Ph.D. in Information

Program Information

College: Communication & Information
Degree: PhD in Information
Limited Access: Yes
Contact: iSchool Student Services
Address:
Louis Shores Building (LSB)
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2100
Phone: (850) 645-3280
Email: ischooladvising@cci.fsu.edu

The Ph.D. in Information is a research degree designed to produce astute and creative researchers for academic, corporate, nonprofit, or governmental settings. Doctoral students analyze, evaluate, and explain a variety of information phenomena and become familiar with and develop backgrounds in such areas as the social sciences, information science, and/or the humanities, as they relate to information phenomena. Doctoral students will also become aware of the multiplicity of problems in the information field to which these research techniques may be applied. To demonstrate this familiarity, they will perform original research, and report the results of their research in a clearly written dissertation.

The degree is granted only to students who:

Have mastered definite fields of knowledge so that they are familiar not only with what has been done in their specific fields but also with the potential and opportunity for further advances;
Have demonstrated capacity to do original and independent scholarly investigation or creative work in their selected fields; and
Have the ability to integrate their selected fields of specialization with the larger domains of knowledge and understanding (Graduate Bulletin).

Doctoral students participate in research at the Information Use Management & Policy Institute, the eHealth Lab, the Social Media Lab, the iSensor Lab, DETOUR, Innovation Hub, the Institute for Digital Information and Scientific Communication, and the Data Center Server Lab.

FSU’s iSchool PhD students travel nationally and internationally to present research at conferences including the annual meetings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, iSchools, American Library Association, ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems and more.

Most PhD students at FSU receive assistantships in research or teaching with tuition waivers and competitive stipends, health insurance subsidies, opportunities for additional scholarships and travel support, and work in research collaborations with iSchool professors.

Admissions

Admission Requirements

Applications to the Ph.D. program are accepted for the summer semester only. Students admitted to the Ph.D. in Information for the summer 2025 semester will be expected to arrive on campus to begin orientation activities by June 16, 2025.

Application Deadline for the summer 2025 cycle – December 15, 2024
- All application materials must be received by the application deadline for consideration.

Admission to the Ph.D. in Information is highly competitive. The decision is made based on a holistic review of applicants’ academic merit, research and analytical mindset and skills, and potential match with the research expertise of iSchool faculty.

History of Academic Excellence
- Completed Undergraduate Degree from a regionally or nationally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution with a minimum upper-division Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).
- Completed Graduate Degree from a regionally or nationally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution, with a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).
  - NOTE: Applicants currently completing a graduate degree may be considered for admission if the graduate degree is completed before the start of the PhD degree program.
“Good standing” status at the last institution attended

Graduate Admissions Entrance Examination Scores (GRE, MAT, LSAT, or GMAT)
- NOTE: This requirement has been waived for the Ph.D. in Information for the Summer 2024 and Summer 2025 admissions cycles.

English Language Proficiency Exam Scores (international applicants only)
- The departmental minimum scores are as follows:
  - TOEFL iBT: Minimum Total Score of 100
    - Minimum Writing Score of 24
  - IELTS: Minimum Total Score of 7.0
    - Minimum Writing Score of 6.5
  - Duolingo: Minimum Overall Score of 130
    - Minimum Production Subscore of 125

NOTE: If you have earned a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from a U.S. institution, the applicant may request that this requirement be waived.

Application Requirements

Applicants are required to submit the following credentials for the Ph.D. in Information to be reviewed by the Doctoral Admissions Committee.

University Graduate Application and a $30 Application Fee online via the University Graduate Admissions Application Portal.

Current Resume/Curriculum Vitae

School of Information Graduate Faculty Preference Form
- This form is available within the University Graduate Application and identifies three eligible faculty members with whom you would like to study. Eligible faculty must be in your area of interest and can be selected from the following:

Christy Chatmon
Nancy Everhart
Melissa Gross
Zhe He
Chris Hinnant
Shuyuan Metcalfe
Michelle Kazmer
Don Latham
Mia Lustria
Marcia Mardis
Paul Marty
Gretchen Stahlman
Besiki Stvilia
Margaret Sullivan

Statement of Purpose
- Write a personal statement of purpose that discusses your: reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. in Information, areas of research interest and potential research problems that you would like to investigate, and career objectives after earning a Ph.D. degree. Also, list three School of Information faculty with whom you would like to work with and explain why. A list of eligible faculty are listed above. The Statement of Purpose should be 2 – 3 pages, double-spaced, with 1-inch borders, and use 10–12-point sans serif font (e.g., Arial, Helvetica).

