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Nearly 130 New Students Join Texas iSchool

A large group of new iSchool graduate students at New Student Orientation 2017

The Texas iSchool is welcoming a class of 125 new master’s students and three new doctoral students in the Fall 2017 semester.

During an orientation session one week before the first day of class, the iSchool’s incoming interim dean, Professor Randolph Bias, encouraged new students to focus on acquiring the skills they need to get a job in two years, but to also focus on the theory that undergirds those skills “so that in 20 years you can get a job that doesn’t exist yet.”

Dr. Bias also recommended that new students quickly build a plan for their education while remaining flexible as that plan evolves. “Two years is not a long time,” he said. “Get involved early. Don’t be shy.”

In 2017, applications to the School of Information increased 54 percent from the previous year, according to a recent report from UT’s Graduate and International Admissions Center. The iSchool’s newest enrollees were chosen from a wide pool of applicants who were drawn to a rich environment in which to study the intersection of people, information and technology, said Associate Dean Philip Doty.

Dr. Doty told the iSchool’s new students the faculty and staff would support them as they expand their focus and change not just what they know but who they are in the world.

“There’s a real sense of community here,” he said. “You are one of us.”