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Welcome to the School of Information
Sciences (SIS) at the University of Pittsburgh. We are committed to providing
an environment that is welcoming to – and supportive
of -- diverse populations of students, faculty and staff. It
is our goal to cultivate a community of information professionals
who will go on to serve an increasingly diverse and global
society.
If you haven’t already, visit our degree program
pages to learn more about the exciting
opportunities open to those who seek a satisfying career
as an information professional. SIS
has a long tradition of academic excellence and success in
attracting students from a variety of educational, financial,
and ethnic backgrounds. For example, since 1944, when
the first African American student graduated from SIS, more
than 450 African American students have graduated from our
School. Our
School is dedicated to providing a welcoming community for
individuals from all walks of life and to ensure that they
receive a high-quality education that will serve them well
in their careers and their lives.
Our efforts:
- SIS has played a leading role in creating national partnerships
to further its goals of increasing the diversity of the
student pool. For example, the School partnered with
the University of the Virgin Islands to receive funding
of $900,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS) to educate twenty-five students from the Virgin
Island Territories. A majority of those students
are African Americans.
- SIS has a successful track
record in attracting and retaining Spectrum Scholars, a
nationally competitive diversity program administered by
the American Library Association (ALA). Twenty-four
Spectrum Scholars have enrolled in the Library and Information
Science Program since the Scholarships were first offered
in 2000.
- The School also collaborated with the American
Library Association Spectrum Initiative on a proposal to
fund the studies of doctoral students of color and was
awarded a $900,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and
Library Services. Several schools will receive funding
as part of this grant, and two doctoral candidates have
enrolled at SIS as part of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship
Program.
- The National Science Foundation has funded a $1
million Cybersecurity scholarship program for the Security
Assured Information Systems (SAIS) track at SIS. The
scholarships support graduate students in Information Science
or Telecommunications and Networking taking the SAIS track
option. The scholarship program emphasizes the recruitment
of underrepresented groups to ensure a more diverse and
wide-ranging pool of qualified IA professionals. The
SIS faculty targeted having 30% of the scholarship recipients
coming from an underrepresented group.
- In 2006-2007,
the Alcoa Corporation awarded scholarships totaling $13,700
to one BSIS, one MSIS student and one MST student of color
as part of its Alcoa Ambassador Scholarship Program. This
program is designed to increase the number of students
from under-represented groups in the information technology
field.
- SIS and the Free Library of Philadelphia formed a
partnership supported by the IMLS to support 25 students
(over a two-year period) as they earn their MLIS degrees
via the FastTrack MLIS online education program. The
intent of this program is to increase the number of minority
librarians, specifically youth librarians working the Free
Library
There are a number of organizations at the University and
the School focused on creating a diverse and supportive environment
for students. You can learn more about them on the
organizations page.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at dsc@sis.pitt.edu. |
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