Writing Sample
- Submit a substantive academic or professional writing sample preferably written in the past 5 years. The paper be substantive enough to demonstrate your writing, research, and critical thinking skills.
  - Not to exceed 20 pages
  - May be from previous coursework
  - May be an excerpt of a research paper or thesis
  - Must be submitted in English

Letters of Recommendation
- Submit three letters of recommendation. At least one letter should be from instructors or professors who can attest to your potential to complete an advanced graduate degree successfully. One letter may be from a current or former employer who can attest to your work performance and potential for advanced graduate study.
  - Format: Each letter should be on a formal company or institution letterhead and include the date and signature of the recommender. All letters should be uploaded to the online University application portal.
  - Content: Each letter should address the following items if known:
    - How long they have known the applicant and in what capacity
    - Intellectual ability
    - Oral and written communication skills
    - Research and analytical skills
    - Ability to work independently and with others
    - Emotional maturity
    - Potential for success in the profession

Digital Video Interview
- Submit a short video (no more than 5 minutes) explaining your fit for the program. Answer the following questions as best you can in your video:
  - Why do you want to obtain a Ph.D.?
  - Why are you interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Information from the FSU School of Information?
  - What research area(s) are you interested in? Within this area(s), discuss potential research problems or questions you are interested in investigating.
  - Name three professors at the FSU School of Information with whom you would like to study. Briefly explain how your research interests align with theirs.
- Instructions:
  - Before recording your video, read each question carefully and, organize your thoughts before answering them. Tailor your responses to the questions and be sure to answer each question.
  - Dress appropriately and treat this as an in-person interview. Be sure to look into the camera. Be yourself!
  - Limit your video to approximately five minutes.
  - Upload the video interview on YouTube as an unlisted video. This means that it will only be viewable to those who are given the link.

NOTE: If you are unable to upload your video to YouTube due to restrictions in your country, please contact us at ischooladvising@cci.fsu.edu.

Official Test Scores
- Graduate Admissions Entrance Examination Scores (GRE, MAT, LSAT, or GMAT);
  - NOTE: Beginning in summer 2024, the GRE requirement will be temporarily waived for all Ph.D. in Information applicants through the summer 2025 application cycle.
- English Language Proficiency Exam Scores (international applicants only)
  - See minimum requirements detailed above.

Official Transcripts and Evaluations
- Transcripts from U.S. Institution(s)
  - A copy of official transcripts from each college or university attended must be sent directly to the University. All official test scores and transcripts must be sent to:
    - Florida State University
      Office of Graduate Admissions
      222 South Copeland Street
      Westcott Building, Room 314
      Tallahassee, FL 32306-1410
      USA
  - NOTE: If you previously attended FSU, you do not need to submit an official FSU transcript. If you attended a college or university located in the United States, you may be able to request an official electronic transcript from your institution to be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmissions@fsu.edu.

- Required Evaluation of all Non-U.S. Institution Transcript/S from a NACES-approved Evaluator

The Florida State University Office of Graduate Admissions requires a course-by-course credential evaluation for all applicants who have either earned degrees or are currently completing a degree from a non-U.S. institution. International and domestic applicants with degrees earned from international institutions must submit their official transcripts through a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) approved evaluator.

SpanTran, a NACES-approved evaluator, has created a custom application for Florida State University (available on the application checklist – https://connect.fsu.edu/apply/status) that will provide a Divisional Course Analysis to will assist you in selecting the appropriate evaluation at a discounted rate.

Applicants who use a NACES-approved evaluator other than SpanTran will need to work directly with the evaluation agency to ensure that the evaluation provided is equivalent to SpanTran’s Divisional Course Analysis (https://spantran.com/services/evaluations). The official evaluation must be sent by the evaluation agency directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmissions@fsu.edu; any evaluation uploaded by the applicant will be considered unofficial and cannot be used in the application review process.

If you have questions about your application, please contact:

Amy Mosher
Graduate Academic Program Specialist
Phone: (850) 645-3280
Email: ischooladvising@cci.fsu.edu

Tuition and Financial Support

Tuition and Fees – Estimated for the 2023-2024 Year:

Tuition and Fees for all online graduate courses offered by the School of Information include a combination of state-required tuition/fees plus an additional fee called an auxiliary fee that is assessed for online classes. The specific breakdown of tuition and fees depends upon your residency status for tuition purposes. Below are the estimated costs per credit hour for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Florida Residents – $579.32/semester hour
Non-Florida Residents – $1,210.72/semester hour

Additional Fees

In addition to the per hour rate listed above, the University also assesses the following fees to all students:

Facilities Use Fee – $20 flat fee per semester
Technology Fee – $5.16/semester hour
FSU Card Term Fee (Fall & Spring only) – $5.00 flat fee per semester

Doctoral students may take online master’s-level courses with the approval of their First Year Advisor or Major Professor. Tuition rates for online master’s-level courses include additional fees. For more information about the cost of master’s-level courses, please contact Student Services.

Reduced Tuition Program – Academic Common Market

The Academic Common Market (ACM), a program of the Southern Regional Education Board, is an interstate agreement among southern states for sharing academic programs. Participating states enable their residents who qualify for admission to enroll in specific on-campus and online graduate programs in other states without having to pay out-of-state tuition. Arrangements traditionally are limited to programs not offered by the public institutions within the student’s state of residence. In short, students who obtain ACM certification pay tuition at FSU’s in-state rate.

Currently, the following states will certify ACM for the individual programs listed below.

Doctoral Program
Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia

Visit the Southern Regional Education Board for more information.

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