Welcome to the UC Berkeley School of Information, a graduate education and research community dedicated to transforming information, in all its abundance and diversity, into knowledge.

Information is the world's most plentiful, varied, and fast-changing commodity. It's everywhere, and in enormous quantity. It takes many forms — from text and still and moving images to sound and numeric data — and it continues to evolve. Information drives our economy. It permeates our daily lives. And at the "iSchool," it's what keeps our students and faculty, alumni and staff awake at night, thinking of better ways to retrieve, organize, manage, and ensure access to this most vital of resources.

Information: That's what's behind the "i" in our logo. But that "i" also stands for individual initiative and collective imagination, for interpretation, and for the innovation we cultivate in our community.

What is a "School of Information"?

In a world increasingly shaped by information, the iSchool inhabits a dynamic new academic niche, yet our mission is often misunderstood.

First, there's the question of definition: What does it mean to be a "school of information"? Is it computer science or library science? Is it social science, law, or business? Is it information architecture or multimedia design? Are we pioneering the next big navigation tool? Or are we concerned with "the human element" of information: how it connects, separates, affects people?

The answer to all these questions is "yes," because the study of information — how it is created, shared, and transformed into actionable knowledge — touches a wide range of issues and disciplines, just as it addresses the vast diversity of human needs, activities, and relationships. That's what makes the iSchool's work — training information professionals, conducting research, providing policy counsel — so relevant, and so urgent.

The iSchool is appropriately located in the middle of the UC Berkeley campus — a reflection of how central a school of information is to the research university of the 21^st century. Our campus presence underscores our diverse and ongoing interactions with scholars in the social sciences, humanities, and arts; with the professional and technical disciplines; and with pioneering initiatives championed by the university, such as the Center for New Media and the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).

An incubator for information leaders and solutions...

The iSchool prepares tomorrow’s information professionals for the challenges of the fast changing information-driven world. But our goal is greater than teaching technical skills. We seek to inspire knowledge architects who are visionaries and creative designers, the next generation of leaders who will help transform information into knowledge.

Our programs, Master's and Ph.D., focus on five areas of concentration:

Our Master's program gives students the fundamental tools and skills to design and operate information systems and provide leadership in a variety of settings. Just as important, our program cultivates insight into how people interact with information, and how information use is shaped by organizational, legal, and regulatory contexts. It’s not unusual to find iSchool students taking classes at UC Berkeley’s schools of law, environmental design, business, public policy, and journalism. Many earn certificates in interdisciplinary programs such as the Management of Technology or Services Science. Others specialize in the program in New Media.

Our curriculum emphasizes small classes and project-based learning, often in collaboration with others. In their second year, students complete a semester-long group capstone project that incorporates knowledge and skills gained throughout the program.  Their work often results in promising and novel solutions to important information challenges.  You’ll find examples of these and other innovative and practical student projects showcased on this Web site.

... an interdisciplinary think-tank

While our students hone the skills and vision they'll need in their careers as information professionals, our faculty members and doctoral students are conducting research that keeps the iSchool on the vanguard of contemporary information needs and solutions.

Because we incorporate insights into the economic, social, and organizational contexts of information systems — not just their technical design — research at the iSchool is unique. Current faculty research projects include developing flexible and user-friendly search interfaces, next generation information retrieval systems, economically informed peer-to-peer networks, and context-aware mobile media technology. Faculty work also includes leading-edge scholarship on intellectual property law, the economics of information, and social behavior in digital environments.

Our Ph.D. program equips scholars with the theoretical and research capabilities to advance the fields of information search, retrieval, organization, use, and policy. Often working in collaboration with faculty, Ph.D. students contribute to the development of innovative solutions to information-related problems.

... a community of innovators

The iSchool is a small, multi-disciplinary collective of scholars and practitioners with backgrounds in the social sciences, engineering, computer science, law, and information science. In UC Berkeley's South Hall, roughly 100 graduate students and 13 faculty members share ideas and challenge each other to excel in a culture that values technical skill and breakthrough thinking, individual creativity and collaboration, relevant results, and a commitment to enhancing the quality, usefulness, and accessibility of information.

As you'll see as you visit our home on the Web, we're proud of our community. You can hear from iSchool stars and associates through 10Qs, a recurring feature on our site, or meet students, faculty, staff, and alumni profiled here. You'll discover that iSchool faculty members are exceptional scholars and educators, specialists in leading areas of information research and practice.

iSchool educators are also dedicated mentors with a deep interest in the success of their students. As iSchool alumni, our students go on to careers as diverse and challenging as information itself. You'll find them in start-ups and major corporations, including many of today's leading-edge technology firms, in government, media, libraries, and academic settings. They are consultants and project managers, usability experts and information designers. As Ph.D. graduates, they teach at leading research universities as well as in corporate and nonprofit think-tanks.

Most broadly, iSchool graduates are knowledge architects, builders of our information society. Wherever they go they carry a vision of expanding access to quality information, an appreciation for diverse intellectual perspectives, and the spirit of collaboration — all hallmarks of an iSchool education.

...a partner in knowledge solutions

Because information knows no boundaries, opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning and collaboration extend far beyond iSchool classrooms. We enjoy many close relationships with UC Berkeley's excellent professional schools, including Computer Science, Law, Business, Journalism, Architecture, Public Policy, and Planning, and we have access to Berkeley's leading social science and humanities departments.

The iSchool is a core member of the University-wide Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and of the recently established Center for New Media at Berkeley (CNM). We have close partnerships with both the California Digital Library and the Yahoo! Berkeley Lab, where many of our students find internships while studying. And our proximity to Silicon Valley, home to some of the world's top information technology companies, generates learning and career opportunities for our graduates. We welcome new private, public, and academic partners to this diverse and growing network of collaborators.

...a catalyst for change

At the UC Berkeley School of Information, we have big ambitions. Our mission is not just managing information — it's making information work for people, and we invite you to be part of it. You can join the conversation through I-Talk, a recurring feature on our Web site in which members of the iSchool community host a forum on a controversial information topic. You can also inspire future iSchool projects, research, or partnerships by proposing a project.  Take steps toward joining our community by checking out our programs and admissions process or investigating jobs at the iSchool. Visit us for intellectually stimulating iSchool events, or simply a look around South Hall — an historic and storied building, and a great home for a school that is creating the future from information's rich past.

However you choose to participate, you are welcome at the iSchool. "From information, knowledge" is our call to action, whether we're advancing information research, shaping information policy, or educating tomorrow's information leaders. The world these Knowledge Architects inherit will be a place different from our world today — due in no small part to the work of iSchool alumni, research, and collaboration. From information, knowledge. And from knowledge, positive change.