Postgraduate Prospectus 2011

Aberystwyth University - ABWTH A4084 Information StudiesLibraries Wales, an agency for the Welsh Assembly Government. Candidatesfrom Scotland and Northern Ireland can approach the Student AwardsAgency for Scotland or the Department of Education for Northern Irelandfor support. Both provide a number of postgraduate awards for students inall disciplines to attend universities in England and Wales. Applications forthese awards must normally be submitted to the appropriate educationdepartment no later than early May for the following autumn. Details canbe found in leaflets available from the Student Awards Agency for Scotlandor from the Northern Ireland Department of Education.Increasingly applicants find that their opportunity for pursuing one of theseschemes depends on them funding their own studies, usually through abank or other loan scheme. One such scheme is the Career DevelopmentLoan, further details of which can be obtained from the Department forEducation and Skills (free phone 0800 585 505 or their website: www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/cdl). Previous graduates of Aberystwyth Universityare eligible for a fees discount. Details are available from the PostgraduateAdmissions office website at: www.aber.ac.uk/pga.• Data Collection and Data Analysis• Information Needs Analysis• Information Systems Analysis and ImplementationStudents will also choose two from the following list of optional modules:• Knowledge Management• Marketing of Services• Management Information Systems• Internet Marketing and E-Business• Strategic Management(NB. This is an indicative list only. Option availability may change. Not alloptions are available on both full-time and distance learning courses.)Subject to successful competition of Part 1, students will then proceed tothe Dissertation element of the course (Part 2).Funding for taught postgraduatedegrees in Information Archives andRecord Management StudiesDepartmental nomination for funding to study either full-time, part-timeor by distance learning, is possible through competitive application to theArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) under the terms of the BlockGrant Partnership. Depending on residency (UK or EU) these can be fullawards (fees and maintenance) or fees only awards. Further details of theseschemes can be found on the AHRC web site (www.ahrc.ac.uk). If you wishto be considered for an AHRC award you will need to submit your courseapplication to the Postgraduate Admissions Office no later than 1st Marchfor admission in the following autumn. A list of departmental nominees forthese awards is submitted to the AHRC, where the final decision regardingthe allocation is made. Nominees are normally selected from applicantswith first class or high upper second class degrees.Candidates from Wales for study by distance learning are eligible to apply,through their employer, for an award from CyMAL: Museums, Archives andVisits and Practical WorkAs part of a professional training course, it is vital that students have theopportunity to relate the learning experience at University to the worldof work.In addition to the involvement of the National Library of Wales and theCeredigion Record Office in the courses; study visits, placements, guestlectures and workshops all contribute to both theoretical and practicaltraining and facilitate discussion of current issues with practising membersof the professions. Day visits are arranged to a number of libraries andrecord offices, repositories and centres, while a one-week study tour toLondon offers the chance to visit and observe a variety of archives, librariesand records management operations in both the public and privatesectors.Research opportunitiesMPhil and PhDWe welcome applications for research degrees and are particularlyinterested in applications for research into the following areas:• Information-seeking behaviour (e.g serendipity, life cycle, virtual socialnetworks)• Knowledge management and communities of practice• Information literacy• Archival theory and practice• Records management and information governance• Health information management• Exploring commercial applications of information behaviour andinformation literacy theory• Management and marketing of information services and digital libraries• Impact and evaluation of library and information services• Library services to children, young people and schools• Education and training, including e-learning, in information studiesOur library resources are among the best in Europe. The Thomas ParryLibrary on campus is one of the leading libraries for information and library