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Key takeaway: The working credential in this field is the master’s, not a bachelor’s in library science. For professional librarian roles in most public, academic, and many special libraries, employers expect a master’s in library and information studies from a program accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) – typically an MLIS, MLS, or MSIS. A bachelor’s in any field is the usual undergraduate path. Where a BA or BS in library science or information science exists, it leads to technician or assistant work or to MLIS preparation, not to professional librarian jobs in ALA-standard settings. School librarians typically also need state teaching certification or school library media certification through the state department of education – the MLIS alone is often not enough for K-12. Online MLIS coursework is well-established compared with many graduate fields; a practicum or fieldwork placement is still common. Compare accredited programs below.
Accredited online programs generally deliver the same curriculum and degree titles as campus programs; browse the best accredited online colleges to compare schools that offer them.
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Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Librarians and related workers serve in public libraries, K-12 school libraries, college and university libraries, archives, and special libraries inside law firms, hospitals, government agencies, museums, and corporations. The occupations below are the ones this degree path maps to. Median annual wages come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
| Occupation | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Library Science Teacher, Postsecondary | $80,340 |
| Librarian and Media Collections Specialist | $68,270 |
| Archivist | $64,550 |
| Library Technician | $44,580 |
| Occupation | Projected job growth (2024-2034) |
|---|---|
| Archivist | 3.8% |
| Library Science Teacher, Postsecondary | 3.0% |
| Librarian and Media Collections Specialist | 1.7% |
| Library Technician | -6.8% |
Entry requirements differ sharply across these occupations, and the wage gap tracks the credential gap. Librarians and media collections specialists, who had a median annual wage of $68,270 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), are the professional role the ALA-accredited master’s is built for; BLS counted 133,790 jobs and projects 1.7 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034, with 13,500 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Those openings are mostly replacement – people retiring or leaving – not a rapidly expanding occupation. Library technicians, at a median annual wage of $44,580 with 68,690 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), do not need the MLIS; BLS projects a 6.8 percent decline from 2024 to 2034, with 13,000 openings per year even as the occupation shrinks (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Archivists, at a median annual wage of $64,550 with 7,970 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), may hold an MLIS with an archives concentration or a separate archives master’s; employment is projected to grow 3.8 percent, with 1,100 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Library science teachers at the postsecondary level, at a median annual wage of $80,340 with 3,630 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), typically hold a doctorate; projected growth is 3.0 percent, with 400 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Individual outcomes vary by employer, setting, geography, and experience.
An ALA-accredited master’s in library and information studies – commonly titled MLIS, MLS, or MSIS – is the expected credential for professional librarian roles in most public, academic, and many special libraries. A bachelor’s in any field is the usual undergraduate step. A bachelor’s in library science is not the working credential.
They are master’s degrees in library and information studies. Schools use different titles for programs that sit under the same ALA accreditation process. Confirm that the specific program, not just the university, appears in ALA’s directory of accredited programs before you apply.
Yes. Online MLIS coursework is well-established compared with many graduate fields. Many programs still require a practicum, internship, or fieldwork placement, typically completed at a library or archive near you. Verify ALA accreditation for the online or hybrid delivery mode you plan to enroll in, not only for a campus version of the same degree.
Usually, yes. School librarians typically also need state teaching certification or school library media certification issued by the state department of education. Requirements differ by state: some expect a teaching license first, others run a combined library-media route. Confirm both the ALA-accredited degree and your state’s educator rules before you enroll.
Not for professional librarian jobs in ALA-standard public, academic, and many special-library settings. Undergraduate library science or information science degrees, where they exist, support library technician and assistant roles or prepare you for the MLIS. Library technicians do not need the master’s; that occupation is also the one BLS projects to decline 6.8 percent from 2024 to 2034.
Library and information studies training has three layers. The master’s is where they come together as a professional curriculum.
The first layer is how recorded knowledge is organized. Cataloging, classification, metadata, and collection development teach you how libraries decide what to acquire, how to describe it so other people can find it, and how to keep a collection coherent as formats change. This is the part of the field that looks like infrastructure, and it is as much policy and judgment as it is rules.
The second layer is service. Reference and research assistance, information literacy instruction, readers’ advisory, youth and school services, outreach, and access for people who are not well served by a default collection. Public-service coursework is also where communications skills – interviewing a patron, teaching a class, writing for the web – show up as professional work rather than as a separate major.
The third layer is technology, management, and the field placement. Database searching, digital libraries, information policy, library management, and assessment sit alongside a practicum, internship, or fieldwork course. Online programs commonly arrange that placement locally. Concentrations then specialize the same core: public librarianship, academic librarianship, school library media, archives and special collections, digital librarianship or data curation, and special libraries (law, health, government, corporate). School library media is the concentration that most often has to line up with state educator rules, not only with ALA.
Undergraduate library science, where it is offered, is a thinner version of the first two layers. It does not replace the master’s.
The work splits by setting more than by job title, and the settings do not share a single hiring rule.
Public librarians run branches and systems that serve everyone who walks in: collections, programs, reference, digital access, and the management of buildings and budgets. Academic librarians support teaching and research on a campus – instruction sessions, research consultations, scholarly communication, and sometimes a subject specialty that a second master’s can strengthen. School librarians (often titled school library media specialists) work inside K-12, and that path runs through the state department of education as well as the MLIS; if classroom teaching is the broader draw, start with the education guide and how to become a teacher. Special librarians work inside an organization rather than a public building – a law firm, hospital, agency, museum, or company – and usually combine the MLIS with knowledge of that domain. Archivists may come through an MLIS archives concentration or a separate archives master’s; the Academy of Certified Archivists credential is optional, not a license.
Library technicians and assistants support all of those settings without the MLIS. The work is real, the wage is lower, and the occupation is shrinking. Do not treat technician roles as a back door into professional librarian classification in systems that require the ALA-accredited master’s.
For general labor-market context, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Library science or a related field? Choose the ALA-accredited MLIS if you want professional librarian work. Consider education if the draw is K-12 teaching more broadly than the school library, or communications if information, media, and public-facing writing interest you without the library credential.
Aiming at a specific role? See how to become a librarian. Wondering where it leads? See what you can do with a library science degree for the jobs and BLS salary data behind the degree. Compare programs by topic:
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