4+ 1 Year Integrated BSI or BA in Informatics / MSIS

This 4+1 year integrated degree program prepares students to become the next generation of leaders and innovators in applying data, information, and technology to benefit society and their communities. Students will learn the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the information technology workforce and advance the missions of a wide range of organizations, including industry, nonprofit organizations, and government. Our graduates will be bridgers, connecting across areas of expertise, work groups, and organizations. They will also work to solve complex problems, including productively contributing in addressing societal grand challenges such as working together toward a more equitable, just, sustainable, and harmonious future.

Admission

Only current undergraduate Informatics students with 18 credit hours or less remaining in their senior year and in good academic standing with at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) in required undergraduate Informatics courses may apply to the BA or BSI/MSIS Integrated Program. The application process takes place in two stages:

1. An initial application for “pre-admission” (submitted in spring semester of the junior year)
2. A final application for formal admittance into the Graduate School (submitted in fall semester of the senior year)

The pre-admission application deadline is May 1st of students' junior year and includes the following required materials:

• the application form
• a statement of purpose
• an academic summary
• three letters of recommendation (the applicant should directly contact potential writers and request they submit their letters of recommendation by the deadline above).

Additional, optional application materials include a résumé and a list of publications. The School of Information Admissions Committee will review applications and make decisions for pre-approval based on a holistic review of application materials.

Pre-admitted students must begin enrollment in the program during the fall semester of their senior year, and by February 1st apply for formal admittance into the Graduate School, meeting all standard admissions requirements for acceptance into graduate study at UT Austin. As part of this formal Graduate School application process, students must submit an updated official transcript. The School of Information Admissions Committee will then review each student’s application materials and make final decisions regarding admission into the graduate program.

In the unlikely event that a student is pre-admitted but not granted formal admittance into the program, the student’s status will revert to being a senior undergraduate, and the student may proceed to complete the original undergraduate bachelor’s degree.

4+1 BSI or BA Informatics / MS Information Studies Initial Application Form

Requirements

To fulfill the requirements of the Integrated Program, students must complete 120 hours of undergraduate courses for the Informatics degree and 30 hours of graduate coursework for the master's degree, for a total of 150 credit hours. Twelve of the graduate credit hours will be taken and reserved for graduate credit during students’ fourth year of the undergraduate program.

Students in the Integrated Program must take the following School master’s core courses:

• INF 380E: Perspectives on Information

and ONE of following iSchool capstone courses:

• INF 388L: Professional Experience and Project
• INF 388R: Master’s Report
• INF 698A/B: Master’s Thesis (six credit hours; two semesters)

Beyond these required courses, students must complete 24 hours of elective coursework (21 hours if pursuing the two-semester master's thesis course option).

Of these electives, up to six hours of UT Austin graduate coursework offered outside of the iSchool may count toward the MS in Information Studies degree with the approval of the iSchool Graduate Advisor.

The two programs have some courses in technical topics that overlap, at least partially. Therefore, the following course may NOT be taken for graduate credit in the Integrated Degree program:

• INF 380P: Introduction to Programming

Sample Program of Study

Total credits: Informatics 120 + Information Studies 30 = 150 hours

A student electing the master’s thesis option will take it in place of one INF elective and the INF Capstone.

INF electives may not include:

• INF 380P: Introduction to Programming
• Other INF courses as determined by the iSchool faculty
• Undergraduate courses

Up to two of the elective courses (six credit hours) may be taken outside of students’ primary area of study, and they must be graduate courses.