The University of Iowa’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) has earned a second professional accreditation following an international review of its curriculum. The recognition brings students new opportunities to connect with employers and professional communities beyond the United States.
Iowa’s SLIS is the first North American iSchool with a master’s program accredited by both the American Library Association and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, known as CILIP. The recognition connects students to the United Kingdom’s professional body for librarians, information specialists, and knowledge managers while they are still studying at Iowa.
SLIS pursuit of that distinction began when students asked questions about their futures.
“We have graduates working across the country and abroad, and we kept hearing the same question from students exploring international options: Will my degree be recognized?” says Lucy Santos Green, professor and director of the School of Library and Information Science. “We wanted to answer that with something more durable than ‘it should be.’”
A credential employers understand
Iowa’s program already held accreditation from the American Library Association, or ALA. Seeking CILIP recognition meant submitting Iowa’s curriculum to the professional organization, which has its own expectations for what graduates should know and be able to do.
CILIP’s framework reaches beyond traditional library settings, serving as a benchmark for employers in international schools, global firms, nongovernmental organizations, and multinational research organizations. For students interested in those settings, recognition speaks to how their preparation relates to the work an organization needs done.
Students’ questions also coincided with a broader examination of professional credentials. Green had spent much of the past year studying accreditation in library and information science and other professions, considering what those judgments communicate about graduate education.
“There is a live conversation about what a credential should certify, who should certify it, and how programs demonstrate quality. While that conversation continues, we wanted Iowa’s program examined from more than one vantage point.”
An education open to examination
That review brought the substance of an Iowa education into focus, including the readings assigned in courses, the work students produce, and the opportunities they have to apply what they learn. Faculty documented their teaching against CILIP’s Professional Knowledge and Skills Base, which encompasses professional expertise, foundational skills, and ethics and values.
In examining Iowa’s program, CILIP drew attention to the capstone portfolio and practicum, where students demonstrate and apply their preparation. CILIP emphasizes the balance between theory and practical skills, alongside the support students receive from faculty.
CILIP’s review also examined how SLIS connects its curriculum to professional practice through its advisory committee and professional development lecture series.
Beginning in spring 2027, Iowa students will study CILIP’s professional framework alongside ALA’s core competencies. Learning both will help them describe their preparation in the terms used by different professional communities, carrying the work of the accreditation review into their own education.
Professional connections before graduation
Students can begin using new CILIP resources immediately through Iowa’s Learning Partner status, which provides access to CILIP’s webinars, discounted student membership, and events involving UK and international employers.
“Our faculty can also take part in CILIP’s Employers’ Forum and Knowledge Exchange, an event that places learning providers in the same room as major UK and international employers,” Green says. “That network is new to SLIS this year.”
Those opportunities are available to domestic and international students alike, so their value does not depend on a decision to work overseas. Students pursuing careers in the United States can participate in the same professional learning and exchanges as classmates exploring positions abroad.
For international students, returning home is one possible direction; remaining in the United States or pursuing work elsewhere are others. The resources give students access to a professional community beyond their immediate location as they consider those choices. For domestic students, they offer a way to explore international practice before deciding whether a career abroad is part of their plans.
The accreditation took effect in September 2026 and covers graduating classes beginning in spring 2027. Current students can use the Learning Partner resources now, giving them time to explore the network before their next career move.
An international perspective, an Iowa commitment
More than 85 percent of SLIS graduates remain in Iowa after graduation, working in libraries, schools, archives, and information roles across the state. For most students, an international review of their education will shape work done close to home.
CILIP’s Professional Knowledge and Skills Base will be part of that work. Because the framework describes professional practice in specific terms, students who learn it alongside ALA’s core competencies can name the particular skills they developed at Iowa and connect each course, and each assignment, to the practical experience these support. A SLIS alum who is interviewing with a public library, a school district, or a corporate research unit can account for their preparation in detail, and an employer can see how that preparation fits the position.
The framework also places that preparation on a wider footing. The knowledge, skills, and professional values Iowa graduates bring to their first positions are tied to a professional foundation upheld by practitioners in many countries. When alumni make the case for a new service, collection, or program in their communities, they can point to professional expectations that reach well beyond any single organization or region.
“That matters most for the graduates who stay,” Green says. “Iowa communities deserve library and information services that meet the strongest professional standards anywhere, and our alumni now have a clear, detailed way to show what those standards are and how their work meets them. It also raises our own bar going forward.”
A student may arrive at Iowa without knowing where that education will eventually lead. The question of working abroad can remain open while they study, meet people in the profession, and discover the work they want to pursue. Wherever that work takes them, and for most it will be somewhere in Iowa, their preparation now meets a standard the profession recognizes around the world.