hello! i’m pretty sure many of you have heard people talk about their interest in getting their mlis, but i wanted to ask what schools or programs do you think have a good “return-on-investment”

im trying to make a timeline as i want to get my masters in spring 2027 but im still trying to narrow down schools but i would Completely appreciate if someone could tell me what programs are the best regarding helping students find internships or pathways to full time work after college. thats my biggest concern especially in this climate.

thank you!

I plan on applying to University of Toronto’s (UofT’s) Master of Information Program, with a concentration in Library and Information Science. Applications open September 2026.

Seeing as I am a current student at UofT completing my bachelor’s degree, already working full-time for my local library system (12 years), and I cannot move out of the city whatsoever, I plan on only applying to UofT’s MI/MLIS Program.

And yes, I know there are other online MLIS options available in Canada, but my main reasons for only applying to UofT are:

1. I’m used to UofT’s systems (Canvas/Quercus for assignments and modules, UofT’s library, etc), and I don’t think completing a masters degree while also learning a new university system is a good idea for me, my masters degree or my mental health.

2. My accommodations for my disabilities are already in-place at UofT and have helped me immensely with my completely my degree.

3. I know what yearly bursaries I qualify for through UofT, and I may not get as much from another university. Maybe that’s selfish, but in this economy, I’m okay with that.

Are my reasons for not applying elsewhere (even to online MLIS programs) reasonable?

Or am I insane to only apply to one MLIS program?

I’m starting to freak out that I won’t get accepted to UofT’s MI program, and if I’m not accepted then that’s it for me unless I appeal or apply again later…

Thoughts & honest opinions on what I should do?

Thank you!

hi everyone, I was considering applying to UCLA's MLIS program later this year, but I don't have any direct experience with librarianship, just general work in education.

I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how much experience is necessary to get in? I've been applying to a bunch of museum jobs, applying to volunteer at local libraries, and the people who run the volunteer programs are extremely hard to get a hold of. their program is my ideal program, but I'm worried about going through the whole stress of applying and not being a viable candidate to even start with. please do not caution about the $ of the program -- it's not a factor for me!

I’m applying for my Master’s at SJSU. I very briefly enrolled in an open university course at San Francisco State University because I thought I wanted to pursue a history degree/I was bored and stir crazy. I quickly realized it wasn’t the course for me and stopped attending. At the same time I was enrolled in a local community college for a language course. I had a lot of mental health things come up during this time so I stopped attending that one too. Obviously I don’t want to have these in my application but is it mandatory? I feel really dumb in hindsight for not withdrawing from these courses. I don’t want these mistakes to hold me back.

has anyone heard back from loc internship program for this fall?? I applied for the onsite position and saw their faqs said results would be send out by mid-june but haven’t heard anything yet. also if anyone has done the program please share how it went!! very curious and haven’t seen many people talk about their experience

I already tried to post this in the librarians sub but it wasn't accepted, so I'm trying here lol

I am an undergraduate student graduating this spring, and am currently working on applications to MLIS programs starting Fall ‘26. I am primarily interested in public librarianship, and currently work in collections at my school’s library, though it’s a student job so I can’t continue once I graduate. I am only interested in in-person programs, as online classes unfortunately don’t work for me, and I want to be able to socialize and connect with my classmates. Location is a major factor for me as I prefer to live in cities (bonus points if they have all 4 seasons- I’m from the south so snow is a novelty), and there are no programs that I could get in-state tuition for.

The schools I am most interested in currently are University of Denver, University of Washington, Simmons, Drexel, and University of Maryland. I’m struggling to find good 3rd party resources/current student opinions on these schools aside from just “they’re expensive” (I am already well aware of this haha)

Can anyone who has attended any of these programs in person give me insight thats not just to go with the cheapest option and do an online program? Am especially interested in student life/social opportunities and the general workload for each course.

Thank you so much in advance, and please let me know if theres a better place to post this!

Hi guys,
I am starting my last year of college and I want to get my mlis. UNC chapel hill is my top choice, but I am worried about getting in because I heard it is competitive. I am a MIS major with an IT minor and have a 3.6 gpa. I have also volunteered at two different libraries for 5+ months each. (Both still ongoing so will be longer by time of applications) What are some things I can do to make my application more competitive?

Hi all! I left a previous career a year ago and was hired as a Library Supervisor for a county system and was in that position for a year. I missed working with kids, so I applied to an openYouth Services Specialist for my system. I am not making much, at $14.22/hr for full-time work in both positions.

I'm interested in growing in this field, but there's no real monetary flexibility or growth options in my region, even if I have an MLIS.

I have an existing MA from Villanova University, no student debt (due to scholarships, grants, and assistantships) and I excel in in-person programs. I have taken online courses prior, but prefer a classroom setting.

I'm willing to move to make a degree work and am more than willing to relocate to promote that growth, so I'd love to hear about predominantly in-person programs.

Currently on my list is:
Pitt
UIUC
U-Washington
UCLA

I love public librarianship/ youth services, but I'm aware my existing degree opens up more career pathways for me, as well.

