Public Services for Information Professionals Graduate Certificate

Campus Code

Distance Education

Graduate Certificate Type

• Add-On
• Stand-Alone

Admissions Standards/Procedures

A completed online application must be received by the Graduate School, and the applicant must meet the School of Information Sciences graduate program standards, including: 

• An undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or higher; 

• A 400-700 word written statement of your career objectives 

• Letters of recommendation from 3 persons qualified to judge academic and/or professional qualities 

• Resume 

Applicants with a master’s degree from another college or university may request a transcript evaluation to ascertain exactly what courses need to be completed. 

Academic Standards

A minimum 3.0 GPA must be earned in all courses applied to the certificate requirements.  

Credit Hours Required

12 graduate credit hours.

Required Courses

• Category I. The following course is required for a total of 3 credit hours:  

• INSC 531 - Introduction to Information Sources and Services

• Category II. Choose one of the following courses for a total of 3 credit hours:  

• INSC 547 - Health Sciences Information Centers
• INSC 548 - Federal Libraries and Information Centers
• INSC 549 - Museum Studies
• INSC 552 - Academic Libraries
• INSC 553 - Special Libraries and Information Centers
• INSC 554 - Public Libraries
• INSC 564 - Archives and Records Management

• Category III. Choose two courses for a total of 6 credit hours. Students should select courses from either sub-category A or B, depending on interest

• A. Adult Public Services: 

• INSC 532 - Sources and Services for Science and Engineering
• INSC 533 - Humanities and Social Sciences Sources, Services, and Scholarship
• INSC 534 - Government Information Sources
• INSC 538 - User Instruction
• INSC 574 - Resources and Services for Adults

• B. Children’s and Young Adult Public Services: 

• INSC 571 - Children’s Materials
• INSC 572 - Young Adult Materials
• INSC 573 - Programming for Children and Young Adults
• INSC 575 - Nonfiction for Youth
• INSC 576 - Storytelling as a Communications and Learning Tool in Diverse Settings
• INSC 577 - Picture Books Across the Curriculum

Non-Course Requirements

To receive the certificate, students must:

• complete the Graduate Certificate Course Verification Form and
• through MyUTK, apply to graduate from the certificate program.