docantelope

Here's an honest review of the McGill University School of Information Studies Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) program. These are the ALA required courses: Information and Society Information System Design Research Principles & Analysis Information Agency Management The required courses vary in quality except for Information Agency Management taught by Joy Bennett because she's an adjunct who's been teaching the course for so long she doesn't bother to update due dates on her syllabus. Cataloging is taught by Elaine Menard and she has never worked in a library or even outside of academia. I want to add that cataloging is not a requirement for all MLIS students. Classes are usually in the Education building, which is on top of a steep hill that gets icy in winter. Classes are scheduled into too-long three hour blocks: 08:35 - 11:35, 11:35 - 14:35, 14:35 - 17:35 and 17:35 - 20:35. In general, the professors will take every opportunity to not teach you anything by canceling class or dismissing you early. Everything is even more terrible when its taught by an instructor desperate to prove that information studies is a legitimate academic discipline. Some will resort to petty quizzes and in-class exercises to keep you attending a horrible class. Practicum is not required or guaranteed and you might not even hear anything (not even a rejection email) from a site you apply to. Outside of the practicum poster sessions, the Practicum Coordinator won't facilitate contact with a current or former practicum student so you cannot ask them questions about their experience. The Practicum Coordinator won't help you find volunteer or internship opportunities at the practicum sites either. Getting in touch with SIS alumni by looking them up in a directory is not possible because that directory doesn't exist. You will be taught the value of structured information but will be bombarded by unstructured information in the form of junk mail. Provincial education cutbacks have squeezed all universities in Quebec and McGill's School of Information Studies is no exception. There are 48 classes listed in the MLIS Student Handbook. 15 - 19 is the number of classes actually offered per semester. It's slim pickings and you have the option to take classes at other Montreal graduate schools but actually getting this done is a hassle. The SIS computer lab has only thirty computers and gets crowded often. The program as I know it divided students into three streams: archives, librarianship and knowledge management. SIS has hired three new professors and next year the Masters program offered is the Master of Information Studies (MISt). I don't even know if the MISt degree is ALA accredited. Prospective MISt-ers, save your money and don't even bother applying.