Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)

University of British Columbia

Canada, Vancouver

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Home/Canada/Vancouver /University of British Columbia/Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)

University of British Columbia

Canada , Vancouver

Key Facts

Program Level

PhD (Philosophy Doctorate)

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Campuses

Vancouver

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesSeptember-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 7 year(s)

Tuition Fee

CAD 9,884 / per year

Next Intake September-2026

Doctor of Philosophy in Library, Archival and Information Studies (PhD)

About

UBC iSchool’s Ph.D. program is a four-year funded program that combines coursework with independent study and research. Students have access to faculty members and advisors and benefit from unique opportunities at a research-intensive university. The Ph.D. program is designed to provide advanced education for outstanding students who have already obtained a Master of Archival Studies (MAS) degree, a Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) or an equivalent related degree.

We are home to a community of researchers actively engaged in investigating questions of vital importance to society in the age of information. At the broadest level, we are concerned with recorded artifacts of human experience: their creation, collection, organization, preservation, and use. Increasingly, these artifacts - books, documents, images, data, etc.- are created and/or preserved in digital formats that can be widely disseminated and used. Our collective work aims to ensure that this legacy of human experience, housed in both traditional and newer digital forms, is preserved, shared and explored, so that individuals and communities can continue to draw upon it to deepen their understanding of themselves and their communities and make new discoveries about our world.

Disciplines

Faculty of Arts

Requirements

Entry Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement: 100

Reading

Writing

Speaking

Listening

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement: 7.5

Reading

7.0

Writing

7.0

Speaking

7.0

Listening

7.0

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Document Requirements

Applicants are encouraged to identify and contact potential supervisors based on faculty research areas.

Career

Career Outcomes

9 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 7 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):

RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)

Sample Employers in Higher Education

University of Ghana
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Kuwait University
University of Toronto
University of Alberta

Sample Employers Outside Higher Education

National Central Library

Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education

Attorney, Privacy Consultant
Library Coordinator

PhD Career Outcome Survey

You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.

Disclaimer

These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.

Career Options

UBC's Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies prepared an in-depth report tracking outcomes for more than 3,800 PhD students who graduated between 2005-13. Using a combination of survey and internet searches, information was obtained for 91% of these graduates. This approach, and the ability to link the outcomes to student data, allowed a more comprehensive and richer analysis of student outcomes than most studies of this kind. The data is publicly available on their website and features outcome comparisons by faculty and subject area.