SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES

The information science program prepares information professionals through an interdisciplinary program of studies that draws on the resources of such diverse areas as communications, computer science, linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, and psychology. The program leads to a Bachelor of Science degree. The objectives of the information science program are to develop in students

• an awareness of the importance of information in the lives of all people and
• the necessary skills to work in information environments so that such environments function efficiently and effectively.

Information science is designed to prepare students for careers as systems analysts and designers, database developers and managers, interactive system designers, and information retrieval specialists. An education in information science has universal application throughout society—in banking, health care, libraries, judicial systems, communication, education, agriculture, private industry, and governmental agencies.

Contact Information

University of Pittsburgh
School of Information Sciences
Department of Information Science and Telecommunications
Undergraduate Program
503 Information Sciences Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412-624-9312
perks@pitt.edu or
mkoller@mail.sis.pitt.edu
www.sis.pitt.edu

Admission Procedures

Because the information science program is an upper-division undergraduate program, students should initially apply for admission to either Arts and Sciences (A&S) or the College of General Studies (CGS) of the University. During the first two years, students should pursue the prescribed undergraduate program of studies as outlined by A&S or CGS and then transfer to the information science program.

Students may apply for entrance into the program during any term. Deadlines are August 1 for fall term, December 1 for spring term, and April 1 for summer term.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for transfer to the information science program, applicants must present an adequate lower-level undergraduate academic record and be in good standing in the college or school in which they are currently enrolled. Applicants must have earned at least 55 credit hours of course work with a minimum 2.75 cumulative QPA and have at least a 2.75 QPA for all information science courses taken. Meeting these minimum qualifications does not guarantee admission to the program. The total academic record, as well as the probability of completion of the information science program requirements within the remaining credit hours, will be considered. For further information, see the Transfer Students section below.

Part-Time Students

The Department of Information Science and Telecommunications (DIST) welcomes qualified students who for financial, family, medical, or other reasons are unable to attend school full time. For further information, contact the School of Information Sciences (SIS) director of the undergraduate program at the address or phone number listed above.

Transfer Students

Students at other institutions who wish to apply for admission as transfer students to the program should submit a Transfer Application and supporting materials to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid (See Transfer Student Admissions section of this bulletin for more information). Prospective transfer students should note especially that the evaluation of course work taken at other colleges and universities will be made by SIS. Students who have been admitted as transfer students will be told at the time of admission how much advanced standing credit they have been awarded by SIS.

Students in other undergraduate schools at the University should initiate the process of transferring into the information science program by completing a Change of Status form and requesting the school in which they were most recently enrolled to send their records to SIS. Students currently on inactive status in the school of last registration must first be reinstated in that school before the transfer process can be completed.

Former SIS students who have enrolled in other institutions may apply for re-admission with advanced standing. Such students should apply to the University’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Credits earned elsewhere and accepted for transfer by SIS will be added to those satisfactory credits originally earned at the University of Pittsburgh.

Postbaccalaureate and Guest Students

Postbaccalaureate and guest students are holders of bachelor’s degrees who have been permitted to take additional undergraduate course work as nondegree students. The number of credit hours that may be taken by nondegree, postbaccalaureate students is limited to a maximum of 12.

Guest students are students who are matriculated in degree programs elsewhere but who, with the permission of their home schools, wish to take courses in the information science program. The expectation is that credit thus earned will be transferred to the home school to be used in satisfying degree requirements. The home school must certify that the proposed arrangement is satisfactory before such a student will be admitted. Suspended or dismissed students, even with their home school’s permission, cannot be admitted as guest students. Guest student status is not usually granted for more than two terms.

Application forms for admission as either a nondegree postbaccalaureate or guest student are available from the SIS office. Acceptance cannot be granted until all necessary materials have been received, including the completed application form, official transcripts, and application fee. The deadlines for application for special students are August 1 for fall term, December 1 for spring term, and April 1 for summer term admissions.

Academic Standards

Students in the program are expected to complete 24 credit hours of work each academic year with a QPA of at least 2.50 (12 credit hours for students granted part-time status). They are also expected to maintain a cumulative QPA of 2.50 and a 2.50 QPA in information science courses. Failure to meet any or all of these conditions automatically places a student on probation. Students who fail to meet these conditions for two consecutive terms and who, in their most recent term of residence, failed to complete 12 credits (6 credits for part-time students) with a QPA of 2.50 are liable to be suspended. Students who have been suspended are not permitted to enroll in University courses for one calendar year.