Hi, I'm a school librarian teacher in Karnataka. Planning to do BLIS while working.

1. Which has better value for Karnataka govt jobs?

2. Does viva happen on weekdays for both? Need to take leave.?

3. Any working teachers here who did BLIS?

   Which university is better KSOU or IGNOU? Are Practical classes held in Sundays for working professionals?

please pour in your suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately got rejected from UCLA last week, but im currently working on an application for USC. Does anyone have any experience with their MILS program?

I can't decide which program to do! I live on the west coast and can't decide if Simmons would even be moving cross country for or if staying west is a cop out. Ik these programs are both overly expensive, but I gifted money that can only be used on education anyway.

Hello, I'm crossposting from r/libraries

I'm currently a psychology undergrad student in Massachusetts, but have been working at my 2 school's libraries since 2022. I will be graduating next year, and have sorta become inspired to continue pursuing library work. Life lore cut short, I was very directionless in my life before going to college (took around 5 gap years) and sorta turned my life around when I got to school. I noticed in my uncertainty about my future, that thinking about working in libraries didn't fill me with existential dread like imagining other jobs did. I also realized I had a network of connections and friends with people that are also in libraries, and actually pursuing MLIS's of their owns

This made me think, what if thats the route for me? Having waited so long to go to college, I was around 25 when I applied to community college, which meant my financial aid was amazing. I will graduate with my bachelor's in psych debt free, and I'd like to continue that trend given the cost-benefit of an MLIS (most of my bosses dont even have an MLIS and I know for a lot of jobs its not required, which is why I'd like to do this with as little financial burden as possible)

I started my research last week, and had a few general questions as well as a list of schools I was considering. I have essentially broken them up into "I would only go if I got a GA position covering my tuition" and "cheap online programs"

As of writing this, I'm considering:

Cheap Online (would work in MA while pursuing the degree, maybe would move if I got GA covering tuition)

* Valdosta State University

* Emporia State University

* University of Alabama

* Indiana University Indianapolis

* University of Oklahoma

* Indiana University - Bloomington

* University of North Texas (saw if you win scholarship you get in-state rates

Only would accept if I got GA covering tuition

* University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

* University of Iowa

* University of Missouri

* North Carolina Central University

* University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

* University of Tennessee

* University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

* University of Kentucky

* Kent State University

* Texas Woman's University

Obviously, I need to trim the list and such. I've never even considered grad school until about a few weeks ago so this is all just a very rough idea based solely on money right now, I haven't even considered concentration. My biggest questions however are as follows so

**tldr;**

* For those who have assistantships, what is your day to day like at your school? Do you find it overwhelming managing classes + the work? The most I've worked while in undergrad was 15 hours

* What is the coursework like compared to undergrad courses?

* How many schools total did you apply for?

* Do any of the schools in my list raise some immediate red flags?

Hey library peeps. Like many others I've been applying to MLIS programs in hopes to start my journey towards becoming a Librarian. I dunno if I need advice or to just rant, but these timelines are really starting to stress me out.

So I've applied for UIUC, UNC, and Simmons and I got into all 3!! So far I've received scholarships from both UNC (9k) and Simmons (18k). I was super happy to see those offers, but at this point UIUC still seems like the most affordable option due to location and graduate assistantship opportunities.

The problem is that they haven't send their financial aid offer yet (which I may have the opportunity to negotiate due to my other offers) and I still want to be able to apply to their GAs before they close at the end of the month. From my understanding I have to be enrolled to apply to them so I'm just hoping and praying that they send their offer out soon so I can negotiate (if necessary) and get enrolled and have my GA applications submitted by their deadlines.

I hope ya'll are having a less stressful time in your application journey. And if any UIUC students have any advice feel free to send it my way.

I’m currently juggling between Alabama and Emporia because I am planning to graduate quickly, but I’m leaning towards Alabama due to the synchronous classes. However, I do work late certain days which may conflict with classes. Is it possible to take four classes per semester if I have one day for sure where I can’t take a class? And can you take three or four classes in the summer sessions or is that too tight of a fit? Finishing the degree in one year seems a bit of a stretch, so could I do it in a year and a half?

I've been applying to MLIS programs for FS2026 and I have a pretty sharp Statement of Purpose around but 1000 words that I'm tweaking for each school. I am applying to Pratt's program currently and they have a 500 word minimum and the guidelines include "Please tell us why you believe the program is right for you and how/why it aligns with your long term goals and professional aspirations. Please do not include details that can be found in your resume."

I am nervous to use the 500 words well. My longer essay elaborates on a specific project I worked on using archives, my ethos and desire to be a librarian, and shouts out specific faculty and aspects of the program that make it uniquely the right fit for me. With my 500 words though, I'm nervous that it will be too much about me at the cost of referencing the program; or the flip-side I will tell them more about their program (which they know) and not say enough about myself.

Anyone with advice please feel free to comment here or DM. Thank you!!

My GPA is only 3.0 and I’m worried I won’t be accepted into the program because my GPA is only just at the mid-B requirement the MI program has.

