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Communication and Information Sciences

2550 McCarthy Mall
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-5813
Fax: (808) 956-5835
Email: cis-chair@lists.hawaii.edu
Web: www.hawaii.edu/cis

Graduate Faculty

R. S. Gazan, PhD (Chair)—social aspects of information technology
N. Asato, PhD—Japanese/Japanese American print cultures; Asian librarianship; censorship
K. Baek, PhD—computer vision, neural computation, machine learning
E. S. Biagioni, PhD—networking protocol design
K. A. Binsted, PhD—artificial intelligence, software design for mobile devices, human-computer interaction
T. X. Bui, PhD—electronic commerce, information policy
H. Casanova, PhD—high performance computing, distributed systems
H. M. Chen, PhD—e-business, service engineering, business-IT alignment, electronic customer relationship management, multimedia database systems, software engineering, enterprise architecture, MIS
D. Chin, PhD—artificial intelligence, natural language processing, user modeling, intelligent agents, intelligent user interfaces, intelligent software maintenance, empirical evaluation, geographic information systems
W. G. Chismar, PhD—information technology, telecommunications, medical informatics
M. E. Crosby, PhD—human-computer interaction, cognitive science, interface design for searching
E. J. Davidson, PhD—social cognitive aspects of information systems development methods
G. M. Fontaine, PhD—intercultural and organizational communication
V. H. Harada, PhD—library management, information literacy
C. S. Ikehara, PhD—biometrics and physiological sensors, adaptive human-computer interfaces
P. Jacso, PhD—digital libraries, webometrics, database content evaluation
P. M. Johnson, PhD—software engineering, high-tech entrepreneurship
K. Y. Kawamoto, PhD—communication technologies and media
R. Kazman, PhD—software engineering, human-computer interaction
T. Kelleher, PhD— public relations, online media, communication campaigns, mass communication, organizational communication
J-I. Kim, PhD—communication research methods, communication
theories, diffusion of innovations
R. Knuth, PhD—information policy, children's materials, international librarianship, history of the book and libraries
D. M. Nahl, PhD—human-computer interaction, affective computing, information literacy, driving informatics
R. R. Panko, PhD—risks in information systems, organizational communication and technology
J. Patriarche, PhD—image and signal processing algorithms applied to clinical medical image analysis
G. Poisson, PhD—cognitive informatics, bioinformatics, machine learning
D. Port, PhD—software economics, management information systems, software engineering
L. Quiroga, PhD—information filtering systems, virtual collaboration, information retrieval, databases, library systems
N. Reed, PhD—artificial intelligence, autonomous agents
S. Robertson, PhD—human-computer interaction, digital government and digital democracy
J. Stelovsky, DrTechSc—computer hypermedia, human-computer interaction, cognitive science
S. Still, PhD—bioinformatics/theoretical biology, information theory, machine learning
D. Streveler, PhD—medical informatics, international public health, issues in the electronic medical record and in telemedicine
K. Sugihara, DrEng—algorithms, distributed computing and database systems, visual languages
D. Suthers, PhD—human-computer interaction; social informatics; technology-enhanced learning
A. Wertheimer, PhD—information science, library history, Japanese-American print culture
J. S. Winter, PhD—communication policy and planning (Asia-Pacific)
R. G. Worthley, PhD—statistics, information technology management

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

J. C. Ady, PhD—organizational communication, sojourner adjustment, international negotiation, conflict management
D. L. Alden, PhD—marketing communications
A. R. Arno, PhD—ethnography of communication, communication and law, social theory, news media
D. Ashworth, PhD—learning technology
T. J. Brislin, PhD—mass communications, ethics
R. Doktor, PhD—international business, organizational behavior, strategy
C. P. Ho, PhD—instructional technology
M. K. Lai, PhD—research methods
M. P. McGranaghan, PhD—computer cartography, geographical information systems
N. Ordway, PhD—real estate
J. R. Wills, DBA—technology marketing
S. Zhang, PhD—quantitative research methodology, statistics

Degree Offered: PhD in communication and information sciences

The Academic Program

The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Communication and Information Sciences (CIS) offers a PhD degree integrating and drawing faculty from the fields of communication, computer science, library and information science, and management information systems. Because of the broad knowledge base required to support this interdisciplinary approach, the program also draws on such fields as political science, economics, engineering, operations research, and behavioral sciences.

