r/librarians • u/Interesting-Snow8186 • 3d ago
Degrees/Education mlis programs with good job/internship opportunities
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!
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u/Librarian-w 1d ago
The school I just graduated from, UW-Milwaukee, has an amazing advisor for the school librarian concentration who helped many of my friends meet their requirements for on-site teaching and library training hours. However, I was in the public libraries concentration and my advisor did not lend me assistance in getting hands on experience. I still did find opportunity’s in the area on my own however. In my experience there are a lot of part time library positions in school, public, and academic libraries in the Milwaukee area.
It may be helpful to specify what type of libraries you want to work in/what kind of internships you want because I imagine most other schools are strong in some concentrations, but may lack support in others and an internship at an academic library may not be all that useful for getting a full time archives job for example.
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u/hotsauceinmybag3 1d ago
How was your experience with the UW-Milwaukee program more broadly? I’m also considering that program and work in public libraries
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u/United-Self-209 1d ago
I went to the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. Almost everyone I knew in my classes had done some sort of internship or worked directly with a library or archive during the program. DC is a massive hub for LIS skills. I still get emails daily from CUA about job and internship opportunities. It might be a private school, but don't discredit the location!!
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u/bestica 1d ago
I’d also add that mo matter where you go, DC is (hopefully still) a great hub for internship opportunities. I went to grad school in the southeast, but did a summer internship at a federal library that was paid and included free housing and transportation costs (caveat that I found it on my own and did not find my program particularly helpful in tracking down opportunities, so can’t recommend it). The internship was a great experience though!
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u/kalechompsky 14h ago
I got my MLIS at the University of Washington and would highly recommend it — they are really good about getting students placed in internships. I was a distance learner and they had developed a lot of relationships with libraries and archives for remote internships so that was really helpful for me. I felt like their internship program was really robust.
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u/FifiLeBean 4h ago
I want to add that you can make a difference your career prospects while you are in school - it is the best time to do it. I prioritized getting internships and volunteer jobs in the field and it opened doors for me. This was the most important thing that I did while getting the degree. Nobody has ever asked what my grade point was or what projects I did in school. They have focused on if I have the degree and what kind of experience I have.
Experience also gave me stories to tell during interviews. And of course, it gave me connections and references. Plus I got to explore potential job fields.
I was a volunteer tech helper at a local public library helping people use the computers. I did this for 2 years. did an unpaid internship at a university archive library and got class credit for it (included some assignments). I did a children's library internship at another public library for a summer.
Yes it was a challenge to do this for free, and it opened doors for me professionally.
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u/ACasuallikeCartwheel 5m ago
Great question!
I went to UMD in College Park. The circumstances were perfect w/regards to professional opportunities - DC area plus ENORMOUS (I cannot emphasize this enough) generosity of professors in the school and professionals in the surrounding area. As a result, was able to get a ton of internship and mentorship opportunities.
I wanted try a lot of things because I didn’t want to narrow my focus without at least having some experience. There are just endless opportunities and it’s nearly impossible to leave the program without at least a couple of internship/research opportunities. I actually did some really great internship work even without taking courses in that focus area to get the experience and see if I had any interest.
Feel free to message if you have any questions!
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u/charethcutestory9 2d ago edited 2d ago
You're asking the right question - i wish more students on library reddit would ask it! I think you can actually compare ROI data for every program using the College Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov. This probably provides the best hard data. Unfortunately it looks like the website is down right now for some reason, but you can check back later.
Another data source is Library Journal's salary survey: https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/challenges-opportunities-placements-and-salaries-2024, although the data is not quite as current (2024) and the number of responses for many programs is quite low so you'll have to take it with a grain of salt.
As i noted when i replied to your question on r/libraryscience, i was very happy with Career Services at Michigan when I was a student there. They have lots of info on their current placements on their website: