- Articulate knowledge of the key concepts, theories, issues, and trends in Library and Information Studies.
- Assess users’ diverse needs inclusively in information environments, and meet diverse community and societal needs, using skills formed around information behaviour, user studies, needs analysis, and other forms of active engagement.
- Demonstrate management competencies, including organisational and project management and leadership.
- Develop and evaluate the information lifecycle, including information seeking, acquisition, evaluation, use, organisation, and management.
- Understand, support, develop, manage, and apply research competencies in a professional context.
- Discuss the evolving role of the information professional in cultural, corporate, governmental, and non-governmental institutions.
- Engage in discussion on ethical, technical, and technological issues associated with information acquisition, management, presentation, and use.
- Develop generic competences, including teamwork and communication skills, for effective workplace participation.
- Use traditional and digital media effectively, including oral presentations, poster presentations, and social media.
This course is available through the following application route(s)
The Graduate Diploma of Library and Information Studies programme is designed to prepare university graduates for careers in the library and information profession.
The Graduate Diploma of Library and Information Studies (Grad Dip) programme prepares graduates for work in a range of professional settings, including academic, public, and special libraries, as well as information-based roles in commercial, civic, health, and legal organisations. Our programmes instil professional ethics and social responsibility, foster lifelong continuing professional education, and provide opportunities for active engagement with diverse communities. The Grad Dip is an in-person programme, structured to develop core professional competencies, as well as specialised knowledge and skills for librarians and information professionals. While the programme offers a generalist approach to suit multiple interests and aspirations, it is also possible to tailor learning to more specialised areas for particular career paths.
About This Course
The Graduate Diploma in Information and Library Studies (GradDip) programme is designed to prepare university graduates for professional careers in Library and Information Studies. The MLIS and GradDip degrees are highly regarded internationally; the school's accreditation by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) is recognised by library associations elsewhere, covering Australia, Canada, and the United States. Recent graduates have dynamic careers as Digital Learning Librarians, Literacy Specialists, Chief Information Officers, and Library Directors.
Our Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) and Grad Dip LIS programmes allow students to earn degrees that are accredited by professional organizations and internationally recognised. These degrees qualify students to work as library and information professionals in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe. Recent graduates have dynamic careers as Chief Information Officers, Library Directors and Knowledge Managers.
The School of Information and Communication Studies also has vibrant research programmes and activities. Some MLIS students go on to take PhD or MLitt degrees at the School of Information and Communication Studies. Some of the research areas that can be supervised by ICS academic staff include:
- The use of new social media by individuals, groups and communities
- Inter-organizational and inter-disciplinary collaboration
- Technology to support collaboration in eResearch, medicine and other domains
- Web 2.0 technologies and Virtual Research Environments
- Healthcare information needs and behaviour
- Information behaviour of scientists, healthcare professionals, and other professionals
- Everyday life information behaviour
- Evaluation of emerging technology
- Ethical issues in information work
Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.
Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.
