M.S. in Information Architecture (IARC)
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IARC requirements | courses | electives | admission | contact | application
The M.S. in Information Architecture (IARC) enhances the technical communication core with specialized concepts, skills, and tools for designing, implementing, and managing websites and related digital media. This degree provides students with expertise for a number of tasks relevant to mid-level and advanced positions in the workplace:
- Website design
- Website project management
- Information retrieval
- Knowledge management
- Usability testing and evaluation
- 33-37 credit hours
- Project or Thesis
- Internship (may be waived for students with workplace experience)
Students preparing for careers as technical communicators are advised to take the project option, which requires 36–37 credit hours, while students preparing for a Ph.D. in a relevant field may wish to take the thesis option, which requires 33–34 credit hours. For both options, a required one-credit-hour internship may be waived for students with workplace experience. Students may apply up to six hours of credit in one of the following courses: COM 594 (Project) or COM 591 (Thesis).
- COM 525 Usability Testing and Evaluation
- COM 530 Online Design
- COM 537 Publication Management
- COM 538 Entrepreneurship in Technical Communication
- COM 541 Information Structure and Retrieval
- COM 542 Knowledge Management
- COM 585 Internship (may be waived for students with workplace experience)
- COM 528 Document Design OR
- COM 424 Document Design
Students may specialize in relevant clusters of courses, such as Web design (COM 430, Introduction to Web Design and Management; COM 431, Intermediate Web Design; COM 432, Advanced Web Design), databases, ecommerce, visual design; or they may seek a broad-based understanding by selecting courses from different clusters. Courses from relevant disciplines may also be applied with permission of the student’s advisor and one of the co-directors of graduate studies.
Applicants to the department’s technical communication programs come from a broad variety of backgrounds. Some students enter with strong writing or design ability and learn to apply those skills in technical and scientific areas, while other students enter with a background in a technical or scientific field and work to enhance their communication skills. Successful students in the technical communication and information design and information architecture programs have had undergraduate or previous graduate degrees in fields such as business administration, engineering, computer science, graphic arts, design, English literature, communication, journalism, technical writing, rhetoric/composition, and others. The program’s goal is to help students build upon existing strengths and develop new areas of expertise so that no specific field of prior study is required. (However, the certificate program in instructional design requires prior or concurrent experience in technical communication.)
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0.
Applicants must submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores with a combined minimum score of 1200 (for tests taken prior to Oct. 1, 2002), or 900 (quantitative + verbal) and 2.5 (analytical writing) (for tests taken on or after Oct. 1, 2002). [Note: this GRE requirement is only for applicants to the information architecture program and is waived for those applicants with bachelor’s degrees from accredited U.S. educational institutions with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0.]
International students must submit TOEFL scores, unless they fall under the rules of exemption as stated in the "Admission" section of the current graduate bulletin (see "International Applicant Requirements"). Students who score below 600/250/99* on the TOEFL must take the English Proficiency Review (EPR) exam to assess the level of their skill in written and spoken English. Students who show deficiency on the EPR exam may be refused admission to this graduate program. (U.S. citizens are exempt from the English as a foreign language proficiency requirement.)
If applicants do not meet these guidelines, they may seek probationary admission or may simply enroll in classes as a non-degree student (if permitted), in order to demonstrate an ability to work successfully at the graduate level.
Note: Enrolling in courses does not guarantee later acceptance into the information architecture program, nor does meeting the minimum GPA and test score requirements. Students who enter as non-degree students should first discuss their plans with one of the co-directors of graduate studies.
* Paper-based test score/computer-based/Internet-based test score.
If you have questions about the TCID degree, about a career in technical communication, or about your readiness for the program, please contact:
Dr. Warren Schmaus
Email: gradhuminfo@iit.edu
If you are interested in pursuing advanced work in technical communication and information architecture, you can:
- seek immediate admission into the degree program, or
- enroll as a "special student," taking up to three courses before deciding to seek formal admission
Applications to the masters program in information architecture are administered by the Graduate College, which encourages an online application. Additional information is available at the Website of the Graduate College. Application deadlines are listed at www.iit.edu/graduate_admission/prospective_students/deadlines.shtml