In the United Kingdom, it is more common for a vocational degree in library and information science to bear the standard designation MA or MSc.
ALA accredits 65 programs at 60 institutions across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
[12] Many ALA-accredited programs provide distance-learning opportunities for students through a variety of delivery methods (e.g. online courses).
A comprehensive measurement of the library student's mastery of the field occurs during the last semester of the program and consists of a research project, often tied to a practicum or internship, or a master's thesis.
Some schools have stringent course requirements while others are more flexible and offer a wide variety of electives.
Core courses typically focus on the methods of organizing information (including established cataloging and library classification systems), the philosophy and ethics of information dissemination (including reference services, privacy rights, and balancing the needs of various stakeholders: publishers, the public, and the government), and the principles of establishing and managing physical and digital resources, particularly physical and digital libraries, archives, and museums.
Courses in the program that focus on information science and computer science include: data science, data analytics, and data management; institutional repository management; digital libraries and digital preservation; information systems and information architecture; networking hardware and software skills required to manage a computer network; integrated library systems utilizing relational databases and database design; mastery of multiple computer programming languages; web design, metadata and semantic web technologies; automation and natural language processing (NLP); informatics; as well as taxonomy (general), and ontology (information science).
The curriculum for this specialization varies significantly from the others by focusing on developing the student's knowledge of educational principals (pedagogy) and the acquisition of skills to meet state educational requirements pertaining to child learning development.
An undergraduate or graduate degree in education and being a certified teacher is often a desired, but not required, qualification.
The San Jose State University School of Information publishes an annual research report on emerging career trends for information professionals, providing a snapshot of job titles in the field.