Curriculum & Cognate Areas – Bachelor of Science in Information Science at College Park (InfoSci)

Benchmark courses are “indicator courses” that help advisors chart your progress in the major. Completing the benchmark courses on time, and with good grades, means you are making satisfactory progress through the major.

Failure to complete the benchmark courses with a C- or better within two attempts, will require you to change out of the major. If you are having challenges in the benchmark courses it may be a sign that the major is not a good fit, and you should speak to an advisor. Advanced Placement (AP) credits that have been accepted and transferred to UMD successfully may be used to satisfy corresponding InfoSci benchmark requirements.

Benchmark I (Must be completed within the first 30 credits after declaring the major).

• MATH 115 (or higher) – Precalculus (3 credits)
• PSYC 100 – Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)

Benchmark II (Must be completed within the first 60 credits after declaring the major).

• STAT 100 – Elementary Statistics and Probability (3 credits)
• INST 126 – Intro to Programming for Information Science (3 credits)
• INST 201 – Introduction to Information Science (3 credits)

The program requires 10 Core Courses and 5 Major Electives (300-400 level elective courses).

INST Core Courses

• INST 201 Introduction to Information Science: Heroes and Villains in the Age of Information
  Examining the effects of new information technologies on how we conduct business, interact with friends, and go through our daily lives. Understanding how technical and social factors have influenced the evolution of information society. Evaluating the transformative power of information in education, policy, and entertainment, and the dark side of these changes..
• INST 311 Information Organization
  Examines the theories, concepts, and principles of information, information representation and organization, record structures, description, and classification. Topics to be covered in this course include the methods and strategies to develop systems for storage, organization, and retrieval of information in a variety of organizational and institutional settings, as well as policy, ethical, and social implications of these systems.
• INST 314 Statistics for Information Science
  Basic concepts in statistics including measure construction, data exploration, hypothesis development, hypothesis testing, pattern identification, and statistical analysis. The course also provides an overview of commonly used data manipulation and analytic tools. Through homework assignments, projects, and in-class activities, you will practice working with these techniques and tools to create information resources that can be used in individual and organizational decision-making and problem-solving.
• INST 326 Object-Oriented Programming for Information Science
  An introduction to programming, emphasizing understanding and implementation of applications using object-oriented techniques. Topics to be covered include program design and testing as well as implementation of programs.
• INST 327 Database Design and Modeling
  Introduction to databases, the relational model, entity-relationship diagrams, user-oriented database design and normalization, and Structured Query Language (SQL). Through labs, tests, and a project, students develop both theoretical and practical knowledge of relational database systems.
• INST 335 Teams and Organizations
  Team development and the principles, methods and types of leadership will be a focus with an emphasis on goal setting, motivation, problem solving, and conflict resolution. This course examines the principles of managing team projects in organizations through planning and execution including estimating costs, managing risks, scheduling, staff and resource allocation, communication, tracking, and control.
• INST 346 Technologies, Infrastructures and Architecture
  Examines the basic concepts of local and wide-area computer networking including an overview of services provided by networks, network topologies and hardware, packet switching, client/server architectures, network protocols, and network servers and applications. The principles and techniques of information organization and architecture for the Web environment will be covered along with such topics as management, security, authentication, and policy issues associated with distributed systems.
• INST 352 Information User Needs and Assessment
  Focuses on use of information by individuals, including the theories, concepts, and principles of information, information behavior and mental models. Methods for determining information behavior and user needs, including accessibility issues will be examined and strategies for using information technology to support individual users and their specific needs will be explored.
• INST 362 User-Centered Design
  Introduction to human-computer interaction (HCI), with a focus on how HCI connects psychology, information systems, computer science, and human factors. User-centered design and user interface implementation methods discussed include identifying user needs, understanding user behaviors, envisioning interfaces, and utilizing prototyping tools, with an emphasis on incorporating people in the design process from initial field observations to summative usability testing.
• INST 490 Integrative Capstone
  The capstone provides a platform for Information Science students where they can apply a subset of the concepts, methods, and tools they learn as part of the Information Science program to addressing an information problem or fulfilling an information need.

Visit the UMD Course Catalog for a list of all INST Courses.

The following are some of the skills, tools, and competencies you will develop during your time in the InfoSci program.
(Bold entries are used heavily in core courses)

• Python
• SQL
• R
• Jupyter Notebooks
• JavaScript
• Tableau
• NodeXL
• Keshif
• PowerBI
• D3
• Excel

1. Articulate, discuss and critically analyze information design and management: the interrelationships among information consumers or creators, information content, and the conduits through which information flows.
2. Apply basic principles to the design, development and management of information to meet the needs of diverse users.
3. Assess the impact of existing or emerging technologies on information practices and the flow of information.
4. Employ state-of-the-art tools and techniques to create, manage, and analyze information.
5. Articulate, discuss and critically analyze critical issues including the security, privacy, authenticity, and integrity of information.
6. Explain and discuss how information technologies, processes, and practices are situated in, and may reflect, reenact and reinforce broader social and organizational structures, and the ethics, diversity, equity, and inclusion issues engendered by those structures.
7. Critically evaluate information technologies, processes, and practices to identify biases they involve, and design technologies and processes that minimize those biases.

Apply your Major Elective courses to Cybersecurity and Privacy.

Students equip themselves with human-centered cybersecurity skills and perspectives, and prepare to launch careers in the cybersecurity field with particular emphasis on management, policy, and governance-related functions. (Beginning Fall 2019)

A total of 5 courses are required to complete the Cybersecurity cognate area:

Complete 5 Courses from below:

• INST 364 Human-Centered Cybersecurity
• INST 365 Ethical Hacking
• INST 366 Privacy, Security, and Ethics for Big Data
• INST 464 Decision-Making for Cybersecurity
• INST 466 Technology, Culture, and Society
• INST 467 Practical Hacking for Policy Making

For more information, speak with an INFO Undergraduate Student Services Advisor.

Apply your Major Elective courses to Data Science.

Students develop understanding and skills for managing, manipulating, and mobilizing data to develop insight, create value, and achieve organizational goals in a wide range of sectors.

Courses

• INST 354 Decision-Making for Information Science
• INST 377 Dynamic Web Applications
• INST 414 Advanced Data Science
• INST 447 Data Sources and Manipulation
• INST 462 Introduction to Data Visualization

For more information, speak with an INFO Undergraduate Student Services Advisor.

Apply your Major Elective courses to the Digital Curation cognate area.

In this cognate area, students can launch careers in which they collect, digitize, appraise, curate, and disseminate information assets effectively and efficiently. (Beginning Fall 2019)

Courses

• INST 341 Introduction to Digital Curation
• INST 441 Information Ethics and Policy
• INST 442 Digital Curation Across Disciplines
• INST 443 Tools and Methods for Digital Curation
• INST 448 Digital Curation Research in Cultural Big Data Collections

For more information, speak with an INFO Undergraduate Student Services Advisor

With this cognate area, students can learn about the ways data informs the decisions made by health professionals, patients, and policy makers with an emphasis on equity and accessibility.

The courses for the Health Information focus area are:

• INST401(3 credits) Design and Human Disability and Aging
• INST402 (3 credits) Designing Patient-Centered Technologies
• INST408A (3 Credits) Consumer Health Informatics
• INST452 (3 credits) Health Data Analytics

*Students are also encouraged to consider outside courses that would supplement this focus area, and can submit courses for review via the Non-INST Upper-Level Elective Proposal Form on the INFO College website.

For more information, speak with an INFO Undergraduate Student Services Advisor.