Data Stewardship Pathway

Fall Term of Entry only.

The Data Stewardship Pathway will provide an introduction to data curation, digital preservation, and data science. It will frame these topics within the broader context of data informatics, digital scholarship, research integrity, disciplinary diversity, and cultural change. In addition to setting the stage from a policy perspective, this Pathway will provide the practical skills needed to carry out effective research data management and preservation as well as situate these practices in the wider landscape of open science and open scholarship. This Pathway draws on data initiatives from across the globe including the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. In each course, relevant case studies and exemplars will be provided to illustrate concepts and pronciples with tangible practice. It will equip graduate students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies to work in a range of data stewardship roles found in libraries, archives, data centers, governments, industries, and businesses.

The foundational course on Data Stewardship examines traditional and emerging practices in areas such as research data management, data preservation, data infrastructures, information ethics, and more.

Program of Study

Students interested in this Pathway will take the four required core courses in the MLIS degree.

• LIS 2000 Understanding Information (must be taken in the first term)
• LIS 2005 Organizing and Retrieving Information
• LIS 2600 Introduction to Information Technologies (must be taken in the first term)
• LIS 2700 Managing & Leading Information Services

Students choosing this pathway may also choose from the following courses

• LIS 2194 Information Ethics
• LIS 2676 Research Data Management
• LIS 2677 Research Data Infrastructures
• LIS 2678 Data Science for Library and Information Professionals
• LIS 2680 Database Design and Applications
• LIS 2690 Information Visualization
• LIS 2970 Special Topics: Technologies for Data Preservation and Data Forensics
• LIS 2970 Special Topics: Linked Open Data
• Disciplinary Metadata, Ontologies and Informatics (Under development)
• Project Management and Teamwork (Under development)

Field Experience (LIS 2921)

The Field Experience is a 3-credit/150 hour program of supervised professional work. Although not required in the Data Stewardship Pathway, it is highly recommended. Students must have completed a minimum of twelve credit hours in good academic standing in order to register for the Field Experience.

Faculty

The Data Stewardship pathway is supported by a team of full-time regular faculty and adjunct faculty, all of whom are experienced practitioners in the field.

Liz Lyon, Lead Faculty

Research interests:
Open science, research data management, digital curation, informatics and libraries; data repositories and service models; scholarly communications; citizen science.

Experiental Learning

The Partners Program
The Partners Program provides students with real-world experience as they earn their master’s degree in Library and Information Science. In the past, students interested in academic libraries have gained experience at the libraries of Carlow University, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University, Duquesne University, Point Park University, Robert Morris University, and a variety of locations within the University of Pittsburgh Library System.

For more information about this pathway, please contact our Recruitment Team at lisinq@sis.pitt.edu or 412-624-5230.