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November 08, 2007
When One Degree Just Isn't Enough...
Lately I've been fielding a lot of questions from students who don't quite know how they should go about pursuing multiple interests. Sometimes the best way to go is to gear all of your electives toward a certain area, other times a dual-degree might be the best bet. For some students a Tailored-MSI or a dual specialization is the way to go. The circumstances are different for every student, but it's important to understand just what each option entails. Specifically, there are significant differences not only in the cost and workload associated with each option, but also the scope of each program. This is specifically important when deciding whether or not enter a dual-degree program.
In general, any student who is admitted into both the School of Information and another University of Michigan graduate program can work with advisors in both schools to develop a dual-degree program. Currently, there are established program with the School of Business, the Medical School, the School of Public Policy, the School of Nursing, the Law School, and the School of Social Work. Areas of interest for dual-degree students in these programs include E-commerce (MBA/MSI), Intellectual Property law (JD/MSI), Clinical and Information Management (MSN/MSI).
The most useful question to ask yourself when considering whether to work with one school or two is: Is the non-SI subject I am interested in a skill or a topic? Are you interested in acquiring skills that SI can teach, but want to focus those skills on a specific, non-SI area, like music or art librarianship? Or do you want to apply SI concepts and skills to a career that requires training other than what SI offers, such as practicing copyright law.
A dual-degree program can be very valuable to students who want to incorporate the study of communication systems, recordskeeping, or information processing into another career, and do so by examining these fields from a number of perspectives. However, it not necessary for every student who has a secondary interest. Although it is faster than pursuing two separate degrees, you might find that all of the skills you need will be covered by one MSI.
-Megan
Posted by messelti at November 8, 2007 04:54 PM