School of Information (UC Berkeley)

School of Information (UC Berkeley)
Name	School of Information
Establishment	1994
Type	Public professional school
Parent	University of California, Berkeley
City	Berkeley, California
Country	United States

School of Information (UC Berkeley) is a professional graduate school at University of California, Berkeley offering interdisciplinary programs combining computer science, information science, public policy, and social science perspectives. Established in the 1990s amid growing interest in digital technologies, the school emphasizes research and teaching addressing data, privacy, human–computer interaction, and information policy. It serves graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals through master's and doctoral programs connected to broader campus initiatives and tech, civic, and nonprofit sectors.

History

The founding in 1994 followed debates during the administrations of Richard C. Atkinson and Chang-Lin Tien at University of California, Berkeley about reorganizing units such as School of Library and Information Studies and programs linked to Space Sciences Laboratory and Berkeley Electronic Press. Early leaders drew on models from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University to craft curricula integrating strands from School of Information Resources and Library Science traditions and emerging computer science research at Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research and UC Berkeley Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. Over time, the school developed ties with initiatives such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Google, Apple Inc., Facebook, and policy bodies including Federal Trade Commission and Electronic Frontier Foundation through collaborations and visiting scholars.

Academic programs

The school grants professional degrees including the Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS), Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS), and a Ph.D. in Information, situated alongside postdoctoral fellowships and executive education. Courses cross-list with departments like Department of Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, School of Public Health, and Berkeley Law (formerly Boalt Hall). Curriculum topics span areas connected to Ada Lovelace-linked computing history narratives, contemporary systems studied at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and policy questions raised in forums such as United Nations and Congress of the United States. Students undertake capstone projects partnering with organizations like Mozilla Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation, Twitter, Microsoft, and Netflix.

Research centers and initiatives

Research units and labs associated with the school include centers focused on human–computer interaction, data science, privacy, and information policy. Faculty lead collaborations with entities such as International Telecommunication Union, World Bank, National Science Foundation, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and participate in initiatives with California Civic Engagement Project, Berkeley Institute for Data Science, and Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity. Projects often intersect with fields represented by Alan Turing-inspired computation studies, Grace Hopper-era programming legacies, and ethics debates similar to those at Association for Computing Machinery and IEEE. The school's labs host work on archives and preservation linked to collections at Bancroft Library and public-interest technology projects coordinated with OpenAI-adjacent communities and nonprofit partners like Data & Society Research Institute.

Faculty and administration

The faculty combine scholars from backgrounds connected to ACM SIGCHI, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and law-technology intersections including alumni of Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and Yale Law School. Administrators have included leaders with histories at Columbia University, University of Michigan, and University of Washington. Faculty research profiles reference collaborations with scholars tied to Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Carnegie Mellon University, and practitioners from industry partners such as IBM, Amazon (company), and Intel Corporation. The school's governance engages advisory board members from institutions like Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and agencies such as National Institutes of Health.

Campus and facilities

Located on the Berkeley Hills campus near Doe Memorial Library and Sather Tower, the school occupies facilities that facilitate computing labs, seminar rooms, and collaboration spaces adjacent to Cory Hall and Wheeler Hall. Proximity to Berkeley SkyDeck and incubators links the school to startup ecosystems associated with Silicon Valley, Startup Genome, and venture partners including Sequoia Capital and Andreesen Horowitz. The physical infrastructure supports partnerships with museums and archives such as The Bancroft Library and research computing resources at National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center.

Admissions and student life

Admission processes use holistic review and consider applicants’ experiences with organizations like Peace Corps, Teach For America, McKinsey & Company, and civic projects such as Sunlight Foundation. Student life includes student organizations and journal publications that collaborate with groups like Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, Association for Computing Machinery, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Career placement networks connect graduates with employers including NVIDIA, Palantir Technologies, Accenture, Kaiser Permanente, and public-sector roles at California State Government and federal agencies.

Alumni and notable people

Alumni have become leaders at companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon (company), Twitter, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and institutions including Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. Notable affiliates have worked with organizations like Wikimedia Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation, OpenAI, and policy bodies including Federal Communications Commission and United States Congress. Several alumni have been recognized by awards and societies such as MacArthur Fellows Program, Turing Award, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Sciences for contributions linking technology, policy, and social impact.

Category:University of California, Berkeley