance;

·        A written statement from the applicant setting forth the research focus or interest to be addressed in the doctoral program (this statement may also address academic and professional goals);

·        A personal vita;

·        Application forms and supporting documents required by the Graduate School: undergraduate and graduate transcripts, GRE scores for all applicants, TOEFL scores for international applicants. See the online application information:
www.ais.unc.edu /sis/admissions/grad/app.html;

·        A School of Information and Library Science application;

·        An interview, to be held in Chapel Hill if possible;

·        Applicants also may wish to submit copies of published works.

In reviewing applicants for admission to the program, the school will consider past academic record and scholarly potential of an applicant as well as the match of a candidate's research interests with those of the school's faculty.

All credentials required for admission should be received in the school office by March 1. All materials must be received by February 15 if SILS financial aid is sought (See "Master's Program" for application deadlines). International applicants must complete their applications by January 1.  

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance can come from two sources: (1) university-wide fellowships, for which all schools and departments may compete; and (2) fellowships and assistantships designated exclusively for students in the School of Information and Library Science. See the "Fellowships and Financial Assistance" section for more specifics. Students who wish to be considered for the university-wide fellowships should submit their application information by January 1.   New: TRLN Doctoral Fellowships
 

Academic Background and Knowledge Expected

A student is expected to have the following foundation before entering the program: 

·        An academic background including six graduate-level hours in each of at least three of the following areas: information organization, information retrieval, communication, design and evaluation of information systems.

·        A knowledge of research methods that includes: an understanding of distinctions between the range of qualitative and quantitative research paradigms used by scholars in various disciplines, a facility to develop research questions, and a familiarity with the major social science methods of data collection.

·        Knowledge of computing equivalent to that required in the school's master's degree programs. The requirement can be met by a demonstration of competence gained through experience, as well as by a record of formal course work or the completion of recommended course work. 

A requirement can be met by a record of formal course work completed elsewhere or by successful completion of recommended academic work at UNC. If the requirement is met by a record of formal course work taken elsewhere, the student may be asked to submit evidence of course content and to discuss the courses and their content with his or her faculty advisor prior to identify any knowledge gaps that need to be filled.

At the time an applicant is accepted for admission to the doctoral program, the committee recommends to the dean (who, if in agreement, informs the applicant of) any requirements beyond the minimum stated in the SILS Record.

If any of these requirements are not met, a student must fulfill them early in the program.

Academic Advisor 

A faculty member who has endorsed the admission of the applicant shall serve as the student's academic advisor. In the case where the advisor is an assistant professor who has served less than four years of an initial appointment with the school, a secondary advisor will be appointed to assist the academic advisor. The student or the faculty member may terminate an advisor/advisee relationship upon approval of the dean.

The academic advisor and the student may seek further advice from other students and faculty members in planning the program of course work for the following years. In certain cases (e.g., preparation for a particular dissertation topic), the academic advisor may recommend courses or experiences in addition to the remedial ones identified at time of admission. 

Degree Requirements 

Coursework 

The doctoral program of study is rooted in a set of core themes and principles of information and library science but customized to the needs and interests of students and research strengths of the faculty. Exceptionally well-prepared students will take a minimum of thirty-six hours of formal courses, reading courses, or directed research exclusive of the dissertation. Students who enter with no graduate background can expect to take up to seventy-two hours of formal courses, reading courses, or directed research exclusive of the dissertation. With faculty advice, the student will choose appropriate graduate courses from those listed in "Courses of Instruction" in the SILS catalog and from the catalog of the Graduate School. All courses offered for credit toward the degree must be at the graduate level. 

a. Required Courses

There are two required courses for the doctoral degree: INLS 301 (Doctoral Seminar in Information and Library Science I) and INLS 302 (Doctoral Seminar in Information and Library Science II), which must be taken in consecutive semesters. These courses present a wide range of research questions and examine multiple methods of investigation used to explore these areas of research.

Doctoral students are also required to take at least six hours of statistics including an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics, analysis of variance, and computational techniques, or to demonstrate the equivalent knowledge by taking one advanced course. The SILS faculty has approved the following courses sequences as satisfying the statistics requirement of the doctoral program. The courses are grouped into three categories: basic, mid-level and advanced.

