Gateway PhD in Library and Information Management

The Gateway PhD program is an international doctoral degree program that prepares individuals for research, faculty, and leadership positions in the field of library and information science. 

Partnering University

The San José State University School of Information provides a gateway to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Library and Information Management conferred by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in Manchester, England. Through this partnership, doctoral student researchers have the unique opportunity to virtually attend MMU and reap the benefits of instruction and supervision from faculty members at both universities. 

The Gateway PhD program was previously offered through a partnership with Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, from its inception in 2008 through 2021. Graduates have been recognized with numerous awards and honors for their original research.

Learn more about the Gateway PhD program. Watch a recording of the May 2024 information session.  

Convenient Online Learning

With this convenient, primarily online doctoral program, information professionals and academics can earn their PhD degree from Manchester Met without having to relocate to England or disrupt their current careers. The doctoral program can be completed on a part-time basis with up to seven years total duration.

Research Focus

Gateway PhD doctoral students focus on their research from the very beginning of the program. They conduct original research and receive one-on-one mentoring from faculty who are award-winning scholars, researchers, and educators, representing two continents and a truly international perspective.

They also participate in monthly online seminars, keeping in touch with other doctoral students in their cohort and their international supervisory committee.

Annual Residency

Once a year, Gateway PhD doctoral students and faculty members meet in-person during a weeklong research workshop held in San José, California. Students are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses.

Selected Awards and Honors.

• Africa Hands, assistant professor in the University of Buffalo Department of Information Science and PhD graduate of the Gateway PhD program, secured a $493,910 grant from the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program to study the unique challenges and cultural strengths of first-generation Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals in the library and information science (LIS) field. 

• Lettie Conrad was a recipient of the Dean’s Commendation Award from the Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Sciences in 2022 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to her discipline and the production of high-quality thesis, “Managing academic information: A grounded theory model of the student
  researcher information experience.”
• Krista McCracken was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship in 2023 valued at $80,000 CDN to support her PhD research entitled “Indigenous Control of Information and Indigenous Community Identity Formation.”  
• Stephen Abrams was awarded a Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in July 2021, for his doctoral study, A Communicological Critique of Evaluative Norms for Digital Preservation Success. This $3,000 award is given by Beta Phi Mu, the international honor society established to recognize and encourage scholastic achievement among library and information studies students.
• Dr. Africa Hands, a 2018 Gateway PhD program graduate and currently assistant professor at East Carolina University, received an Early Career Development grant of $213,303 from IMLS. She will investigate the ways in which public libraries in Central Appalachia support the college literacy of nontraditional prospective students through information and services. More information.
• Dr. Clarence Maybee was named the W. Wayne Booker Endowed Chair in Information Literacy in February 2021. 
• Dr. Niloufar Sarraf received a 2019 QUT Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award, given in recognition of her outstanding contribution and the standard of excellence demonstrated in higher degree research practice. Dr. Sarraf’s dissertation is entitled Mapping the Neural Activities and Affective Dimensions of the ISP Model: Correlates in the Search Exploration, Formulation, and Collection Stages.

Learn More

• Attend an online open house. 
• Download our Gateway PhD brochure.
• Read profiles of Gateway PhD students and alumni.
• Review a bibliography of research published by Gateway PhD students.
• Check out our research blog.
• Submit the form to Request More Information.
• Contact program coordinator Dr. Sue Alman.