Practicum Waiver 
 

All students pursuing the M.S. in Library Science or Information Science degree must complete a Practicum unless waived. Students who have worked part-time or more in a relevant and appropriate setting for at least six months in a paid professional position are eligible to request a practicum waiver. Different library and information settings reflect different requirements for a waiver. For example, waivers will not be given for work completed at an Early Childhood - 12th Grade School Library or for Data Science MS students. To be eligible to graduate, you must either register for INFO 5090 or have your waiver form accepted before your 2nd to last semester begins. You will be notified whether your experience meets the requirements to be waived. Waivers may take up to four to six weeks to process.
 

• Requirements necessary to request a Practicum Waiver

• You must have worked part-time or more in a relevant and appropriate setting for at least six months in a paid professional position.
• You must be in either the Library Science or Information Science major.
• The work must include professional-level duties and have been supervised by a library or information professional.
• Students submitting a Youth Librarianship waiver must have experience with youth in a library setting.

 

• Requesting a Practicum Waiver

Submit a completed Practicum/Field Experience Request for Waiver Form to the IS Department. Waivers can be submitted via email to LIS-Practicum@unt.edu. Below are the deadlines for submitting forms:

• Graduating semester is Spring: waiver requests are due by August 15th.
• Graduating semester is Summer: waiver requests are due by December 1st.
• Graduating semester is Fall: waiver requests are due by May 15th.

If waivers are submitted past the deadline, you will not be able to graduate in your intended graduating semester if the Practicum Waiver is not approved.
 

• Submitting the Waiver Application

1. Save your waiver and attached documentation using the format below:

• Save your waiver document as follows: LastName_FirstName_8-DigitID#_Waiver
  (e.g. Doe_John_11XXXXXX_Waiver)
• Supporting documentation should be saved as follows: LastName_FirstName_8-DigitID#_Documentation
  (e.g. Doe_John_11XXXXXX_Documentation)

2. Before submitting the waiver to LIS-Practicum@unt.edu, confirm that the following items are included:

• Indication that the position was paid.
• The start and end dates are provided and that the position was at least 6 months.
• Supervisor has completed and signed page 3.
• Supporting documentation is attached.
• The waiver file and documentation are properly saved using the naming system provided in the above instructions.

Please note that if the waiver and documentation are not properly named or if it is not properly completed, it will be returned to the student to be corrected.
 

 

†Or any approved practicum location not listed above.
‡School Library Certification requires that you complete INFO 5090.300 regardless of work experience.