 Basic Courses

Biostatistics................. BIOS 101, 110

Education................. EDUC 184, 284

Political Science................. POLY 281, 282

 Mid-Level Courses

Psychology................. PSYC 281, 282

Sociology................. SOCI 208, 209

 Advanced Courses

Biostatistics ................. BIOS 160, 161

Business Administration................. BUSI 300, 301

Economics................. ECON 170, 271

Statistics................. STAT 101, 102 

In addition, six credits of INLS 394 (Doctoral Dissertation) are required by the Graduate School.

 b. Strongly Recommended Courses

Strongly recommended courses include:

·        INLS 372 (Seminar in Information Retrieval)

·        INLS 382 (Seminar in Communication)

·        INLS 379 (Research in Information Retrieval)

·        INLS 389 (Research in Communication) and

·        INLS 399 (Research in Information and Library Science). 

In addition, it is strongly recommended that each student take at least one advanced research methods course and at least one theory development course. Mastery of relevant methods and theories can be accomplished by graduate level courses or workshops inside and outside the University or by small group or individual tutorials offered by members of the SILS faculty.

Transfer of academic credits from other institutions is governed by requirements and policies of the Graduate School and the School of Information and Library Science. A doctoral student may transfer into his or her degree program relevant graduate courses from accredited institutions or from other graduate programs within this institution, upon recommendation of the program and approval by the Graduate School. The doctoral student may be examined on all transferred course work at the time of the doctoral oral examination. There is no limit to the number of hours that can be transferred into a doctoral program to meet departmental course requirements - with the program's approval.

Doctoral students are required to complete a minimum residence credit of four full semesters, either by full-time registration, or by part-time registration over a large number of semesters. At least two of the required four semesters of residence must be earned in contiguous registration of no fewer than six credit hours on this campus. While summer session registration is not required to maintain contiguous registration, any credit of three to six hours per session will be computed on the usual basis as part of the required two-semester contiguity. The residence credit hour requirement requires UNC-CH registration (i.e., no transfer credit), although not necessarily physical presence on campus (the student may be doing field research, for example). Transferred credit will not be included in the residence credit calculation.

Foreign Language Skills           

Reading knowledge in a foreign language is required, if it is needed to conduct research in the student's area of specialization. The requirement can be met by examination, as well as by a record of formal course work.

Expectations and Evidence of Progress

Academic performance in the program must conform to the Graduate School requirements for all graduate students. Research competence is manifest by outcomes of small-scale research efforts with student colleagues and/or faculty mentors and the presentation of outcomes in a seminar or course within the School. The faculty reviews the progress of all doctoral students annually. Students' progress is measured primarily by the completion of the milestones listed below:

18-hour Review (typically end of first year)

This is a continuation review that aims to determine whether the student should continue in the doctoral program. This review is conducted by a committee chaired by the student's advisor and consisting of all faculty in the school who have taught the student. Subject mastery is assessed by the major paper or outcome of each course. The ability to deal with the conceptual requirements of doctoral work, including the ability to identify research opportunities and the means to address the associated research problems, is also evaluated. The student is informed of any deficiencies identified by the review along with the suggested strategies for improvement. In the case of severe deficiencies a student might be counseled to leave the doctoral program. The review consists of the following steps:

·        Advisor collects input from all instructors who have taught the student over this period;

·        Student prepares portfolio of papers and projects; statement of research interests; and reflection on progress toward Ph.D.;

·        The advisor may convene a meeting of interesting faculty to advise the study on strengths and weaknesses and to entertain questions by the student regarding remaining activities.

·        Based upon this faculty input, the advisor completes continuation review form; discusses with the student, who countersigns it and it becomes part of the student file. Continuation in the program is dependent upon a satisfactory review.

Yearly Reviews

Each year the student prepares a portfolio of progress that is presented to the advisor and Associate Dean at the end of each academic year. The portfolio should include papers written that year, a summary of coursework completion, statement of research interest, reflection on progress in the program, and an outline of plans for the coming academic year. Continuation in the program is dependent upon a satisfactory review.

