Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The Doctor of Philosophy degree program is a research-based program designed to foster critical inquiry about Library and Information Systems and Services, Management and Administration of Library and Information Systems, and Libraries and Information in the Cultural Context. The Doctor of Philosophy degree program supports the stated mission of the University specifically in the areas of research to enhance progress and welfare of people and the encouragement of the development of intellectual, humanitarian, and leadership skills.

The doctoral program provides a core of theoretical and research material around which students, in collaboration with their Advisory Committees, develop a program to meet their professional and academic needs. The doctoral program emphasizes the scholarly perspective as a means for expanding knowledge and as an approach to understanding and improving knowledge and information services.

Objectives of the Doctoral Program

1. To prepare students to identify significant problems in libraries and information agencies, place them in context, and apply appropriate research techniques to solve them.
2. To prepare students to assume positions of leadership in the library and information professions as researchers, teachers and administrators.
3. To advance the profession of librarianship through the development of new knowledge about libraries and librarianship.

Program Focus

The Libraries in Learning focus in the doctoral program centers around the areas of  information and communication in a variety of learning contexts. Students will begin by studying frameworks for information analysis and inquiry. This will be followed by an examination of various models of communication and the roles of libraries in the total information process. With this foundation, students will focus on the pedagogy of library education, including gaining experience teaching online. The culminating requirement will be an examination of newly evolving theories and issues in library and information systems, including participating in a library or information-related conference.

General Program Information

The doctoral program consists of a minimum of 90 hours beyond the bachelor's degree, up to 18 of which may be completed in a field outside of library and information studies. The specific requirements are determined by the student's Advisory Committee. In some cases the student may need to complete more than 90 hours in order to meet the individual requirements determined by the Advisory Committee. No more than 12 hours may be counted for the dissertation in the 90 hours minimum outlined above. Ordinarily, eighteen of the required hours must be 6000-level courses in the field of library and information studies, but the Advisory Committee can tailor this guideline to meet students' educational needs.

Core master's level courses (LS 5083, 5013, 5043, 5003, 5263, 5383, and 5843) taken after acceptance into the doctoral program may not count towards hours for the doctoral degree. A common apportionment of the 90 hours includes 36 hours from the MLS, with the remainder of the hours applied to the research tools, dissertation, SLIS required courses,  SLIS 6000-level electives, and cognate or other electives.

Required Doctoral Course Rotation

The Libraries in Learning focus for the doctoral program includes the following four required doctoral level courses in a lock-step two year sequence:

• Fall (every year): LS 6723 Critical Inquiry in Information Analysis;
• Spring (even years): LS 6003 Theory of Communication;
• Fall (even years): LS 6013 Education for Librarianship; and
• Spring (odd years): LS 6373 Research and Issues in Library and Information Systems

Given the approval of the Advisory Committee, a student may take Independent Studies, have a Teaching Internship, have a Research Internship, transfer in courses, or otherwise develop a personalized program.

Doctoral Level Courses

Additional information is available upon request from TWU SLIS at (940) 898-2602 or slis@twu.edu.