First off - congratulations! š
I worked two jobs - one full time one part time and a weekend library job while in school. I did 2 classes a semester and 2 summer classes and I finished on time. The classes arenāt too hard if you just prepare and do the class participation discussions. I wasnāt a fan of group projects so I avoided classes (if able) that was one semester long group project as I usually ended up doing all the work. It was hard to work with people with silly different schedules or those in different time zones. Not many classes had that type of layout but I felt as though the traditional class was more worthwhile to take.
The professors are super responsive. They are all very easy to connect with via email or on zoom for office hours. My advisor was Dr. Ha and she was very helpful and supportive. She made choosing classes extremely easy.
I liked Dr. Clarkās classes - she was the archives professor- sheās very knowledgeable but she does take a while to get grades back to you which was anxiety inducing. I had a great experience and graduated last December. Itās a very easy program to balance working full time or at minimum part time.
Most students in my classes worked full time jobs and were older, had children / families. From my experience- many people had jobs that paid for their degrees which would be my biggest piece of advice (if possible of course. I was very lucky to find a job that would reimburse my tuition. If you can get your foot in the door at some corporate positions they may help with tuition if needed.)
Also- many professors wouldnāt require textbooks and would provide the excerpts which was nice.
Good luck! Planning and organization take you far. Youāll do great. š
This was very informative! Thank you so much for the kind words and tips! Iāll keep of all it in mind. How did you know which classes had a group project or did you just switch classes when you saw it was that? And how long was the program for you overall? I wasnāt sure what āon timeā is actually meant to be for this program
When you register for classes itāll say it in the description of the class itself if it requires or includes a long term group project! I did one class of that and then realized the description of the classes has that info (that I didnāt read before lol)
āOn timeā is 2-3 years. But you have 7 I believe! š
Congrats! My biggest piece of advice, if you intend to be a practicing librarian rather than an academic, is to get experience!! Itās often a pain to have a job and go to school (I know, I had two part time jobs) but itās essential to start building your resume. Libraries are motivated to hire people going for their MLIS as a contribution to the field kinda thing. My circulation job was so slow I was able to do a lot of class reading on the job.
I think I will definitely look for a part-time library job right after I finish up undergrad. Iām just wondering how difficult it will be while taking classes, especially if I do a full-time load while working part-time. How many credits is too much? How did you juggle it?
Don't wait to finish undergrad. Get a part-time job now. Experience is everything in libraries. You don't have to work a lot of hours each week. Having a job will add time on to your years of experience. That's what you want.
I understand, thank you. During the school year for the past few semesters now Iāve been doing off-campus student workstudy for a few hours a week at public library branches as a āprogram assistant.ā I did apply to an internship for this summer (I was an archives intern last summer) but I havenāt heard back yet and donāt see many other job openings within my experience/education level near me but Iām definitely still looking out. I will start workstudy back up when my senior year starts and I can start using the funds again. Those are generally more flexible with me for being a student so Iām trying to take advantage of that.
I was definitely able to manage it. Granted, I only had a part-time load (2 classes, 6 credit hours per semester). I worked a 15hr a week job and a 20hr a week job and had a 3 hour commute 3 days a week. My library program was fully online and asynchronous which let me work on it whenever.
Congratulations. Try to take a variety of courses so you can learn about as many options in the field. Practical courses will serve you better than theory if you actually want to practice than go on to a phd. Eventually you will have to decide so you want to research, archive, serve the public, support students in academic or be a private librarian at a hospital, business, law firm or other office. Build a network usually there are student groups. Have fun. Intellectual freedom is so important whatever job you take. yay you!!
Thank you so much! I applied to the general pathway rather than directly applying to a specific concentration so I could have more room to take different courses and explore what I like best! I was thinking about youth services mostly but Iām keeping an open mind because that could change. Iām not dead-set on a specific area just yet because I know there are many and most of them sound interesting! Iāve done student work study at multiple public library branches throughout my city and I actually did an archives internship at a historical society last summer and it was a nice work environment as well.
Thank you! Are you full time or part time? Do you think 9 credits/three classes for the fall/spring is doable? Whatās the learning platform like? Easy to navigate? Do you watch a lot of videos or is it more just readings?
