A customizable program shaped by your interests.
The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Information Science offers a distinctive curriculum structure with no required core courses, allowing students to design a personalized course of study that aligns with their professional goals.
While students have flexibility in course selection, the program offers four focus areas to guide those seeking specialized expertise in specific domains within Information science.
Planning your curriculum.
A flexible course structure.
The MPS curriculum prepares students for industry success by combining essential foundations with advanced technical skills, culminating in a real-world project developed in partnership with leading companies.
To complete the MPS degree in Information Science, students should complete at least 30 credits (2-semester track) or 39 credits (3-semester track) of courses at a 5000-level or higher, while taking no more than 19 credits per semester.
With extensive course offerings across technical and social domains, students can craft a curriculum that precisely matches their professional interests and aspirations.
These courses focus on the technical and technological aspects of computing systems and information science.
2-semester track: a minimum of 9 credits
3-semester track: a minimum of 12 credits
These courses focus on the human and social aspects of computing systems and information science.
2-semester track: a minimum of 9 credits
3-semester track: a minimum of 12 credits
Note: Courses that fulfill either BT/HS category can be applied in either category according to the student’s choice, but cannot be double-counted in both categories.
INFO 5900 MPS Project (3 credits) is offered every semester. In the course, students work in teams to research and design a solution for an external client organization.
2-semester track: enroll in INFO 5900 in at least one semester
3-semester track: enroll in INFO 5900 in at least two semesters
All MPS students are required to successfully complete Professional Career Development (INFO 5905, 0.5 credit, S/U, Fall/Spring). Early Credit students must take this in their second semester.
Any remaining credits to fulfill the 30-credit requirement (2 semester track) or 39-credit requirement (3 semester track) may be taken as elective courses. Elective courses prepare students for a professional career by complementing and extending their Information Science degree. A list of pre-approved electives and instructions for receiving approval for other electives can be found in the MPS course spreadsheet.
Information Science and Elective courses: a minimum grade of C. Two of these credits may be taken as pass/fail (S/U), including INFO 5905 Professional Career Development.
MPS Project: a minimum grade of B
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
To aid in selecting courses, students may choose one or more focus areas that are congruent with their career goals. Choosing a focus area is not required and serves as guidance for course selection.
- Data Science
- Interactive Technologies
- User Experience
- Networks, Crowds, and Markets
Gain real-world project experience.
As part of the MPS program, students carry out a semester-long project either in the fall or spring semester. This required project offers students an opportunity to experience working with a client to complete work on time and to the satisfaction of the client. Projects are completed in teams of 5-7 students, giving students an opportunity to practice work distribution and team skills.
MPS student teams build AI-powered solutions for client entities big and small – from Fortune 500 companies to non-profits. In recent semesters, students have leveraged generative AI, user experience research and design, and data science and analytics to build and evaluate implementable solutions, including an automated interactive voice response (IVR) system for Assurant, a revamped search function for the Roper Center of Public Opinion Research, and an exploratory data analysis tool for Dell.
In the first week of the semester, students receive a document with project descriptions available for the upcoming semester. Students bid on projects, listing their project preferences and skills. The MPS project instructor matches between students and projects based on preferences, skills, and the project requirements. Students and clients will be notified after the first week of the semester.
The client and students agree at the outset of the project on the ownership of any intellectual property (IP) that may be created during the project: client-owned IP, student-owned IP, or placing all IP into the public domain. Students are encouraged to consult the University Counsel or the Cornell Center for Technology Licensing. Students will sign NDAs with the client as appropriate.
A client representative will be designated for each project, serving as the person of contact to the student team and to the MPS project instructor. Students are to communicate with the representative once a week via email, Zoom, phone, or other means of communication, to report on updates, progress, and challenges they are facing. The client representative provides the students with ongoing mentorship, motivation, advice, guidance, and feedback on the project, and at times has attended the semester-end poster session.
Students will provide the client with the following deliverables:
- Project proposal (Week 4): students present to the client a proposal on how they plan to address the challenge they have taken. Project goal, work plan, feasibility testing, competitors review, timeline, division of labor among students, are all suitable components of the project proposal.
- Progress report (Week 8): students present what they have accomplished so far in the project. The client representative will define the expectations from what needs to be accomplished for the progress report milestone.
- Final report (Week 14): in this document and presentation the students present the entirety of the project they had accomplished, including background, methods, and results. In addition, the students will provide the handover package to the client representative.
A primary objective of the project is to provide students with a learning experience to address real-world challenges posed by the organizations within and outside Cornell. At the end of the semester, the faculty advisor of the project will assign students with grades to their project based on:
- Project deliverables, including the project proposal, progress report, and final report.
- Self and peer evaluation forms filled out by students.
- An assessment of the client representative that indicates satisfaction from the project process and outcomes.
Every semester, students in Cornell Information Science’s master of professional studies (MPS) program draw on ingenuity, problem-solving, and teamwork to develop solutions for client companies.
Browse recent MPS projects below: