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 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.
*Coming Fall 2026, there will be a three-semester track, which requires a minimum of 39 total credits.
A minimum of 9 credits are courses that focus on developing technical skills required to design, develop, and analyze socio-computational systems.
A minimum of 9 credits are courses that focus on how the human world intersects with computing systems and digital technology, including cognitive, behavioral, social, organizational, economic, legal, and societal aspects.
As part of the MPS program, students must complete a project in which they apply their information science skills. Projects are completed as part of INFO 5900 (3 credits) either in the fall or in the spring, in teams of 5-7 students, giving students an opportunity to practice work distribution and team skills while working with a real client.
All MPS students are required to complete Professional Career Development (INFO 5905, 0.5 credit, S/U, Fall/Spring). Early Credit students must take this in their second semester.
Students may waive the Professional Career Development requirement if they have received a job offer or have a job awaiting them after graduation. To petition to waive this requirement, email %20rebecca.salk [at] cornell.edu (Rebecca Salk) prior to the start of the semester. Attach the waiver approval to your checklist for future reference.
Any remaining credits to fulfill the 30-credit requirement may be taken as elective courses. Elective courses prepare you for a professional career by complementing and extending your Information Science degree.
- A list of pre-approved electives can be found in the MPS course spreadsheet.
- All INFO/CS/STSCI courses at a 5000-level or higher that are not categorized as IS/HSS are automatically pre-approved as electives.
- INFO 7900, Independent Research, is a pre-approved elective. To enroll in INFO 7900, students must communicate with and receive an approval from the faculty member they are interested in doing research with.
Elective Approval
- To receive an approval for an elective that is not pre-approved, email the Director of the MPS program, Gilly Leshed, the following information:
- Course ID
- Course title
- Course description found in the Cornell Class Roster
- Justification on why you want to take the course and its relevancy to your MPS degree.
- 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.
Typically, projects consist of social/behavioral components, technological components, or both. They often relate to user experience, natural language processing, information policy, data science and analytics, machine learning, network analysis, mobile technologies, and design.
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:
Cross-college industry innovation.
Students can fulfill their project requirement through the Digital Technology Immersion program, a unique collaboration between Cornell's Business and Information Science colleges.
In DTI, students work alongside MBA peers on either client-based projects with leading tech companies or executive-mentored case studies. The program combines hands-on project work with industry mentorship and weekly discussions on technology management, offering a distinctive business-focused alternative to the traditional MPS project.
Students who wish to complete the Digital Tech Immersion for their MPS Project requirement, should enter their details in this survey by November 2. If selected by the Business School, the Johnson School Registrar will enroll you in NBA 6480, Digital Technology Practicum.
In addition, it is recommended that you choose 3 to 6 credits of NBA courses from our list of approved DTI electives. These electives may be taken during the fall or spring semesters. They do not need to be taken simultaneously during the spring semester when the DTI course is offered. This is a recommendation, not a requirement.
- 1.5 credit courses are offered over 7 weeks of the semester, in the first half or in the second half of the semester. Check the roster for the course schedule.
- Enrollment in courses is subject to seat availability. If a course is over-enrolled, usual waitlist procedures will apply.
Third Semester Extension
We understand that completing our program within two semesters may not be attainable for all and a third semester request is needed. Therefore, during your second semester, you may have the opportunity to request an additional semester.
Students who will have completed the MPS degree requirements by the end of their second semester are not eligible for a third semester petition. International students must demonstrate the need to stay by obtaining approval from the Office of Global Learning to extend their I-20. Each petition is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and all decisions are final.
Students should be able to show that they are on track to complete at least 24 MPS approved credits by the end of their second semester. 1000-4000 level courses and AUDIT courses cannot be counted toward these 24 credits.
Students must be able to indicate one of the following reasons for the extension request.
- Delays caused by lack of availability of required courses.
- Delays caused by documented illness.
To request a third semester, follow the steps outlined below. The deadline to apply for a 3rd semester extension is due during your 2nd semester. This request form will need to be submitted BEFORE the spring drop deadline (in March). Please refer to the University Registrar’s Key Academic Dates webpage for an exact date.
- Review the policy below.
- Please fill out the MPS Course Tracker with courses you have taken and the courses you plan to take for the third semester."
- Email oah23 [at] cornell.edu (Olivia Howarth) with your completed MPS Course Tracker and request a Third Semester Request Form.
- Email the signed request form to oah23 [at] cornell.edu (Olivia Howarth) by the deadline stated below. Olivia will review and forward your request to the Graduate School and the Office of Global Learning for their approval. International students are responsible for following the directions of the Office of Global Learning to extend their I-20.
Once the third semester petition has been approved, the Graduate School will be notified, and the expected graduation date will be updated. Students who apply and are approved to extend the MPS degree program for a third semester should plan to enroll in a minimum of 12 MPS-approved credits. These courses are found on our approved course list.
Students should enroll in these courses during pre-enrollment period and take them during their third semester for a letter grade only. Beyond the mandatory minimum 12 credits, students may enroll in additional non-MPS related courses, e.g., PE, music/art courses, 1000-4000 level for S/U or AUDIT. These courses will not count toward the MPS credit requirements.
Students who do not follow these requirements will be dropped out of the program without graduating. Students must register for three consecutive semesters. Students will not be considered for a third semester if a voluntary Leave of Absence (LOA) was previously approved and taken. This includes leaves for CPT reasons.
If you are approved to extend for a third semester, you must pay full-time tuition and fees for all three consecutive semesters. There are no prorated dollar amounts available for students who voluntarily request to extend their MPS degree program for a third semester.
Submitting a third semester extension request indicates that the student understands and agrees to pay full-time tuition rates and associated fees. Enrollment in three semesters must be consecutive.
International students will be required to follow the directions of the Office of Global Learning to extend their I-20. Students are solely responsible for making sure they apply for an extension of their I-20. Please be aware that additional Financial Certification documents will be required to have the I-20 form extended.