Students who have been admitted to the information science program are eligible to continue as long as a satisfactory academic standing is maintained or until the degree has been earned. The SIS statute of limitations requires that all of the credits required for the Bachelor of Science degree, whether earned in residence or transferred from another institution, must have been earned within 12 years prior to the date on which the degree is awarded. However, when given evidence that the previous courses still provide adequate preparation for courses yet to be taken and still represent a reasonable part of the total academic program, the SIS director of the undergraduate program may waive this limitation. In such cases, the waiver is for a specific period during which the program must be completed.

Credit Load

A normal credit load ranges from 12 to 18 credits per term, with a minimum of 24 credits in an academic year. Any term credit load in excess of 18 credits requires the recommendation of the SIS director of the undergraduate program and approval of the dean. No more than 60 credits may be taken in one department or school, and usually not more than 40 credits are considered desirable in a well-balanced program.

Course Repetitions

Required courses for an information science major must be repeated or replaced by a comparable course if a grade of C- or lower is received. If a grade of C- or lower is earned in a prerequisite course, the course must be repeated before the higher-level course may be taken. If a grade of C- or lower is earned in any course taken to satisfy a degree requirement, the course must be repeated or replaced. Course repetitions are subject to the following limitations:

• No course passed with a C or higher letter grade or with an S grade may be repeated.
• Required lower-level (INFSCI 0010, 0015, 0018, 0020) courses; technology, cognitive science, or information systems design courses; and advanced courses may be repeated only once. If a grade of C or better (a C- or Satisfactory/Audit grade does not count) is not obtained the second time, the student will be required to transfer from the information science program.
• The grade earned by repeating a course replaces the grade originally earned, although the original grade is not removed from the transcript. The grade originally earned is not counted in the computation of the QPA. The new grade does not increase the number of credits counted toward graduation unless an F grade is replaced by a higher grade or an S grade.
• No course may be repeated at any other institution.
• A specific course may be taken for credit only once.

It is the student’s responsibility to submit to the Office of the SIS director of the undergraduate program the appropriate forms for repeated courses.

Duplication of Course Content

In an attempt to restrict the number of courses covering similar subject matter that a student may take for degree credit (120 credits total), limitations have been imposed on certain computer programming language and psychology courses. A listing of these limitations may be obtained from the Office of the SIS director of the undergraduate program.

Courses Taken Elsewhere

Students in good academic standing may attend a summer or special session of another accredited institution in order to supplement their program. To receive credit for such study, the endorsement of the Undergraduate Admissions and Evaluation Committee is required in advance. Students should proceed by presenting the committee with an acceptable proposed program and a bulletin with appropriate course descriptions. Generally, courses may not be a repetition of any course previously taken (passed or failed).

To obtain permission to attend another institution, a student must have begun his or her program at the University of Pittsburgh or have been admitted as a transfer student from another institution with no more than 60 advanced standing credits.

A maximum of two summer or special sessions may be taken at other institutions with a maximum of two courses per session.

Transfer Credits

Students admitted by transfer will have their transfer credits evaluated subject to the following conditions:

• Students who have not satisfied the language requirement (detailed under the Program Description section) shall be required to do so in the first two terms of residence at SIS.
• An official transcript of all courses taken at other institutions must be submitted at the time of application, whether or not it is intended that such courses be counted toward the degree. For acceptance, courses must be passed with a satisfactory grade (C or equivalent) and must be earned at an institution accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association. Grades for such courses are not used in computing a student’s QPA nor in determining probationary status or eligibility for graduation honors.
• Generally, courses that have a reasonable counterpart in the curricula of the various schools/departments of the University of Pittsburgh are eligible for transfer.
• The number of credits granted for a course cannot exceed the number on the transcript from the institution where they were earned nor, usually, exceed the number to be earned in the corresponding course at the University of Pittsburgh.
• No transfer credits may be part of the final 30 required credits for the degree. These credits must be earned in residence at SIS. Credits earned at regional campuses and in foreign programs are considered as transfer credits.
• Credits accepted for advanced standing must have been earned within 12 years of the date when the degree requirements must be completed.
• Transfer credits for courses that do not have reasonable counterparts in the curricula of the various schools or departments of the University cannot be used to satisfy requirements for the degree, unless approved by the SIS director of the undergraduate program.
• No more than 90 credits may be transferred from a four-year institution, and no more than 60 credits may be transferred from a two-year institution.
• If a course for which advanced standing credit has been granted is repeated, the advanced standing credit is canceled.