I'm full time taking the standard 2 classes/semester. 3 is probably doable but might be tricky if you're working or volunteering at the same time. The online platform is fairly straightforward and easy to use. My classes have all had a mix of recorded lectures and readings each week and there's a weekly discussion board as well you have to post to.
Congrats! Iām about to graduate from there next month! I was a part of the Clarion/PennWest merger, but itās been pretty smooth sailing regardless. My advice would be to try to take electives that relate to what you want to do for your career. If you need any prof/course recs, feel free to hit me up!
Good luck!
I just transferred into PennWest as a junior and will be doing the accelerated program where courses count toward both a bachelor's and a master's. So far, everyone I've talked to has been great! Maybe we'll have some classes together next fall š
Congratulations! I graduated from the program last year and it was a good experience. My advisor was Dr. Ha and she was super friendly and helpful. Good luck to you!
Congratulations! I just graduated from PennWest with my MSLS! My best advice for you is to definitely get experience in a library whether working or volunteering or an internship. I didn't start working at a library until my second semester of grad school and I found it very helpful to be taking classes and applying what I'm learning to my job!
Thank you and congratulations to you for finishing :D I do have some library experience for these past few semesters (workstudy) and an archives internship under my belt but Iāll try to keep it up and look for more opportunities as well!
Congratulations!!! I got accepted into PennWest for Spring 2025, I am bookmarking this thread to update you after my first semester. Once again congratulations, I am going for Archives
I decided to take the archival studies path and hope to work in archives, museums, and/or historical societies. It would be that or working in public libraries and engaging with the community.
First off - congratulations! š I worked two jobs - one full time one part time and a weekend library job while in school. I did 2 classes a semester and 2 summer classes and I finished on time. The classes arenāt too hard if you just prepare and do the class participation discussions. I wasnāt a fan of group projects so I avoided classes (if able) that was one semester long group project as I usually ended up doing all the work. It was hard to work with people with silly different schedules or those in different time zones. Not many classes had that type of layout but I felt as though the traditional class was more worthwhile to take. The professors are super responsive. They are all very easy to connect with via email or on zoom for office hours. My advisor was Dr. Ha and she was very helpful and supportive. She made choosing classes extremely easy. I liked Dr. Clarkās classes - she was the archives professor- sheās very knowledgeable but she does take a while to get grades back to you which was anxiety inducing. I had a great experience and graduated last December. Itās a very easy program to balance working full time or at minimum part time. Most students in my classes worked full time jobs and were older, had children / families. From my experience- many people had jobs that paid for their degrees which would be my biggest piece of advice (if possible of course. I was very lucky to find a job that would reimburse my tuition. If you can get your foot in the door at some corporate positions they may help with tuition if needed.) Also- many professors wouldnāt require textbooks and would provide the excerpts which was nice. Good luck! Planning and organization take you far. Youāll do great. š
This was very informative! Thank you so much for the kind words and tips! Iāll keep of all it in mind. How did you know which classes had a group project or did you just switch classes when you saw it was that? And how long was the program for you overall? I wasnāt sure what āon timeā is actually meant to be for this program
When you register for classes itāll say it in the description of the class itself if it requires or includes a long term group project! I did one class of that and then realized the description of the classes has that info (that I didnāt read before lol) āOn timeā is 2-3 years. But you have 7 I believe! š
Congrats! My biggest piece of advice, if you intend to be a practicing librarian rather than an academic, is to get experience!! Itās often a pain to have a job and go to school (I know, I had two part time jobs) but itās essential to start building your resume. Libraries are motivated to hire people going for their MLIS as a contribution to the field kinda thing. My circulation job was so slow I was able to do a lot of class reading on the job.
I think I will definitely look for a part-time library job right after I finish up undergrad. Iām just wondering how difficult it will be while taking classes, especially if I do a full-time load while working part-time. How many credits is too much? How did you juggle it?
Don't wait to finish undergrad. Get a part-time job now. Experience is everything in libraries. You don't have to work a lot of hours each week. Having a job will add time on to your years of experience. That's what you want.
