What kind of acceptance rate is there? Is a 3.4ish GPA good enough to get in?
What all undergrad degrees will they accept? What pre-requisites do you need for entry?
How long is the program? Are there opportunities to be a teaching assistant during the MLS program to pay for school and living expenses?
What kind of acceptance rate is there? Is a 3.4ish GPA good enough to get in?
It depends upon the program you’re applying to and what other strengths you have. I got into the program I finished in May (technically I got a M.S. in Information Science) with a 2.8 undergrad GPA, wonderful GRE scores and several years of work experience in a completely unrelated field. A 3.4 should be good enough to get in, but it depends on the program.
**What all undergrad degrees will they accept? What pre-requisites do you need for entry? **
Again, this depends on the program. Most will take any undergrad degree, and typically there aren’t any undergrad prereqs that you’ll need. I took classes with people who had degrees in accounting, history, english, geography and any other number of subjects.
How long is the program? Are there opportunities to be a teaching assistant during the MLS program to pay for school and living expenses?
The length of the program varies from school to school - the one thing that’s important is that the program be ALA Accredited (link goes to their directory of programs), since it’s typically easier to get a job - and many jobs requre that the degree be from an ALA accredited program.
As far as assistantships, that depends on the school again. I had one my second year but not my first year (I was at the University of Tennessee program, by the way), although most of my friends had one both years. The UT program assigns first-year assistantships based on GPA (at least that’s my understanding), while those for the second year (if you did not get a continuing one) are competitive - but there are also assistantships available in other university departments.
When you’re looking at MLS programs, first consider what type of job you’re interested in having when you finish the degree - Academic, public, school or ‘special’ - or some other type of job, like working in knowledge management or records management, and then look for a school that’s strong in that area. If you don’t know, it’s ok - but look for a program that doesn’t specifically aim at one area, but that is more generalized but allows you to focus the program to your interests as you develop them.
Oh, and I didn’t finish my thoughts on the length of the program.
The UT program took me 4 regular semesters +1 summer with 2 classes to finish, so right at 2 years. I know several people who did it in 18 months - 3 regular semesters plus the summer between. I know ONE person who did it in a year, but she took 5 classes a semester and 3 classes in the summer. There are also a number of people who take a longer time. They may be going part-time, or be in the distance ed program that typically takes longer to complete - around 3 years.
Different programs require different numbers of credits. There may be as few as 36 credits required or as many as 72. The time it takes you can also depend on whether you have to write a thesis, take a comprehensive exam or do neither one, and every program will be different in that respect.