Credit by Examination

Students may earn credits toward graduation not only by successfully completing courses but also by taking special examinations. Each test for credit by examination must be arranged with the school/department offering the course for which credit is desired. The examination must be in a specific course offered by the faculty of the school or department. Schools/departments may specify the time and type of examination as well as which courses are possible to elect as credit.

Students may not take credit by examination for material prerequisites for college admission. If, during their high school careers, students have mastered material traditionally covered in college courses and not required for college admission, they may request credit by examination for the material if the school’s or department’s equivalent course is one for which it generally permits credit by examination. Credit by examination cannot be obtained for a college-level course for which credit has already been awarded, nor can it be used to alter a grade already received. Credit may not be earned by examination in lower-level sequence courses when the student has already obtained credit for a higher-level course in the sequence. Students are not permitted to audit courses without registering and then apply for credit by examination. Students wishing to earn credit by examination should consult the school/department in which the course is given and then obtain the requisite form from the appropriate dean’s office. There is a fee for the examination whether or not credits are earned.

Grades

The School of Information Sciences uses both the University’s letter grade and Satisfactory/Audit (S/N) grade options (see Grading and Records for more information). In addition to the general University rules governing those grading systems, there are a few formal limitations to the SIS student’s freedom of choice regarding grading systems:

• Students must decide by one week after the end of the add/drop period which grading system they propose to use for each of their courses. This decision may not be changed, nor may a grade of one kind received for a course be changed to a grade of the other kind (e.g., from an S/N grade to a letter grade).
• Schools/departments may decide which courses may be taken on the S/N system.
• No courses required for the information science major, the related field, information science distribution, general distribution, English composition, or language requirements may be taken on the S/N system.
• Students are limited to a total of 18 credits of S grades that may be applied to the 120 credits required for the degree.
• Students should be sure, before deciding on the grading system for a course, that their decision will not have an adverse effect on their plans for a major.
• Under certain circumstances, schools/departments may declare a course available only on the S/N system (in such courses, students may not elect to receive a letter grade).

Evaluation of a student’s ability and achievement in a course is not eliminated by the Satisfactory/Audit (S/N) system. Recitations, tests, and papers may all be required and assessed by instructors who will convey to the student their judgments of the worth of the student’s work. Because the publicly recorded evaluation is minimal, students should use the instructor’s comments in the most helpful way possible: as a guide to their own future course of study and for assessment of their own potential.

Students may request a supplementary written evaluation of their work in courses taken on a Satisfactory/Audit (S/N) basis by giving the instructor a form designed for this purpose. The form is available in the office of the SIS director of the undergraduate program.

Since it is difficult to evaluate transcripts containing very few letter grades, students seriously considering transferring to the information science program or considering graduate study should keep this in mind. The student may wish to ask instructors from whom they have taken courses on the Satisfactory/Audit (S/N) system to write letters of recommendation for them immediately at the end of the course. The office of the SIS director of the undergraduate program will supply forms for such letters and will make them a permanent part of the student’s file. Students may also wish to keep portfolios of their best academic work and other evidence of ability and accomplishment with which they might supplement the formal transcript and letters of evaluation when they apply for transfer or for graduate study. This recommendation is useful for all students whatever grade options they select.

Dean’s List

Early in each term, a list is compiled of students whose academic record in the preceding term indicates outstanding academic achievement. To be placed on the SIS Dean’s List, a student must have earned at least 12 credits with a grade of A, B, or C; must have no grade lower than C; and must have a term QPA of at least 3.25.

Reinstatement

Students who have resigned or been suspended and other students who have been away from the University for more than one term may apply for reinstatement. A reinstatement application should be submitted to the Undergraduate Admissions and Evaluation Committee at least one month prior to the beginning of the term in which the student plans to enroll. Favorable action may be expected if students provide evidence that they can pursue an academic program with some prospects for success. Since registration advising meetings are usually held from the seventh to the 12th week of the preceding term, applications for reinstatement should be received within that period so that the faculty advisor may assist in planning the program and in registering the student. The student’s status upon reinstatement will be that attained at the end of his or her last term in residence or at the beginning of the term during which resignation took place. Applicants will be notified by letter of the action taken on their requests. Any courses that students take at another institution during a period of suspension shall not be granted credit by SIS after the student has been reinstated unless the student petitioned the faculty and received permission in advance.

