For over forty years, this course has been one of the enduring successes of Robert Gordon University, bringing together a mixture of theory and practice that replicates activities found in the workplace. The course will enable you to obtain a professional qualification accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and the MSc degree is professionally recognised throughout the world.

The course provides a wide range of employment opportunities, ranging from traditional librarianship to information management and research. Graduates will be properly equipped with a broad range of managerial, professional and technological knowledge and skills. The course also attaches strong importance to producing creative and reflective practitioners and, to this end, you will learn about a variety of research methods and techniques.

This course is available to study full-time, part-time or by distance learning.

Online Distance Learning Alumni Ambassador Service

If you are interested in our distance learning mode, the Online Distance Learning (ODL) Alumni Ambassador Service is designed to promote helpful and handy dialogue between ODL alumni and prospective ODL students. Ambassadors are available to share their experiences of studying by distance learning with the University including ODL students for this course - our MSc Information and Library Studies Ambassadors.

Full-time

The course in the full-time on campus mode of study is completed in 12 months. It is broken into the taught (or Diploma) element and the dissertation element. The taught part consists of eight modules (each worth 15 credits) and once you have passed all of them you will be eligible for the Postgraduate Diploma. You can then proceed to the dissertation stage (worth 60 credits). Once it is successfully completed you are eligible for the MSc (a total of 180 credits).

Distance learning

Study is online through the University's virtual learning environment, CampusMoodle, which offers the opportunity to interact with tutors and fellow students from around the world.  All the modules can be also taken on a free-standing basis through the Postgraduate Professional Studies Programme and may contribute to your own Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Stage 1

• Information Studies
• Digital Age
• Cataloguing and Classification
• Knowledge Organisation

Exit Award: PgCert Information and Library Studies

Stage 2

• Managing Library Services
• Professional Fieldwork Placement
• Research Methods

Exit Award: PgDip Information and Library Studies

Stage 3

• Dissertation

Award: MSc Information and Library Studies

Dissertation In Semester 2, you will present a written research proposal for submission. This will normally form the basis for the Masters level dissertation. You will work independently but under tutorial supervision, to undertake the research and prepare the dissertation.

The course is ideal for students who possess an undergraduate Honours degree in any discipline. Other qualifications and experience will be considered with entry being subject to the University's judgement that the person has reasonable expectation of being able to fulfil the requirements of the award. In certain circumstances, students with ordinary degrees who have extensive appropriate work-experience within the sector can be admitted to a particular course.

All international students, for whom English is not their first language, must provide evidence of linguistic ability, by gaining either IELTS 6.5 or its equivalent in TOEFL prior to receiving an unconditional offer of a place on the course.

In the case that an applicant does not fulfil the entry requirements an access route to the course is the Graduate Certificate Information Studies (Access Foundation pre-masters course).  The course starts in September and January and it is studied online over 9 months.

Students who hold a Postgraduate Diploma in the same or similar subject area from another academic institution can be accepted for the MSc on the basis of completing two taught modules: The Fieldwork Placement and Research Methods. Credit transfers based on previous study will require a detailed syllabus and exemptions can be given for up to half the taught part of the course except Fieldwork Placement and Research Methods. For other credit transfers a clear match must be demonstrated between the previous studies completed and the subjects covered in our degree.

Fieldwork Placement

The Fieldwork Placement is a mandatory part of the course and takes place in Semester 2. It constitutes one of the eight modules at the diploma stage and is an assessed module that is worth 15 credits. For full-time students the placement lasts four weeks (20 working days) and it takes place in April (after the end of teaching the other seven modules). The department has strong established links with professional organisations and the Aberdeen Business School Placement Office consistently finds suitable placements for our students.

The placement is an opportunity to apply the theories of the taught course to the professional work environment and is found to be enormously beneficial to students and is particularly valuable in informing and developing ideas and theories for the Dissertation stage. In some cases the placement has also helped students to secure a full-time professional post in the same organisation after the completion of their degree.

Over the last few years we have had people at the National Library of Scotland, Dublin City Libraries, the National Art Library at the V&A, Edinburgh University Library, the MCC Cricket Library at Lords, York University Library, Highland Public Libraries, the Sound Archive at the British Library. We have had people go to London, Shetland, the Isle of Man, Donegal, Oxford, Benbecula and just about everywhere in between.

Placements for Distance Learners

Few distance-learners can consider a normal placement because they are usually in full-time employment and because a placement can be organised via the placement office only if the students can commit themselves to twenty working days or an equivalent. In these cases, the department organises (internal or external) virtual placement projects, which can be completed remotely. Examples of recent projects have included:

• the ‘Improvement and Promotion of a library website to a Wider Audience Using Web 2.0', an e-learning project where the student acted as an eLearning ‘champion' encouraging peer participation and facilitating the flow of information between staff and students
• the creation of a lesson on study skills on effective search strategies for students beginning A2 level courses and the compilation of a literature review in order to understand the key linkages between organisational learning and organisational change.

For distance learners already employed in the sector the approach is more flexible. These students are able to complete the coursework assignment for the module based on their own relevant employment and using their current (or recent) professional experience, but only if it is directly relevant to the subject discipline. This offers the student the opportunity to examine critically the day-to-day workings of their organisation and identify the different functions in the service relevant to their course of study. It also encourages them to identify and consider any practical problems that may arise in the execution of practical tasks and reflect/assess critically the value of their own contribution to the work of their organisation.

CILIP Accreditation

By completing the Masters degree, students attain a qualification that is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, an accreditation recognised by professional bodies around the world, including the American Library Association, the Canadian Library Association and the Australian Library and Information Association. Professional accreditation means that at the end of the Diploma or Masters stages you are a professionally qualified librarian and can apply for professional posts. It also means that you can then embark on the process of Chartership. For more information see CILIP's website at  http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership.

Merit Scholarships
The Merit Scholarship is solely for those who plan to study for the full course (i.e. through to completion of MSc) and is not available for those wishing to only complete the Certificate or Diploma stages. The Scholarship award is deducted from fees pro-rata each year and instalment plans can be negotiated with Student Finance team for the payment of the remaining portion of the fees. Full information can be found on Merit Scholarships.

Postgraduate Funding
Information on funding for postgraduate students can be seen under Postgraduate Student Finance and also on the SAAS website.

Distance Learning Scholarship
The University offers a scholarship programme for partial payment of fees. This is open to distance learning students. 

All course fees are reviewed annually and subject to change.

All students can apply online by visiting Apply Online. www.rgu.ac.uk/applyonline.

If you are a UK/EU student and would like a paper application form or further information, please email postgraduateadmissions@rgu.ac.uk.

If you are an International Student and would like a paper application or further information, please contact international@rgu.ac.uk.

Course Enquiries Contact:

Course Leader
Dr Konstantina Martzoukou

Email: k.martzoukou@rgu.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1224 263916

Here is what just a handful of our recent graduates are doing now:

• Systems Librarian, Athlone Institute of Technology, Ireland
• Online Information Relationships Manager, Thomson Reuters, London
• Library Media Centre Specialist, International School of Aberdeen
• Head librarian, Western International School, Shanghai
• Senior Information Researcher, U.S. Embassy to Italy, Rome
• School librarian, The Wordsley School, West Midlands
• Group Information & Research Analyst, Acergy Group, Houston Texas
• East Asian Studies Librarian, University of Edinburgh