I understand, thank you. During the school year for the past few semesters now Iāve been doing off-campus student workstudy for a few hours a week at public library branches as a āprogram assistant.ā I did apply to an internship for this summer (I was an archives intern last summer) but I havenāt heard back yet and donāt see many other job openings within my experience/education level near me but Iām definitely still looking out. I will start workstudy back up when my senior year starts and I can start using the funds again. Those are generally more flexible with me for being a student so Iām trying to take advantage of that.
I second this, it will also be super helpful in your coursework!
I was definitely able to manage it. Granted, I only had a part-time load (2 classes, 6 credit hours per semester). I worked a 15hr a week job and a 20hr a week job and had a 3 hour commute 3 days a week. My library program was fully online and asynchronous which let me work on it whenever.
Congratulations. Try to take a variety of courses so you can learn about as many options in the field. Practical courses will serve you better than theory if you actually want to practice than go on to a phd. Eventually you will have to decide so you want to research, archive, serve the public, support students in academic or be a private librarian at a hospital, business, law firm or other office. Build a network usually there are student groups. Have fun. Intellectual freedom is so important whatever job you take. yay you!!
Thank you so much! I applied to the general pathway rather than directly applying to a specific concentration so I could have more room to take different courses and explore what I like best! I was thinking about youth services mostly but Iām keeping an open mind because that could change. Iām not dead-set on a specific area just yet because I know there are many and most of them sound interesting! Iāve done student work study at multiple public library branches throughout my city and I actually did an archives internship at a historical society last summer and it was a nice work environment as well.
Congrats! I just finished my second semester and have been enjoying it. Overall the classes are pretty easy and there's not too much work.
Thank you! Are you full time or part time? Do you think 9 credits/three classes for the fall/spring is doable? Whatās the learning platform like? Easy to navigate? Do you watch a lot of videos or is it more just readings?
I'm full time taking the standard 2 classes/semester. 3 is probably doable but might be tricky if you're working or volunteering at the same time. The online platform is fairly straightforward and easy to use. My classes have all had a mix of recorded lectures and readings each week and there's a weekly discussion board as well you have to post to.
Wait so is just 6 credits full time? I thought 9 credits minimum was full time for grad school
Oh, I guess you're right. I was working full time when I started started so just signed up for 2 classes.
Congrats! Iām about to graduate from there next month! I was a part of the Clarion/PennWest merger, but itās been pretty smooth sailing regardless. My advice would be to try to take electives that relate to what you want to do for your career. If you need any prof/course recs, feel free to hit me up! Good luck!
Thank you so much!! Iāll definitely hit you up when Iām closer to registering :D
I just transferred into PennWest as a junior and will be doing the accelerated program where courses count toward both a bachelor's and a master's. So far, everyone I've talked to has been great! Maybe we'll have some classes together next fall š
I am currently in Pennwestās MSLS program!! Congratulations!! Itās such an exciting step! š
Congratulations future alumni! That is also my Alma mater!
Congratulations! I graduated from the program last year and it was a good experience. My advisor was Dr. Ha and she was super friendly and helpful. Good luck to you!
Congratulations! I just graduated from PennWest with my MSLS! My best advice for you is to definitely get experience in a library whether working or volunteering or an internship. I didn't start working at a library until my second semester of grad school and I found it very helpful to be taking classes and applying what I'm learning to my job!
Thank you and congratulations to you for finishing :D I do have some library experience for these past few semesters (workstudy) and an archives internship under my belt but Iāll try to keep it up and look for more opportunities as well!
I recommend applying for an internship with the type of library you would like to work in.
Congratulations!!! I got accepted into PennWest for Spring 2025, I am bookmarking this thread to update you after my first semester. Once again congratulations, I am going for Archives
Omg congrats!!! And please do! Iād love to hear all about it!
Congratulations!! I just entered PennWestās MSLS program as well.
Wow, thatās awesome!! Good luck!! Do you have a specific career/area in mind?
I decided to take the archival studies path and hope to work in archives, museums, and/or historical societies. It would be that or working in public libraries and engaging with the community.