Coursework completion and Pre-Comprehensive Requirements: Normally, a full-time student should complete his or her coursework within two or two and a half years. It is considered unsatisfactory progress if a full-time student has not completed coursework within three years, with no other signs of progress. Part-time students are expected to progress at a comparable rate, based on their individual circumstances. Before taking the comprehensive exam, students must:

·        Present two papers that were submitted for publication;

·        Complete all coursework requirements; and

·        Develop a literature review of the research area of interest.

Comprehensive Exam

A comprehensive written and oral qualifying examination is required as a condition of admission to candidacy. The written exam is given prior to the oral exam. The context for the examination is defined by a comprehensive review of the literature relevant to the studentıs area of research interest. The student writes the review and submits it to his or her faculty advisor to initiate the examination process. A faculty examination committee determines the content of the written examination. It is considered unsatisfactory progress if a student has not taken the exam one year after completing coursework with no other signs of progress.

Dissertation Proposal

Upon successful completion of both components of the comprehensive examination, the student in consultation with the advisor forms a dissertation committee and prepares a dissertation proposal to present to the committee. Normally, a student will complete and defend the proposal, or make substantial progress toward that point, within six months after completion of the comprehensive exam. It is considered unsatisfactory progress if a student has not shown substantial progress one year after completing the exam.

Admission to Candidacy

A doctoral student should apply for admission to candidacy after he or she has completed all coursework required for the programs of the major and the minor(s); has completed any foreign language or language substitute requirements, skill requirements; has passed both the doctoral oral and written examinations; any conditions specified by the Examination Committee resulting from written and oral examinations, and formal approval of the dissertation prospectus. The form is completed and submitted to the student services manager.

Doctoral Dissertation

Successful completion of a doctoral dissertation approved by the studentıs dissertation committee is required. It represents an original contribution to knowledge involving identification and definition of a researchable topic, application of an appropriate research methodology, organization, and analysis of data relevant to the topic under investigation, and a presentation and interpretation of the data that meets the standards of scholarly work.

 Dissertation Defense

A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation, which is open to the University community, is also required. This is administered by the studentıs dissertation committee, which normally includes scholars from outside the program.

Continuous Enrollment

Continued enrollment in the Graduate School is dependent upon satisfactory course work performance. A Ph.D. student becomes automatically ineligible to continue upon receipt of one failing grade ("F") or nine or more hours of "L" (low pass). SILS policy states that students with six or more credit hours of "IN" (incomplete) or "AB" (absent from final exam) will have the number of courses for which they may register restricted in subsequent semesters. A student in this situation may not exceed nine combined credit hours of outstanding incompletes and registered credit hours.

Residency

Students may enter the doctoral program on a full-time or part-time basis. It is highly desirable for a doctoral student to be in residence at the University during the entire program, or at least during the year in which the proposal for the dissertation is prepared. All doctoral students must meet the universityıs residence credit requirement prior to or concurrently with taking the oral portion of the comprehensive exam. All requirements for the degree must be completed within eight years from the date of first enrollment in the program.

For More Information

Prospective doctoral students are encouraged to contact Dr. Paul Solomon, associate dean, for answers to specific questions. For application materials and general admissions information, contact Student Services, School of Information and Library Science, CB #3360, 100 Manning Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360; (919) 962-8366; Fax: (919) 962-8071; info@ils.unc.edu.

INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS TO ALL FOUR GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Note early application deadlines.

In addition to all admission requirements mentioned previously, applicants from countries where English is not a native language are required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The exam must have been taken within the two years prior to the application date. The school applies this requirement to all international applicants, including those who may have a degree from a university in the United States.

Each new student must take the university's English Proficiency Test at the beginning of the first semester of study; if not successful, enrollment in and attendance of the noncredit course, English for Speakers of Other Languages, is also required. Lasting through the student's first semester, this course is designed to improve English communication skills and to enhance the student's capabilities as a graduate student. This course must be taken until passed.

All international applicants must complete the Financial Certificate included in the application packet. The university is required by United States law to certify proof of each international student's financial ability to complete the program of study. Because financial assistance from the school is limited, international applicants must be able to provide a significant amount of support for the years of academic study. The school is unable to fully fund any international student's program. It is essential that students submit this form with the application, COMPLETED and SIGNED. No application for the program will be considered until this form has been submitted.