The MLIS program is accredited by the American Library Association
“Assuring quality, innovation, and value in library and information studies education”
The American Library Association (ALA) accredits master’s programs in library and information studies across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Accreditation is achieved through a review process conducted by an external review panel of practitioners and academics that verifies that the program meets the Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies.
- Why is accreditation important to our students and alumni?
Graduating from an ALA-accredited program provides flexibility in the types of libraries and positions you can apply for and enhances career mobility. Many employers require an ALA-accredited master’s degree for professional level positions, and some states require an ALA-accredited degree to work as a professional librarian in public or school libraries.
- Is our Master of Library and Information Science degree accredited?
In 2021, the MLIS Program was successfully re-accredited by the ALA for seven years until 2028. The faculty and staff of the School of Computing and Information (SCI) are pleased that our highly ranked MLIS program continues to meet the standards for ALA accreditation and provides students with the skills, knowledge, and values necessary for successful careers as information professionals. Since 1924-25 when ALA first began to accredit programs, the MLIS program at the University of Pittsburgh SCI has been continuously accredited.
- What are the roots of the MLIS degree?
The roots of the MLIS program reach back to 1901 when it opened as the Training School for Children’s Librarians at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. This was the first school in the country to educate librarians to work with children and youth, a signature specialization to this day.
Andrew Carnegie was the program’s first benefactor. The program received its first accreditation in 1926 by the Board of Education for Librarianship of the American Library Association when it was part of the then Carnegie Library School. The Program moved from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to Carnegie Tech in 1930 and began offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Library Science and in 1948 moved to offering the Master of Library Science instead. In 1961, the program was transferred to the University of Pittsburgh via an appropriations bill signed by Governor David L. Lawrence. In 2001, the MLIS program became the first degree program to be offered online at the University of Pittsburgh. Since 2017, the MLIS degree has been offered by the Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship in SCI.