University of Borås

Master’s Programme in Information Science: Digital Environments

Master’s Programme in Information Science: Digital Environments

The master’s programme in information science: digital environments offers both a theoretical and a practical approach to information, providing a unique, holistic approach to information in digital environments. This programme is suitable for students with a Bachelor’s degree in library and information science, information studies, information architecture, archival science, digital humanities, media studies, informatics, or related fields.

This programme places the concept of 'information' at its core and offers a critical exploration of how information is produced, structured, interpreted, and used in digital environments. It equips students with both theoretical foundations and practical skills to engage with the complex role of information in society, organisations, and everyday life of people.

Students develop strong analytical and methodological competencies, and learn to design and conduct research using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Technical and conceptual skills are cultivated through the study of computational logic, algorithmic thinking, and the ways in which meaning is shaped across different media formats.

The programme also highlights the data strategies within organisational contexts and examines the different aspects and potential of open data. Students gain deeper insights into user behaviour and digital interaction, exploring how individuals seek, interpret, and engage with information in increasingly datafied environments. Ethical, democratic, and sustainability-related questions are central throughout the programme, encouraging students to critically reflect on the societal implications of digital information systems and practices.

Full-time at a distance

This programme is given full-time during Swedish business hours, predominantly through distance teaching online. Teaching combines workshops and seminars live in Zoom, and recorded lectures and other teaching materials published on our virtual learning platform. You will also read course literature, including the newest research, and work on individual written assignments and group projects with your fellow students. A few sessions on campus in Borås will be offered throughout the programme, however these are not compulsory. The programme is taught entirely in English, and you will study together with students from all over the world, though predominantly from Europe.

Career opportunities

The degree prepares you for professional roles where you work with information in a changing time, for instance in jobs where you mediate and curate information feeds, as well as collect, manage, analyse, and make data accessible.

The skills gained from the programme also enable you to act as a translator between different actors and stakeholders at, for example, companies, governmental agencies, or cultural heritage institutions. In the role of mediator, you can bridge communication gaps between different professions and enable collaboration. You translate technical jargon and complex ideas into language accessible/understandable to everyone involved.

The programme also prepares you for a future career in academia, for instance if you wish to pursue a doctorate in library and information science or related fields or become a university lecturer.