Information Architecture and Design (Gr. Cert.) (15 credits)
Offered by: Information Studies (Faculty of Arts)
Program credit weight: 15
Program Description
The Graduate Certificate in Information Architecture and Design is intended to prepare students to work as information architects and designers. The graduate courses in the program will prepare students to design and assess information systems (text, multimedia), databases, websites, and interfaces. Techniques for data mining and issues related to information security are also covered. This is an entry-level graduate program that may lead to another certificate or to the M.I.St. (Master of Information Studies).
Required Courses (6 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| INFS 617 | Information System Design. | 3 |
Information System Design. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Introduction to tools for developing informationsystems. Topics include computer terminology andsyntax and semantics of programming languages,with emphasis on their use for text parsing,searching, and database design, which arefundamental concepts in the field of informationscience. | ||
| INFS 625 | Information Architecture. | 3 |
Information Architecture. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Information Architecture (IA) is the process ofanalyzing, designing, implementing and evaluatinginformation spaces. The course provides an overviewof use-design aspects of human information andcomputer interaction. Topics include: human factorsin IA; IA and information systems (IS) designprinciples and methodologies; work, task, andprocess analysis; IS modeling, requirementsgathering and evaluation; and informationvisualization. | ||
Complementary Courses (9 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| INFS 616 | Information Retrieval. | 3 |
Information Retrieval. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Theoretical and applied explanation of informationretrieval in a variety of digital environments and inrelation to both textual and multimedia data:Information retrieval capabilities, information-seekingmodels, interface design issues, informationvisualization and information system evaluationcriteria. | ||
| INFS 626 | Usability Analysis and Assessment. | 3 |
Usability Analysis and Assessment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles and techniques for evaluating interactivecomputer-based information systems. Topics includemodels of human information processing, userexperience and decision-making; methods forrequirements gathering and task analysis; andtechniques for user testing, analytic evaluation, andperformance modelling. | ||
| INFS 627 | User-Centered Design. | 3 |
User-Centered Design. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A project-based introduction to interaction design,oriented toward practical methods for designinginteractive systems. Emphasis is placed on iterativeand user-oriented approaches to design, includingthe role of observation, ideation, sketching andprototyping, and formative and summativeevaluation. The role of participatory and value-sensitive approaches to design are also examined. | ||
| INFS 629 | Information Security. | 3 |
Information Security. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to information security. Topics includebasic concepts of confidentiality, integrity, andavailability; security threats; malware; operatingsystems security; access control; network security(encryption, decryption, passwords and digitalsignature); security policies and practices; riskassessments; common criteria; privacy threats andprotection techniques; cybercrime and cyberforensics. | ||
| INFS 630 | Data Mining. | 3 |
Data Mining. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to data mining. Topics include datapreprocessing, data warehouse architecture, onlineanalytical processing (OLAP), online analyticalmining (OLAM), basic concepts and methods offrequent patterns mining, association rules mining,classification analysis, cluster analysis, and textmining. | ||
| INFS 633 | Digital Media. | 3 |
Digital Media. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Foundational scientific concepts and basictechniques of digital media production andmanipulation and their relevance in galleries,libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM). Toolsand techniques for creating and handling digitalmedia. Digitizing audio, image, video, and textmaterials, and using various software packagesfor manipulating and preserving digital sound,images, and video. | ||
| INFS 634 | Web System Design and Management. | 3 |
Web System Design and Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Principles and practices of designing websites inthe context of libraries and information centres,focusing on a conceptual approach to organizinginformation for the world wide web includingdesign, implementation and management issues.Topics include web development tools, markuplanguages, internet security and web serveradministration. | ||
| INFS 657 | Database Design and Development. | 3 |
Database Design and Development. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Theoretical and applied principles of relational database design. Includes relational theory, conceptual design, database normalization, relational database management systems, SQL queries and database management. | ||