Dismissal

A suspended student who is subsequently reinstated remains on probation for at least one term and until the cumulative QPA has been raised to at least 2.50 and the information science major QPA has been raised to at least 2.50. As long as the reinstated student remains on probation, failure in any term to complete 12 credits of work (or those credits for which a part-time student has registered) with a cumulative QPA of at least 2.50 and an information science QPA of 2.50 will constitute grounds for dismissal from SIS for five years.

Advising

Since several of the information science courses may be taken during the first and second years of study, information science faculty cooperate with Arts and Sciences (A&S) and College of General Studies (CGS) advisors to help students plan the first two years of study. Information science courses taken during the first two years serve two purposes:

1. For those students who are undecided on a major, early contact with information science can provide a basis for deciding whether or not to major in the subject; and
   
2. For those students who have already decided on information science as a major, the courses can indicate more fully the topics that are of interest and also reduce the load to be taken during the third and fourth years.

Once students have been accepted into the information science program, they are assigned a faculty member as an advisor. Initially, the student and the faculty advisor discuss the student’s program in information science, a possible related field (minor), and other academic options. Each term, the student and advisor should review the student’s progress and select the courses to be taken to satisfy the student’s program goals. In addition, the student and advisor should discuss career goals, educational plans, and any academic-related problems.

SIS policy emphasizes the role of faculty in providing advice for academic decisions, and students are urged to take full advantage of their advisor’s experience and knowledge as often as needs arise. To avoid schedule conflicts, students are strongly advised to telephone their advisors for an appointment.

Degree Requirements

To be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in information science, the student must:

• Earn a minimum of 120 credits with a minimum of 15 of those credits in a related field. A related field consists of five courses. All of the final 30 credits and at least 15 credits in information science (INFSCI) must be taken through SIS.
• Possess a cumulative QPA of at least 2.50 and a QPA of at least 2.50 in the information science major.
• Satisfy the distribution of studies requirement.
• Fulfill any remaining requirements that may have been noted at the time of entrance (e.g., English composition, language requirements, statistics requirements).
• Apply for graduation (see Application to Graduate). Students must be registered for at least three credits in the term in which they expect to graduate.

Special Academic Opportunities/Programs

The following additional academic opportunities are available through the School of Information Sciences:

Cooperative Program with the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

A cooperative arrangement between SIS and the Greensburg campus of the University of Pittsburgh makes it possible for Greensburg students to major in information science. Students may complete most of their course work, including work in major courses, on the Greensburg campus but will typically want to cross register for some courses on the Pittsburgh campus to take advantage of courses and laboratories not available at Greensburg. The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in information science is awarded by SIS. For additional information about this program, students should contact Karen M. Antoniak or J. Wesley Jamison, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, 1150 Mt. Pleasant Road, Greensburg, PA 15601.

Information Science as a Related Field

Students from other colleges or schools in the University may desire to select information science as the related field for a degree awarded through their major department or school. The requirements of information science as a related field are:

• INFSCI 0010 Introduction to Information Science
• INFSCI 0015 Data Structures and Programming Techniques or 0018 File Processing or 0020 Program Design and Software Tools
• INFSCI 1042 Human Information Processing or INFSCI 1044 Human Factors in Systems Design
• INFSCI 1022 Data Base Management Systems or INFSCI 1024 Information Systems Analysis and Design
• One additional information science course
• MATH 0120 Business Calculus or 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1 or 0400 Discrete Mathematical Structures

Enrollment in Graduate Courses

Undergraduates with sufficient preparation are encouraged to take advantage of the rich variety of graduate courses offered by the departments and schools of the University. Students enrolled in the information science program may use credits in graduate courses toward their undergraduate degree. To enroll in a graduate course, students must obtain the written consent of the instructor of the course, have a 3.00 cumulative QPA, and have the approval of the director of the undergraduate program. No special forms are required.

Cross Registration

Students may not cross register for courses counting toward the information science major or information science distribution or for courses available at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh campus. All students desiring to cross register must receive prior approval from their faculty advisors and the Undergraduate Admissions and Evaluation Committee. (See the general section on Cross Registration for further detail.)

Independent Study Courses

The information science program offers the student the option of conducting an independent study with a Department of Information Science and Telecommunications (DIST) faculty member. Students who have a special project or wish to work in an area not adequately covered by regular DIST courses should request a faculty member to supervise independent work aimed at their particular interests, and, if accepted, they should register for INFSCI 1080 Independent Study. Any student registering for an information science independent study course must have at least five information science courses completed, a 3.00 cumulative QPA, and consent of the faculty advisor and faculty sponsor.

