Course Description
LIS 672 Practicum enables a student to earn three hours of credit and gain valuable experience in a library or other information-related organization. The student assumes entry level professional duties and responsibilities in an operational setting under the close supervision of an information professional (the placement supervisor). LIS 672 requires 140 hours of experiential learning and the completion of a multimedia capstone project under the direction of the course instructor/faculty advisor. It may be repeated.
Course prerequisite - completion of 18 hours of graduate work in library and information science and consent of the course instructor.
LIS 672 requires completing 140 hours of field work and a multimedia capstone project accompanied by a two-three page reflective paper about the internship experience during the semester or term in which the student is registered for the course. When considering LIS 672, the student should be certain that, absent a major and unanticipated development, they can satisfy these obligations. The placement supervisor is not able to grant an extension of time; only the course instructor can do that. A grade of "incomplete" ("I") is rarely awarded in this course. The consequence of not completing the 140 hours and the capstone project by the end of the semester or term is serious, very likely an "E" grade.
The packet of materials for LIS 672 contains a two-page learning contract and a three-page evaluation form. Students cannot register for this course online, nor is the student permitted to register for it until the course instructor has approved the learning contract. After the contract has been approved, the course instructor will inform Student Affairs who will then enroll the student in the course. The placement supervisor, who supervises the student's work, completes the evaluation form at the end of the semester.
Upon approval, there will be two dates at the bottom of the second page of the learning contract: the date that the placement supervisor's evaluation is due, and the date that the student capstone project is due. The evaluation is always due on the last day of the semester or term.
FAQs
One hundred forty hours of work at a library or other information-related organization under the supervision of an information professional (i.e. "placement supervisor"), and a multimedia course deliverable accompanied by a reflective paper of two to three pages in which they describe their internship experience, the topic and format to be agreed to by the student and their faculty advisor who serves as the course instructor. These requirements must be fulfilled during the semester or term in which the student is enrolled.
Essentially, four things:
- Work with the student to complete parts I-III of the learning contract.
- Supervise and coach the student throughout the placement.
- Complete the evaluation form.
- Discuss the evaluation form with the student at the end of the semester.
Parts I-III should be completed jointly by the student and the placement supervisor. It is important that the student define carefully their learning objectives (part II). The student and their faculty advisor complete part IV, having to do with the course deliverable, which must be approved by the faculty advisor.
No, the student receives a letter grade.
The faculty advisor who serves as the course instructor assigns the grade based on the placement supervisor's evaluation of the student's performance (70% of course grade) and evaluation of the course deliverable (30% of course grade).
Yes, any internship a student receives course credit for will be assessed tuition and fees. LIS 672 is a three-credit hour course. Faculty and advisors are not able to discuss financial information with students. Click here for a full breakdown of UK's cost of attendance. For specific questions about payments, please contact Student Account Services.
Bear in mind that the objective of LIS 672 is educational - to enable the student to enhance their educational experience while enrolled in the School's master's degree program. Thus the work should represent that expected of an entry-level professional and should be performed under the close supervision of a qualified information professional. Students may NOT use their current job position as practicum experience - the practicum course is intended to engage students in new field experiences to broaden their scope of knowledge of the profession. Therefore, students who complete the practicum at their current place of employment must work under a different supervisor and department/division (i.e., if you work in reference, you could intern in cataloging), and the internship hours must be outside their regularly scheduled hours. Contact SIS Student Affairs if you have specific questions about your potential placement site.
Yes, although the School does not require that the student be paid for work done in LIS 672.
LIS 672 is offered during the fall, spring and summer eight-week terms. However, a student is not permitted to take LIS 672 prior to the semester or term at the end of which they will have completed 18 hours in our program. Moreover, prior to the placement, the student must complete any course(s) relevant to the placement (e.g., LIS 601 for a reference placement or for a public-services placement that will involve some reference work).
Yes, this is common. It allows the student to have 12 weeks, rather than eight, to complete the required 140 hours of work in the placement. We do not typically have LIS 672 students in the summer term due to advisor availability, so students seeking an internship for summer credit should notify their advisor and SIS Student Affairs well in advance.
The student should decide on the kind of experience they would like (e.g., reference work in a public library). If the student has someone in mind to serve as placement supervisor, they should discuss LIS 672 with that person and ask him or her to review the LIS 672 materials. At some point the student will want to discuss this with their faculty advisor and contact SIS Student Affairs. If the student does not have someone in mind to serve as placement supervisor, they may be able to make suggestions and help to arrange the professional field experience placement.
