Category list

Section A.4. Formal Education

A.4. Formal Education

As discussed in Chapter 13, academia is still struggling with where to fit and how to teach information architecture, not to mention the many other emergent fields under the collective umbrella of user experience design. While many more courses are offered today than when this book was last published, programs focusing specifically on information architecture are still few and far between. If you are interested in formal education in IA, it's still a good plan to consider graduate-level programs in established fields related to information architecture (such as library science, cognitive psychology, and humancomputer interaction) and augment your studies with cognate courses from other fields.

A.4.1. IA Institute Education

http://iainstitute.org/pg/schools_teaching_ia.php

In 2003, the IA Institute published a very detailed and well-organized list of institutions worldwide that offer courses and full degree programs dedicated to information architecture.

A.4.2. Educators Survey

http://iainstitute.org/documents/research/results/polar_bear_survey_4.html

In 2006, an extensive but less-detailed list of educational institutions offering courses or programs related to IA was compiled as part of one of the surveys conducted to inform this book. This list includes all programs mentioned by any survey respondent. This is also available on the IA Institute web site. (See question 5.)

A.4.3. IxDA Education Resources

http://resources.ixda.org/archive/category/education

IxDA has begun a list of education resources for interaction designers.

A.4.4. Human Factors International

http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/degrees.asp

Human Factors International has published a list of graduate humancomputer interaction programs.

A.4.5. IAwiki Degree in IA Page

http://www.iawiki.net/DegreeInIA

The most up-to-date collection of resources on the topic; includes listings of programs and discussion of syllabi.

A.4.6. U.S. News and World Report

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/lib/libindex_brief.php

U.S. News and World Report publishes the "Complete Guide to Library and Information Studies Programs."

A.4.7. HCI Bibliography

http://www.hcibib.org/education/#PROGRAMS

This HCI Education Survey Report lists 76 HCI programs.

A.4.8. University of Texas on Information Architecture

http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~l38613dw/ readings /InfoArchitecture.html

R.E. Wyllis's excellent article on IA education. It "discusses ideas associated with the phrase 'information architecture' and relates them to aspects of the library- and information-science (LIS) professions ." Published in 2000.

A.5. Conferences and Events

Quite a few conferences have been held since we last published this book. While a few of the bigger ones are listed below, you can find out about many more conferences and events by keeping up with discussion lists and the event calendars listed below.

A.5.1. Information Architecture Summit (ASIS&T)

The longest-running and most specific conference dedicated to information architecturethe ASIS&T-sponsored Information Architecture Summithas been held in North America each spring since 2000. The Summit is organized by volunteers and typically attracts 300400 attendees. ASIS&T also organizes the European IA Summit. Visit the ASIS&T web site (http://www.asis.org) for information on the next Summit.

A.5.2. DUX

DUX (Conference on Designing for User eXperience) began in 2003 as a collaboration of ACM SIGCHI, ACM SIGGRAPH, and AIGA, with the intent of holding a conference every second year. Information for the most recent conference is available at http://www.dux2005.org.

A.5.3. Additional Conferences

The IAI is organizing or sponsoring IA conferences and meetings around the world, including IA Retreats, the IDEA Conference, and more. Keep up by viewing the IAI's events calendar (http://iainstitute.org/calendar). Many more conferences and events can be found through the events calendars listed below.

Boxes and Arrows (interaction, experience, and other design): http://events.boxesandarrows.com/events
Brint (knowledge management): http://www.brint.com/calendar/cal/calendar.cgi
IAwiki Conferences page (information architecture): http://www.IAwiki.net/IAconferences
InfoDesign: (information design and many related areas): http://www.informationdesign.org/events/index.php
Interaction Design Calendar: http://www.interaction-design.org/calendar
SearchTools (information retrieval): http://www.searchtools.com/ info /conferences.html