To obtain permission to complete an independent study, students must submit a proposal presenting a design for the project and must find a faculty sponsor who will serve as director. The proposal must include detailed plans for the project. Substantial written work or some other form of creative product is usually one outcome of an independent study course.

Students pursuing the standard major are limited to three credits of independent study course work or three credits of internship. Students pursuing the intensive major are limited to six credits of independent study course work or a combination of three credits of independent study and three credits of internship.

Internship

Students have the opportunity to enroll for an internship during the last year of residence. The internship involves supervised work in an information environment that provides enhanced understanding through application of the skills, methodologies, and theories presented in information science courses. Students are assigned to various departments and activities of the University or businesses throughout the Pittsburgh area for specific projects. Some internship assignments are coordinated through the University Internship Office, 140 Thackeray Hall. The agreement of the student’s faculty advisor and internship instructor is required. Students should expect to work a minimum of 10 hours per week for the internship and may not use regular employment as an internship. If accepted, students should register for INFSCI 1085 Internship. Any student registering for an internship must have at least five information science courses completed and a 3.00 cumulative QPA. To obtain credit for the internship, a copy of the internship agreement form must be forwarded to SIS for inclusion in the student’s file, and the student must submit a written document describing the internship experience for evaluation by the internship instructor.

Students pursuing the standard major are limited to three credits of internship or three credits of independent study course work. Students pursuing the intensive major are limited to six credits of internship or a combination of three credits of internship and three credits of independent study course work.

Program Description

The School of Information Sciences offers the Bachelor of Science with a major in information science through the Department of Information Science and Telecommunications (DIST). The requirements outlined in this section represent minimum degree satisfaction. For further information about these requirements, please consult the SIS director of the undergraduate program.

English Composition Requirements

All students entering Arts and Sciences (A&S) as freshmen are required to take a writing placement examination. (For more information on the A&S composition requirement see Skills Requirements in the Arts and Sciences section of this bulletin.)

In addition, information science students are required to take either ENGCMP 0400 Written Professional Communication, ENGCMP 0440 Critical Writing, or ENGCMP 0450 Research Writing.

Language Requirements

All students entering the information science program are required to satisfy a foreign language requirement. This requirement can be fulfilled by one of the following:

• Two years of the same foreign language in high school completed with a grade of C or better each year,
• One year of a foreign language in high school completed with a grade of C or better and one term of the same foreign language in college completed with a letter grade of C or better, or
• Two terms of the same foreign language in college completed with a letter grade of C or better.

If the foreign language requirement has not been satisfied by the time of admission, the student will be required to remove this deficiency by the end of the second term at SIS. In addition, all information science students are required to complete LING 1950 Introduction to Linguistics or PHIL 0500 Introduction to Logic with a letter grade of C or better.

Quantitative Requirements

All information science students must complete one of the following mathematics courses with a letter grade of C or better:

• Math 0120 Business Calculus
• Math 0220 Analytical Geometry and Calculus 1
• Math 0400 Discrete Mathematical Structures
• In addition, a statistics course must be completed with a letter grade of C or better.

General Distribution of Studies Requirement

All students are required to complete 9 credits in each of the three traditional divisions of A&S: the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. A copy of the information science-approved list of courses may be obtained from the SIS director of the undergraduate program:

Literature: A minimum of one literature course selected from the information science-approved list and completed with a letter grade of C or better.

Music and Art: A minimum of one course selected from the information science-approved list and completed with a letter grade of C or better.

Communication: A minimum of one of the following communication courses with a letter grade of C or better:

Social Science: A minimum of two courses from two different fields selected from the information science-approved list must be completed with a letter grade of C or better.

History and Culture: A minimum of one course from the information science-approved list must be completed with a letter grade of C or better.

Psychology: All information science students must complete one of the following courses with a letter grade of C or better:

Natural Science: Students must complete a two-course sequence in biological sciences, chemistry, geology and planetary science, or physics and astronomy, selected from the information science-approved list. In addition, one course in a field different from the two-course sequence will be required. All courses must be completed with a letter grade of C or better.

Information Science Programming Prerequisite for Admissions

(one course; 3 credits)

Information Science Course Requirements

School of Information Sciences Course Offerings

The following courses are offered by the School of Information Sciences: