Skip to main content

M.P.S. in Digital Curation and Management

MPS Digital Curation

laptop
Online & Asynchronous

clock
30 Credit Hours

No GRE
No GRE Required

calendar
Complete in 2–4 years, part time

Overview

The Master of Professional Science (MPS) in Digital Curation and Management program provides the knowledge and experiences to help you launch a new career or advance to a new level in a wide range of businesses and organizations in both the public and private sectors.

Through this innovative, online master’s program, you can complete course work anywhere in the world that has an internet connection, and at whatever times best fit your schedule. We designed this program with working professionals in mind.

Curriculum

The MPS in Digital Curation and Management requires a total of 30 credit hours of coursework, including:

  • An internship where students can apply their knowledge to practice
  • Intensive digital curation coursework
  • Business and professional skills training
Required Courses (18 credits)
Electives (6 credits)
Business Fundamentals and Professional Skills (6 credits)

Program Faculty

SILS is home to some of the foremost digital curation and preservation experts in the world, most notably Digital Curation & Management Former Program Director Helen Tibbo and Professor Cal Lee, who has pioneered preservation policies and standards for “born digital” materials.

SILS faculty are also internationally recognized thought leaders in information retrieval and organization, text data mining, machine learning, task-based search, and large-scale data management. They have designed online courses that incorporate their research expertise and classroom teaching experience, offering a curriculum that can prepare you for both the current and future challenges of digital curation.

Explore faculty profiles to learn more about their expertise and research interests:

Dr. Elliott Kuecker, Program Director

Dr. Alexandra Chassanoff

Dr. Christopher (Cal) Lee

Dr. Helen Tibbo

 

As the world continues to become more and more digital, the MPS in Digital Curation has helped me to ensure that I have a job in the workplaces of the future while also helping to preserve my county’s history. Faculty support has been phenomenal, especially Professor Tibbo. My original lack of technology skills was treated with simplified explanations and patient understanding as I figured it out.

– Lisa Lawless, Branch Librarian at Danbury Public Library

Careers

FAQs

What is digital curation?

Digital curation is lifecycle management of durable digital content. This includes the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection, and archiving of digital assets. Successful digital curation safeguards data authenticity and integrity, and mitigates digital obsolescence, keeping files and information accessible to users indefinitely.

Digital curators develop and implement policies to ensure that data and other digital assets remain FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).

What is a Master of Professional Science Degree?

A Master of Professional Science (MPS) program is designed for students who want to develop expertise in a specific area, while also acquiring valuable business skills.

MPS degrees are sometimes referred to as non-thesis or non-research master’s degrees. They do not offer preparation for PhD-level studies.

While MPS students may conduct original research as part of their capstone projects, MPS programs emphasize knowledge proficiency and professional competencies. MPS students graduate ready to apply what they have learned in the workforce at a wide range business, government, and nonprofit organizations.

Do I have to log in at certain time for classes?

The master’s program in digital curation and management offers asynchronous learning. You can log-in at anytime day or night to access course texts, recorded lectures, and other materials. However, most courses require weekly contributions to online discussion forums and completion of various assignments by deadlines set throughout the semester.

Is digital curation the same as digital asset management?

Digital curation encompasses digital asset management, data curation, digital preservation, and electronic records management.

These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, though specific terms may be more recognized in certain fields or industries. For instance, healthcare professionals are more likely to discuss electronic health records (EHR) management, whereas scientists will more often refer to data curation or management.

The master’s program in Digital Curation & Management at Carolina can help you learn the vocabulary and concepts needed to communicate with various constituencies within your organization, as well as with other curation professionals.

How is this different from data science or data analytics?

Data science and data analytics professionals work to extract insights and meaning from data. Digital curation experts make sure that data is authentic, secure, and accessible. They engineer the digital scaffolding necessary for data-driven research and innovation.

Digital curation also expands beyond just data to all files that are stored in digital format, from photos and videos to formulas and patents.

 

Admissions Information

The MPS in Digital Curation and Management program is not admitting new students for Fall 2024 or Fall 2025 cycles. During this pause, we will be updating the curriculum with new material. We will announce when an application is open for new students.

Questions?

Contact Eleni Papadoyannis
Doctoral & Special Programs Coordinator
epapa@unc.edu