The two-year fellowships offer:
* Full tuition scholarships to cover all required courses to earn an MSLIS degree.
* A stipend of $15,000 while taking courses in exchange for work on program-related assistantship duties.
* An arranged, paid summer internship at university- or lab-based research centers.
* Conference travel to deliver project results, network, and learn about current concerns in library technology, academic librarianship, or information science.
The fellowships seek to attract those who have some combination of experience and formal education in a science or technical discipline, as well as a desire to support scientific research endeavors. eScience Fellows will learn how to manage scientists’ data and other digital resources to enhance their preservation and access. People with this mix of skills and experience are increasingly in demand to help with the proliferating quantity and type of data resulting from scientists’ use of hardware, software, and networks in combination (called cyberinfrastructure).
Students selected for the fellowships will have the opportunity to combine their grounding in a science domain with coursework in the skills and concepts of librarianship as well as from newly developed courses in the role of data, communication, and virtual collaboration in eScience.
Cornell University Library (CUL) staff, who support the needs of an institution that is in the top 20 recipients of federal research dollars, will lead a mentorship program for the fellowship recipients. CUL has an established track record in curating research data, and will provide students with opportunities for exposure to current science librarianship practices, and innovative eScience projects in particular.
The MSLIS degree at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University is accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) and ranked No. 3 overall and No. 1 in information systems in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The School of Information Studies faculty members are nationally known leaders in such fields as digital libraries, information organization, metadata schemes and standards, reference services, and much more.
eScience Librarianship students will take advantage of courses and faculty expertise in database management and mix with students in the graduate program in Information Management. Specially developed courses to prepare students with the skills and concepts to participate in an eResearch future include Data Management, Information Workflows, and Communication/Collaboration in eScience.
About the eSLib Program
The IMLS-funded project, “Building an eScience Librarianship Curriculum for an eResearch Future,” or eSLib, is a collaboration of the iSchool at Syracuse University and Cornell University Library. eSLib seeks to prepare the next generation of science librarians with the capability to manage new and different types of digital resources, at amounts previously unimagined, for long-term access and use by scientists in the course of their research. The program builds on prior National Science Foundation-funded programs at the iSchool, as well as IMLS-funded projects at other institutions, to create curricula, courses, mentorships, internships, and other experiential components designed specifically for the needs of eScience information professionals.
Applying for the Fellowship:
The eSLib Fellowship is provided to master’s level students who are pursuing the Library and Information Science degree. Acceptance into this program is a requirement for the award.
Steps for application are:
1. Indicate your interest in this program by filling out the Applicant Information Form available from the eSLib program website at http://eslib.ischool.syr.edu/form.php
2. Apply to the iSchool via the regular admissions process found on the MSLIS
Admission page at http://ischool.syr.edu/academics/graduate/mls/admission.aspx
Students are strongly encouraged to apply by February 1, 2010 as this ensures consideration for the fellowship as well as other funding opportunities, but we will be accepting applications on a rolling basis after this date.
3. In addition to the required application materials and resume, we ask that you write a separate essay of no more than 750 words relating your science, technical, and/or professional experience and interests to your goals for your career, and then connect these to your developing understanding of the needs of eScience. Please send this essay as a PDF attachment in an e-mail message to the project’s research assistant John D’Ignazio (jadignaz (at) syr (dot) edu) no later than February 1, 2010.
Please note that we are only able to accept applications from United States Citizens at this time.