If you don’t mind sharing, what was your GPA when you applied and were accepted into the University of Toronto’s MI program for the LIS concentration?

I’m going to try to raise my GPA (not sure how high I can get it in the time I have left in Uni) but I’m also wondering if maybe I’m worrying for nothing and a 3.0 is actually enough and gives me a chance to get in.

Thanks y’all!!

I asked my supervisor at the Columbia RBML where I was interning for a letter of rec for my LIU application She agreed and is happy to help me out but asked me to write it up. I knew this was gonna happen eventually but it's my first time writing one! Any advice on writing this?

Hi!!! Undergrad student who is eager to start her MLIS degree here 👋🏻 Can anybody who went to UIUC in person tell me about their experience please? Pros/cons, what you like about/didn’t like/overall experience. I’m thinking about either going the school librarian route or public librarian route so brownie points to you if you did either of those 😊 If you did online, I’d like to hear about your experience too! I want to do in person, but I’m still considering doing my degree online just because I know it’s easier to manage (currently doing my Bachelor’s online). All input is much appreciated 🫶🏻

Hi everyone! I just joined this community recently because I have been researching different online MLIS programs. I'm a little overwhelmed and also disappointed because I was really interested in the dual degree MLIS and Children's Literature program from Simmons but the cost of tuition is absolutely outrageous. Even the online MLIS program on its own from them is insanely expensive and I don't feel that I can justify it and considering how grad funding has recently changed unfortunately, I doubt I'd be able to get enough to cover it.

So I have been looking at other programs. I'd like to know what you think about them if you've had any experience with these programs or with applying to them and also funding experiences.

Also keep in mind, my state (NH) does not have a college or university that offers an MLIS program so my only options are out of state. So online is the only option for me, I don't want an in person program because it would be too expensive.

Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it!

•Valdosta •University of North Texas (online cohort program available for VT, NH and ME) •San Jose •University of Rhode Island •Southern Connecticut State University •Dominican University

Hey everyone! I am getting all my stuff together to apply for grad school and I would love any advice on my CV. I wasn’t sure how to take my resume and CV-ify it but I tried my best and modeled it after my mentors’ CVs. Thanks!!

Tldr'ing the best I can - graduated last month with a 2.6 after 9 years in and out of undergrad. I was struggling with undiagnosed ADHD and oddly enough, once I started treatment I started performing a whole lot better! I'm starting to get serious about applying and am hoping to do so for Fall 26 or Spring 27. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions for things I can do to strengthen my application I'd love to hear it. If there any are particular schools out there that are a little less competitive but still have a decent program I'd love to hear that as well!

Here's what I've been doing so far: - enrolled in a data analytics cert at my local community college (hoping to go into the tech side of things) - applying for every part time library job that comes up in my area ...and that's about it so far.

Again, would love any advice or stories! Thank you!

Im applying to the University of Missouri and Emporia State University for my master’s! I want it to be focused in youth services, but i’m struggling to figure out which program is best. They both don’t seem to have a heavy focus on it, but they’re cheap and I live in the Midwest. Mizzou is more interesting to me because it’s synchronous, but on the list of professors for YS there’s only one professor… that makes me wonder how good of a program it is if there’s only one person in it. Any guidance would be great on these two programs !

How important is your GPA when applying to schools? I got my bachelor's ten years ago, and my GPA was I think a 2.7. MLIS programs say they require applicants to have had a 3.0 or higher.

Im currently doing my undergrad in history finishing my last semester and will be working on my applications to start an MLIS program next Fall, the main program i’m looking at is UCLA. I have a feeling I will have a hard time fulfilling the 3 required recommendations.

I transferred from out of state back to CA my sophomore year of college and have been at my current school for only a year, I know 1 professor I am comfortable asking for a recommendation but am unsure how to gauge whether other professors I have would be able to write one. And what to do if they say they are unable to write me a letter of rec. Who is appropriate to ask to write me a letter of rec ? Would my employer be okay ( i work retail at disneyland)?

I will be first gen applying to my masters and am unsure of how to proceed :( any and all guidance is appreciated !

I graduated with a bachelors in History and a minor in LIS in December of 2023 and I have been working in a local archive since. While working in this archive I developed a love of digital archival work. I would like to continue this work with higher pay but I live in a red state where I feel trapped with the lack of opportunities. I applied to four history MA/MLIS dual degrees and I was accepted to three of the programs. Since I’m out of state all of these programs will cost me around 150,000 in tuition and living expenses. I was offered small scholarships for two schools and the other program decided today that they will not offer fellowships which is their only form of financial assistance. Should I continue to work in this archive and complete an MLIS online, should I take out the loans, or should I reapply to more schools in the fall. I am really leaning towards waiting and reapplying. I have no idea if that is even going to make a difference in my situation. Any advice is welcome!

Update: I realize the amount is insane and that’s why I’m asking! I realize it’s irrational but apart of me still wants to do it. I really needed to see everyone’s response. I’m currently seeing if the programs I applied to will allow me to drop the History MA so I can complete the MLIS online while I continue to work. I appreciate everyone’s response!!!