Library & Information Studies

The Master of Library and Information Studies prepares graduates for work in a range of professional settings, including academic, public, and special libraries, as well as information-based roles in commercial, civic, health, and legal organisations. Our programmes instil professional ethics and social responsibility, foster lifelong continuing professional education, and provide opportunities for active engagement with diverse communities. The MLIS is an in person programme, structured to develop core professional competencies, as well as specialised knowledge and skills for librarians and information professionals. While the programme offers a generalist approach to suit multiple interests and aspirations, it is also possible to tailor learning to more specialised areas for particular career paths.

Stage 1 Core Modules

IS40520 Org of Info, Cat&Metadata Autumn 10

IS40530 Information & Reference Services Autumn 10

IS41060 Research and Practice in LIS Autumn 5

IS40940 Applied Research Methods Spring 5



Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:

All students should select Capstone Project unless they have identified BOTH a thesis topic AND a member of the School staff willing to supervise it.

IS41160 Capstone Project (30 Credits) Summer 30

IS41310 MLIS Thesis Summer 30



Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:

Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead.

IS30020 Web Publishing Autumn 5

IS41090 Informatics Autumn 10

POL42540 Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation Autumn 5

IS40560 Digital Libraries Spring 5

IS40630 Digital Curation:Core Concepts Spring 10

IS40970 AI & Ethics Spring 5



Stage 1 Options - D) Min 0 of:

Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module.

ARCV40040 Archives and their Users - Advocacy and the Archives Gateway Autumn 5

ARCV40070 Managing Records & Information in Public & Private Organisations Autumn 10

EDUC41520 Children's Rights & Participation Autumn 10

IS40730 Quantitative Data Analysis Autumn 5

ARCV41510 Archives Preservation Spring 5

IS40390 Research Practice Spring 5

IS40480 The Information Professional as Teacher Spring 5

IS40760 Research Data Management Spring 5

IS40900 Scholarly Communication Spring 5

IS41020 Information Ethics Spring 5

IS41050 Platform Governance Spring 5

IS41550 Digital Media Literacy Spring 5

IS41580 Prof topics in LIS Spring 5

IS40830 Service Learning Summer 5



Stage 1 Options - E) Min 1 of:

Select one Management module. Students may select IS40980 below, or contact the School of Information & Communication Studies at lis@ucd.ie to arrange registration to one of the following Management modules offered by the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business: BMGT45100, BMGT45700, HRM40660 or HRM40900.

Places for Smurfit modules are strictly on a first-come-first-served basis via email to lis@ucd.ie only.

IS40890 Project Management Spring 5

-A minimum 2.1 award in a bachelor's degree in any subject (NFQ Level 8 or International equivalent )



-Names and contact details of two referees who can assess your intellectual ability, maturity, and motivation



-If you do not meet the academic requirements above you must provide additional information to be considered for admission as listed below



A letter of reference from an academic who has taught the applicant.

A statement describing their previous library experience, which must be a minimum of 5 years.

A letter from their work supervisor to confirm the length of experience, the nature of the experience as meeting professional library tasks.

​We recommend a minimum of 6 weeks’ experience working in a library or information environment before applying for the MLIS.



Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element), or equivalent.



While applications are accepted up to August of the year of entry, offers are made to suitably qualified candidates on a first-come-first-served basis so early application is recommended. Entry to the programmes is very competitive and the number of places is limited.



Please note that requests to progress along the pathway from the Graduate Diploma to the MLIS must take place within 5 years of completion of the Graduate Diploma. All requests should be sent to the School of Information and Communication Studies, and will be approved by Graduate School, College of Social Sciences & Law.



These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage. https://tinyurl.com/2ae2ffax

90

MLIS FT (W006): 1 year full-time

MLIS PT (W099): 2 years part-time.

MLIS Library & Information Studies (W006) Full Time

EU fee per year - € 7920

nonEU fee per year - € 19900


MLIS Library & Information Studies (W099) Part Time

EU fee per year - € 5115

nonEU fee per year - € 9950


***Fees are subject to change

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website.Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme.For further information please see International Scholarships.

Commencing September 2025

Careers & Employability

The Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) programme is designed to prepare university graduates for professional careers in Library and Information Studies. The MLIS degree is highly regarded internationally; the school's accreditation by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) is recognised by library associations elsewhere, covering Australia, Canada, and the United States. Recent graduates have dynamic careers as Digital Learning Librarians, Literacy Specialists, Chief Information Officers, and Library Directors.