Recipients of the PhD will undertake careers in colleges and universities, industry, government, and private organizations.

Complete details on this program are outlined on the website, www.hawaii.edu/cis/.

Admission Requirements

Requirements in addition to those set by the Graduate Division are:

  • Master's degree in business administration, communication, library and information science, information and computer sciences, or a closely related field
  • Knowledge of computing
  • Demonstrated potential for conducting independent research
  • Proficiency in English. Minimum TOEFL scores of at least 6600/250/100 (paper/computer/Internet based TOEFL) are required for admission.

Application Requirements

In addition to the information required by the Graduate Division, the following must be sent directly to the CIS program (see www.hawaii.edu/cis/?page=application):

  • CIS Preliminary Express Application
  • CIS Supplementary Application, including a statement of purpose, samples of relevant published or unpublished work, and skills applicable to teaching or research assistantships
  • Three letters of recommendation

Program Requirements

The student will select one primary and two secondary areas of emphasis from those currently supported: see www.hawaii.edu/cis/?page=focus. At this printing, the areas are: biomedical informatics, communication and information theories, communication policy and planning, human-computer interaction, information systems and services, management information systems, and social informatics.

Students must pass comprehensive exams in the chosen three areas of emphasis, publish a research paper, and complete and defend an original dissertation.

Course Requirements

Regardless of area of emphasis, students are required to complete the following three core courses with a grade of at least a B:

  • CIS 701 Communication/Information Theories (3)
  • CIS 702 Communication/Information Technologies (3)
  • CIS 703 Communication/Information Research Methods (3)

In addition, all students must:

  • pass at least one approved research methods or data analysis course (in addition to CIS 703) with a grade of B or better
  • enroll in CIS 699 while working with a faculty research mentor to publish a research paper
  • enroll in CIS 720 Interdisciplinary Seminar in CIS (1) every semester until graduation
  • enroll in CIS 800 the final semester before graduation.

Courses to be taken in preparation for the comprehensive exams are to be selected from graduate offerings in related disciplines as directed by the focus area examination committees. Recommended courses as of this printing are listed below. See the program website for other directed readings required by some committees.

Biomedical Informatics

ICS 614 Medical Informatics I (3)
ICS 675 Bioinformatics: Sequences Analysis (3)

Communication/Information Theories

CIS 701 Communication/Information Theories (3)

Communication Policy and Planning

COM 633 Information and Communication Technologies (3)

Human Computer Interaction

ICS 464 Human Computer Interaction I (3)
ICS 664 Human-Computer Interaction II (3)
ICS 667 HCI Design Methods (3)
ICS 668 Social Informatics (3)
LIS 677 Human Dimension in Information Systems (3)

Information Systems and Services

LIS 663 Basic Database Searching (3)
LIS 671 Digital Librarianship (3)
LIS 678 Personalized Information Delivery (3)
ICS 624 Advanced Data Management (3)

Management Information Systems

BUS 630 Managing Information Technology for Strategic Advantage (3)
ITM 660 Current Topics in Information Systems (3)
ITM 685 Electronic Commerce (3)
ITM 704 Doctoral Seminar in Information Systems (3)

Social Informatics

ICS 668 Social Informatics (3)
ICS 691 Topics in Software (3)
COM 634 Social Media (3)

CIS Courses

Environmental Studies

Degrees and Certificates Offered: Undergraduate Certificate in Environmental Studies, BA in interdisciplinary studies (emphasis on environmental studies)

See the “Colleges of Arts and Sciences” section of the Catalog for more information.