Information and Library Studies

Deadline for submitting applications: August 1 - November 30

Who the programme is intended for: The programme is offered to graduates of all Bachelor’s degree programmes.

Subject matter of the entrance examination: The entrance examination for the follow-up Master’s programme consists of an oral interview in a group, which must be completed successfully to gain admission. The group interview is based on the solution of various field topics (information literacy, technology in education, service design, the role of libraries in society, a book in the changes of centuries, etc.) and a discussion of the problem. The applicant’s reactions and argumentation are evaluated.

Waiver of the entrance examination: The entrance examination will be waived for applicants who have passed the Bachelor’s examination in the field/programme of Information and Library Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University with an excellent (A), very good (B), or good (C) result and whose overall average study grade in the Bachelor’s programme has not exceeded 1.8. The entrance examination may also be waived for applicants whose overall result of the Bachelor's State Examination in programme of Information and Library Studies at the MU Faculty of Arts was assessed as “passed with excellent results” and whose overall average study grade in the Bachelor’s programme has not exceeded 1.8. Applicants can ask for a waiver for the entrance examination via the e-application form, section "Application for waiver of the entrance examination".

Website Department of Information and Library Studies.

General information on the course of the admission procedure to the follow-up Master’s degree programmes at FA MU can be found here. Documents for the current admission procedure are kept in Materials for Applicants.

Pass/fail line of the entrance examination: 70 points (out of 100).

The main aim of the submitted study program is the preparation of highly qualified specialists for their subsequent application in professional professions both in the areas of library and information science, information science, academia, science, research, development and innovation. In the context of the field of Information and Library Studies, graduates are increasingly demanding the ability to integrate, critically evaluate and use acquired theoretical and applied knowledge of the field as well as transdisciplinary. The emphasis is on a deep insight into interdisciplinary overlaps including a methodological background, which closely relates to the qualitative shift in the establishment of quality language education into the educational curriculum and related learning outcomes, including both verbal and written oral expression of students and subsequent graduates in English. Strong emphasis is placed on the development of lifelong learning and creative thinking.

Therefore, the sub-objectives of the Masters Program following the above-mentioned core objectives include graduating from the Masters Program

- gaining knowledge and deep understanding of the literary and cultural discourse of the study program in the context of digital humanities both in mirroring the needs of the knowledge society and in connection with strategic and conceptual documents concerning the development of librarianship and information science;

- gained the relevant professional language competences ability to work systematically with foreign-language literature;

- gained profound knowledge and skills to work with data and information in various professional positions in a critical and ethical manner;

- gained the ability to interact, control and set up digital technology, equipment, information systems in human interaction with information;

- had media and information literacy, I would be able to deliberately make information available to users and actively operate in public space and civil society.

- gained strong theoretical knowledge of the field methodology and had the ability to apply methodology in his own field research practice.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• orientate in the basic terms and concepts of information science and librarianship;
• search, organize, critically analyze, interpret, store and mediate information;
• control modern information and communication technologies, systems and applications to provide information services;
• actively apply legal and ethical values and norms in human interaction with information;
• orientate in the issues of physical and digital libraries, library systems and standards;
• contribute to the preservation and accessibility of cultural heritage;
• actively and with the use of technology educate various target groups in information, media and digital literacy in libraries, businesses and public institutions;
• use research methods to set up information processes and to design information services in libraries, public and the corporate sector.

Graduates are prepared to master the theoretical, methodological and ethical fundamentals of information science and librarianship, the creation and management of library and information systems, information education, work with information sources in digital libraries and database centers. They are able to apply theoretical knowledge in library and information practice using modern information and communication technologies. Within elective courses, they can focus on developing information services, processes and technologies to ensure them, work with literature and information resources, or providing information support to science. The curriculum emphasizes methodological and linguistic preparation, and graduates are also prepared to apply in the field of science, research and innovation in the field of information studies and librarianship, also in a transdisciplinary context.

Graduates will be employed in job positions focused on complex work with information:

- Libraries (professional librarians in the position of an acquirer, cataloger, collection manager, library systems administrator, teaching librarian, child librarian, reference librarian, search engineer, information services worker);

- Academic workplaces (academic librarians and experts providing information support to science and research);

- Information services in the public, non-profit and commercial sector (information systems experts, information management, analysis and interpretation of information, own business in the field of providing information services);

- Media, PR, advertising agencies (editors, publishers, redactors, information analysts);

- Advisory and educational activities (information systems experts, data and information management, information services design, informal and continuing vocational education lecturers).

The study program emphasizes the interconnection of pregradual preparation with the field of practice. The workplace has long been developed and is constantly expanding cooperation with institutions that provide relevant interaction between students and industry practice. In the curriculum, the Jobbox - a sophisticated and functional, and a system of offers and inquiries concerning practices, internships and field projects is still anchored. The Jobbox takes the form of a web portal that gathers demand and offers for students that are specified in the educational content of the optional subjects ISKM18 Practice and Placements and the ISKM19 Field Project.

Master's thesis is to demonstrate the student's ability to actively use the acquired knowledge, to choose the topic of the thesis, to formulate the research question, to select and apply the research method correctly and to draw up a specialized text. The student should demonstrate the ability to critically work with information and expert texts, elaborate the concepts and theories found in them and formulate relevant answers to the given question. The Master's degree master's standard is 140,000 characters including footnotes, cover letter, content, list of literature, list of pictures and three resumes (Czech and two foreign languages). The formalities are regulated by the document Writing Rules and the citation and bibliographic standards of the workplace.

The classification of the thesis is decided by the commission for final examinations based on the opinions of the opponent and the supervisor of the thesis, the assessment of the thesis and the performance of the diploma in the defense. The oral part of the final state examination is held in front of the committee and the student draws one of the circles over which the debate is then held. Student has 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes for the own exam.

More detailed instructions for processing the thesis as well as conditions for the final state examination are described on website of The Division of Information and Library Studies (http://kisk.phil.muni.cz/cs/povinnosti).

After graduating from the Master's program, Ph.D. studies in Philology, Media Studies, Contemporary Arts and other creative industries can be continued at the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Social Studies or the Pedagogical Faculty of Masaryk University, or at other universities.