Master of Library Science, MLS

What you will study

Every Library Sciences degree program course will enhance your favorite skill: connecting people with books and information. We offer a couple of program options to choose from based on your career goals and interests:

• The Master of Library Science offers students a core curriculum of 24 credits designed to meet the ALA Core Competencies of Librarianship.
• Students can choose from 12 hours of electives within the following specializations: School Librarian, Public Librarian and Academic Librarian.
• The School Librarian specialization is designed for graduate students who want to be an educator in a school library. This specialized coursework provides the information-literacy skills you need to work with both students and teachers. 
• The School Librarian specialization plus initial teacher certification adds specialized education courses and a student-teaching internship experience so you can teach in a classroom.
• The Public Librarian specialization is designed for graduate students who want to be a librarian in a public library or community library. Coursework in this specialization examines issues impacting public libraries and develops skills for working with lifelong learning, outreach and developing dynamic programming.
• The Academic Librarian specialization is designed for graduate students who wish to work in higher education. Coursework in this specialization provides the skills needed for teaching information literacy, supporting curriculum and scholarly communication.

Whichever Library Sciences degree option you choose, your training will be informed by real-world experience. Our instructors bring industry knowledge into the virtual classroom and directly to you, passing on lessons from their days as school librarians, public librarians, academic librarians and more.

Some of our most popular courses include:

• Children’s, Adolescent and Young Adult Literature: Even in today’s world of streaming services and social media, people still love reading books. This course will spark your inner bookworm and offer expertise in connecting young people with the right books for them.
• Technology in Libraries: This course trains you in the most current technology available, giving you an edge over competing job applicants for library science colleges.

 

 

Unique learning opportunities with a Master of Library Science

Our Masters of Library and Information Science gives you the real-world experience you need to hit the ground running after graduation.

• Practical experiences: From day one, you'll be completing projects you can use in your career, like designing reading promotion projects, coordinating collection development policies and cataloging books.
• Research opportunities: You may work with program faculty on a research paper and get published before you even graduate. Research topics have been as diverse as our graduate students, centering around the school librarian’s role in supporting teaching, the impact of STEM in libraries and parents choosing public library story times, just to name a few.
• Student-directed learning: In our program, choose projects that are meaningful to you so you can make choices related to your own education. This gives you an opportunity to deep-dive into your favorite library topic and receive thoughtful feedback on your work from our expert faculty.

For more information about program requirements, admissions, practicum and research opportunities click here.

 

What can you do with a Master of Library Science, MLS degree?

As a graduate from the University of Central Missouri’s master’s in Library Science program, you will be equipped to:

• Design inclusive spaces that welcome every individual your library serves.
• Oversee your staff as an effective manager and prepare budgets that meet the needs of the library.
• Be a competitive employee or candidate for jobs - bringing policies, advocacy and professional development to your library.

By earning your Master of Library Science degree from the University of Central Missouri, you can increase your job security. Librarians are needed in all 50 states and all over the world, in nearly every K–12 school, every university and every community. Library Science master’s jobs are always in demand, in big cities and small towns alike.

Beyond job security, our Masters of Library Science degree can also lead to advancement in your career. Our Masters of Library Science degree can help prepare you for different positions within a variety of libraries. The potential for a better salary with our Master of Library Science, MLS degree may surprise you — for example, for those working in schools, many school districts offer raises to employees with additional college credit hours.

 

 

Financial assistance options for your Masters of Library Science degree

As one of the most affordable online library science degrees among library science programs, the University of Central Missouri’s Master of Library Science ensures you have the support you need to succeed. 

Explore our financial aid options to get help paying for college, such as program scholarships for Library Science grad students:

• Suzanne Foster Scholarship in Library Science
• Beatrice Ricks Library Scholarship
• Dr. Aileen Helmick Memorial Scholarship in Library Science

A Masters of Library Science from the University of Central Missouri is a valuable investment in a lifetime career. You'll get a high-quality, future-focused education at an affordable cost.

Graduation, Retention, and Placement Rates

Our retention rate from our 2022-2023 cohort is 80%. Most students graduate from the program in 2-3 years, but UCM allows up to 8 years. 
Our students are often busy, working adults and a majority are part-time students. 
Our most recent placement rate from the Career and Life Design Center is 100%.

 

Cohort Year	Fall 2017	Fall 2018	Fall 2019	Fall 2020	Fall 2021	Fall 2022
Fall-to-Fall Cohort Size	15	16	18	21	18	20
% Cont. to Year 2	86.67%	75.00%	72.22%	71.43%	83.33%	80.00%
% Cont. to Year 3	86.67%	43.75%	72.22%	61.90%	72.22%
% Cont. to Year 4	86.67%	62.50%	77.78%	61.90%
% Cont. to Year 5	86.67%	56.25%	77.78%
% Cont. to Year 6	86.67%	56.25%
Cohort Graduates	13	9	13	11	10	1
Cohort Graduation %	86.67%	56.25%	72.22%	52.38%	55.56%	5.00%
Total Declared Majors (MS)	78	68	81	70	74	74

 

Source: UCM Academic Digital Innovations and Analytics

 

Master of Library Science program accreditation

Our Library Sciences degree program also has candidacy status for accreditation with the American Library Association (ALA)*. This will benefit you in your career, especially if you’re interested in a job at a public, state or academic library, rather than a school library. We’ve already updated the program curriculum, so our graduate students are prepared to work anywhere.

*UCM's Master of Science in Library Science program has been granted candidacy status by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association. Candidacy status is an indication that the MLS program at UCM is ready to begin the two-year process that culminates in the Program Presentation, comprehensive review of the program, and accreditation decision by the COA. Candidacy does not indicate that the program is accredited nor does it guarantee eventual accreditation of the program by ALA.

Accreditations and Accolades