Why UMSI?

One thing that unites the UMSI community is the desire to utilize information and technology to craft a better world.

We all find that the principles of UMSI align with those of our own:

• We share a passion for the fundamental intertwining of people, information and technology.
• We believe that to understand and improve interactions between people, information, and technology, we must combine scientific expertise in all three.
• We share a willingness to take risks.
• We are progressive and forward-looking.
• We are a welcoming and diverse community.
• We believe fun is a necessity.

But we also have our personal reasons for attending UMSI. Here are some reasons shared by those in the UMSI community:

Large School Benefits, Small School Feel

“For me, it was the strong Archives/Records Management program in particular, the overall quality of the whole School of Information, and the opportunity to be in such a small, intimate school that is an integral part of a large, outstanding research university (essentially having the advantages of both a small school and a large one at the same time)”, said Michael, an ARM and PI major from the class of 2014 currently working as an archivist at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Brian, a first year MSI student also pursuing a masters in Higher Education, said he was drawn to “the fantastic courses [and convinced by] the way that you can pair them with just about any other fantastic UM degree you find exciting.”

The Amazing Community

“I came for the love of the work, and stayed for the love of the people,” stated Nisreen, a first year also working as an IT Product Designer at Ford.  Meg, a second year with interests in games UX echoed this sentiment, sharing that she initially attended UMSI for the networking opportunities, but stayed because of the good friends she had made.

An Innovative, Forward-Thinking Space

UMSI is "where Information Architecture for the World Wide Web became a thing," said Dan, an alum currently working as an Information Architect.

Strong Career Preparedness
“UMSI equips tomorrow's leaders with the design and data skills necessary to build the application-layer of the information age, the most important layer, the one humans actually interact with, ” shared Michael an MSI and law student.

Commitment to Service

Maggie, a full-time Data & Systems Analyst and part-time first year student pursuing a tailored degree in Information Management for the Public Sector was drawn to the Citizen Interaction Design program, which seeks to improve civic engagement through the use of information tools.

Honorable Mentions

• “Cat photo email threads on the all-school, no-filter listserv”
• “The squirrels”