School of Information: MSLIS and MSMDC Portfolios
Resource
All students pursuing an M.S. in Library and Information Science (MSLIS) and M.S. Museums and Digital Culture are required to create a Portfolio that must be approved by their faculty advisor before they are permitted to graduate. The Portfolio is a small but representative sampling of your work that collectively demonstrates your competence with the MSLIS or MSMDC program-level student learning outcomes.
Submission Deadlines
In order to graduate on time, students must submit their Portfolio by the following dates:
| Graduation Semester | Submission Deadline |
|---|---|
| Fall | November 1 |
| Spring | April 1 |
| Summer | September 1 |
When you’re ready, submit your Portfolio to your advisor, please select the appropriate submission form:
Recommended Timeline
Since there are many different timelines for completing the program, we are unable to provide a specific schedule of the steps you should take to complete your Portfolio. However, here is a general recommended timeline:
- 1st Semester – Meet with your faculty advisor to discuss career goals and start planning your program of study.
- 2nd or 3rd Semester – Attend a Portfolio workshop. Workshop schedules are announced regularly on the School of Information listserv each semester.
- Final Semester – Meet with your advisor (as early as possible) to map out a plan and finalize which projects to include in your Portfolio. After gaining approval, complete your Portfolio and submit it by the appropriate deadline (see above).
Assessment
Your faculty advisor guides you through the process and assesses your Portfolio using a rubric. The rubrics available include:
The rubrics describe four levels of the program-level learning outcomes:
- Exemplary
- Competent
- Developing (revisions required)
- Unacceptable (major revisions required).
For each outcome, your advisor will review your project(s) and their accompanying rationales to determine which level is appropriate. To satisfy the Portfolio requirement, students must achieve at least “Competent” in all learning outcomes.
If one or more projects do meet the level of “Competent,” your advisor will contact you with more detailed feedback and will work with you to strengthen the areas that need additional work, either by selecting a different project, revising your project rationale, and/or completing an unfinished project.
Guidance And Resources
We encourage you to think of your Portfolio as a vehicle for creatively expressing your achievements and learning experiences from the program, presenting your most innovative thinking, and demonstrating your professional skill-set.
Choosing Projects
Generally speaking, Portfolios contain 3-5 projects. As a whole, your Portfolio should demonstrate a trajectory through your course of study and should be composed of the works you are most proud of and that are relevant to your academic path and career goals.
If you received feedback on the project, such as editorial comments or requests for additional citations, you are encouraged to make these changes before including the work in your Portfolio. If you would like to include a smaller class project because it was particularly meaningful to you, consider speaking to your professor about ways to build upon that work.
Must all the projects in the Portfolio be from courses taken at Pratt’s School of Information?
Yes. You can include projects that were taken as part of the Practicum course, Internship courses or independent studies with School of Information faculty, but projects from other programs, schools, or workplaces are not permitted.
Can I use group projects in my Portfolio?
Yes. If you are including a group project, please be sure to clearly indicate your role on the project and that your contribution is relevant to the outcome you are trying to demonstrate.
Can I use a project from my final semester in my Portfolio?
Yes, but only if the project is complete (or near complete) by the Portfolio submission deadline so think carefully about whether a project from your final semester will be ready by then. If you wish to use a final semester project, you should make sure to clear it with your faculty advisor.
What courses supply MSLIS Portfolio Projects?
We provide tables that indicate which courses supply portfolio projects based on program:
- MSLIS
- MSMDC
Format And Organization
For each project, you must include the final work (e.g., upload the final document as a PDF or DOCX file, supply the paper as an HTML webpage, upload a video, or include a link to a website that represents the work). Each project must be accompanied by a written rationale, which must include the following components:
Project Title – Provide a descriptive title that reflects the content of the project.
Project Description – Provide a project abstract explaining what the project is about. You can also include feedback you received from the project from faculty, fellow students, or others in the LIS field.
Methods – Explain how you carried out your project and the steps that went into its creation.
My Role – Indicate whether your project was an individual or a team effort. For group projects, explain your role.
Learning Outcome Achieved* – Identify which learning outcome the project is meant to demonstrate.
Rationale* – Reflect on the strengths of the work as they pertain to the learning outcome achieved. Why are you including this project as evidence of this outcome? You should refer directly to the text from the Portfolio assessment rubric (see above), where possible.
*NOTE: For projects satisfying more than one learning outcome, simply repeat the “Learning Outcome Achieved” and “Rationale” sections for each additional outcome.
You may submit your rationale text (reflective text) as a separate file (PDF, DOCX) so that your online portfolio can be better geared toward public viewing and not need to present web viewers information needed for the portfolio assessment.
Sample Portfolios
MSLIS (fictitious student, but actual School of Information student work) – all require OneKey Login:
- Jan Public Portfolio (on Digication)
- Jan Public reflective text (file upload submission)
MSMDC:
- Jiyoung Lee (M.S.M.D.C. ‘21) Portfolio and reflective text submission (requires Pratt Google Drive login)
Selecting A Platform
Pratt provides the platform Digication for creating your Portfolio, but its use is not required. Please be aware that the School of Information cannot support (or guarantee the continued existence of) third party web providers.
Your Portfolio can be a public website, or a private web resource that can only be viewed by other users at Pratt Institute. There are many benefits to making your Portfolio public, including your ability to showcase your work to potential employers, but you may want seek permission before making it public if it includes items in it that have copyright restrictions (e.g., a copyrighted photograph, a published journal article where the publisher owns the copyright). Discuss this matter with your faculty advisor if you have specific questions or concerns.
Contact
School of Information Office
si@pratt.edu
212.647.7682