| Trimester | Credits | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stage 1 Core Modules |
IS40520 | Org of Info, Cat&Metadata | Autumn | 10 |
Stage 1 Core Modules |
IS41780 | Applied Research Methods | Autumn | 10 |
Stage 1 Core Modules |
IS41800 | Managing Information Services | Spring | 10 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
IS30020 | Web Publishing | Autumn | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
IS41720 | Language Models and Methods | Autumn | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
POL42540 | Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation | Autumn | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
IS40560 | Digital Libraries | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
IS40630 | Digital Curation:Core Concepts | Spring | 10 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
IS40760 | Research Data Management | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - A) Min 1 of: Select at least one Technology module. Students who have already taken IS30020 Web Publishing in a previous degree must choose one or more different technology modules instead. |
IS40970 | AI & Ethics | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
ARCV40040 | Archives and their Users - Advocacy and the Archives Gateway | Autumn | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
ARCV40070 | Managing Records & Information in Public & Private Organisations | Autumn | 10 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
EDUC41520 | Children's Rights & Participation | Autumn | 10 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
ARCV41510 | Archives Preservation | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS40390 | Research Practice | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS40760 | Research Data Management | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS41020 | Information Ethics | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS41050 | Platform Governance | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS41550 | Digital Media Literacy | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS41580 | Prof topics in LIS | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS41790 | Communities Outreach | Spring | 5 |
Stage 1 Options - C) Min 0 of: Students should select their remaining modules from the list of Option Modules below.Students wishing to select IS40390 Research Practice must confirm a project and supervisor in advance of registering; their supervisor will register them for this module. |
IS41830 | Info Professional as Teacher | Spring | 10 |
Stage 1 Options - D)0 of: Select one Management module. Students should contact the School of Information & Communication Studies at icsadmin@ucd.ie to arrange registration to one of the following Management modules offered by the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business: BMGT45700, HRM40660 or HRM40900. Places for Smurfit modules are strictly on a first-come-first-served basis via email to icsadmin@ucd.ie only. |
BMGT45700 | Global Leadership and Teams | Autumn | 7.5 |
Stage 1 Options - D)0 of: Select one Management module. Students should contact the School of Information & Communication Studies at icsadmin@ucd.ie to arrange registration to one of the following Management modules offered by the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business: BMGT45700, HRM40660 or HRM40900. Places for Smurfit modules are strictly on a first-come-first-served basis via email to icsadmin@ucd.ie only. |
HRM40660 | Human Resource Management | Autumn | 7.5 |
Stage 1 Options - D)0 of: Select one Management module. Students should contact the School of Information & Communication Studies at icsadmin@ucd.ie to arrange registration to one of the following Management modules offered by the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business: BMGT45700, HRM40660 or HRM40900. Places for Smurfit modules are strictly on a first-come-first-served basis via email to icsadmin@ucd.ie only. |
HRM40900 | Human Resource Management | Spring | 7.5 |
Grad Dip Library & Information Studies FT/PT (W041) Full Time
EU fee per year - € 7460
nonEU fee per year - € 15070
Grad Dip Library & Information Studies PT (W098) Part Time
EU fee per year - € 4890
nonEU fee per year - € 7540
***Fees are subject to change
Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.
EU fee per year - € 7460
nonEU fee per year - € 15070
Grad Dip Library & Information Studies PT (W098) Part Time
EU fee per year - € 4890
nonEU fee per year - € 7540
***Fees are subject to change
Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.
The entry requirements for the Graduate Diploma in Information and Library Studies (GradDIpLIS) are:
-A minimum 2.2 award in a bachelor's degree (NFQ Level 8 or International equivalent)
-Names and contact details of two referees who can assess your intellectual ability, maturity, and motivation
-If you do not meet the academic requirements above you must provide additional information to be considered for admission as listed below
- A letter of reference from an academic who has taught the applicant.
- A statement describing their previous library experience, which must be a minimum of 5 years.
- A letter from their work supervisor to confirm the length of experience, the nature of the experience as meeting professional library tasks.
We recommend a minimum of 6 weeks’ experience working in a library or information environment before applying for the GradDip.
Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element), or equivalent.
While applications are accepted up to August of the year of entry, offers are made to suitably qualified candidates on a first-come-first-served basis so early application is recommended. Entry to the programmes is very competitive and the number of places is limited.
You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.
Full Time option suitable for:
Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EU) applicants: No
Part Time option suitable for:
Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants: No
The GradDip programme comprises students of a variety of academic and cultural backgrounds. The programme is ideal for both recent graduates and those seeking a career change. It is also ideal for individuals with advanced academic degrees seeking a professional qualification.
How to Apply
General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to Grad Dip Library & Information Studies FT/PT:
| ROWCLASS | Apply to |
|---|---|
| showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt | W041 Grad Dip Library & Information Studies FT/PT Graduate Diploma Full-Time Commencing September 2025 Graduate Taught Not available to International applicantsClosed |
| showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt | W098 Grad Dip Library & Information Studies PT Graduate Diploma Part-Time Commencing September 2025 Graduate Taught Not available to International applicantsClosed |
* you can change options at the top of the page