The master’s degree is designed to help you develop advanced skills in applying information methods and to become a competitive information professional. The degree requires 30 total units and can typically be completed in 1.5 years for full-time students.
Plan of Study
You should work with your faculty to develop a Master’s Plan of Study during your first few months in the program. The Plan of Study should be submitted to the Graduate College no later than your second semester in the program.
The Master’s Plan of Study identifies 1) courses you intend to transfer from other institutions; 2) courses already completed at the University of Arizona which you intend to apply toward the graduate degree, and 3) additional coursework to be completed to fulfill degree requirements. The Plan of Study must have the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies before it can be submitted to the Graduate College.
***Students admitted Spring 2023 and after will choose a sub-plan. Click on sub-plan to see requirements.***
Human-Centered Computing Sub-Plan
Human-Centered Computing courses explore topics like simulations, virtual reality, human-computer interaction, user experience, and personal data-collection.
Machine Learning Sub-Plan
The Machine Learning Sub-Plan will prepare graduates to be innovative scientific leaders across sectors, graduates who understand the complexities of machine-learning as a particular kind of data science.
***Requirements below are for M.S. Information student admitted prior to Spring 2023.***
Core Courses
- 9 units total
Experiential Courses
Complete 3 units total:
- INFO 693: Internship (1–3 units)
- INFO 692: Directed Research (1–3 units)
More information on experiential courses is available on our internships and individual studies pages.
Capstone Project
Complete 3 units:
- Register for INFO 698: Capstone Project
- The project will evaluate all competencies required for the M.S. degree
- Project must have a software development component with code deposited in GitHub or other source code repository
- Course may be repeated once if you do not obtain a satisfactory score the first time
- Project must be supervised by at least one faculty member in the School of Information
You must submit your application in Handshake. More information can be found on the individual studies page.
Upon completing the capstone project, you will submit a report (5000-6000 words in length) in the form of an academic paper, documenting what has been accomplished and explain how the competencies have been demonstrated. Your supervisor(s) will complete the competencies evaluation form. The Graduate Committee (or its subcommittee), plus the supervisors, will evaluate the project and competencies and assign a pass/fail grade.
Elective Courses
- 15 units total
- No more than 6 non-INFO (out-of-department) units are allowed (if a student wants to petition for a non-INFO course that is not on the pre-approved list to count as an elective, they must send this request to the MS INFO Academic Advisor, attaching the course's syllabus and a detailed description of which MS INFO competencies (https://ischool.arizona.edu/ms-student-competencies) the course addresses)
- Any non-core courses with the INFO prefix is considered elective
- The following out-of-department courses are also pre-approved for electives: