MARA Electives

MARA students customize their program based on their own interests by selecting 12 units of electives from MLIS, Informatics, and/or MARA offerings. (Up to 9 of the 12 units can be from MLIS/INFM. Three units must be from MARA electives).

• Students interested in taking courses from the MLIS program, must select from a pre-approved list of approximately 46 courses and then complete the MLIS electives form.  
• Students interested in taking courses from the Informatics program, may select from all offerings but must receive pre-approval from their MARA advisor.
• Students interested in taking MARA electives can select from any offered.* MARA students taking an MLIS course from the pre-approved list are not required to have taken the course pre-requisites.

MARA 284 – Seminar in Archives and Records Management

This course explores current issues and practices in archives and records management. Examples of topics touched upon: blockchain, community archives, digital ledger technology, ethics, and virtual reality.

Prerequisites: MARA 200 and MARA 204 for MARA students. These prerequisites are waived for non-MARA majors. 

MARA 284 three-unit courses  (See current topics.)

• Data Governance (Spring only)
• Digital Forensics for Archivists (Fall only)
• Leadership and Advocacy (Fall only)
• Technology, Privacy and the Law (Spring only)

MARA 284 one-two unit courses  (See current topics.)

• Construction of an Archival Vault (2 units – Fall only)
• Design for Teaching & Learning in Social Virtual Reality (1 unit – Fall only)
• Navigating the archives and records/information management job market (1 unit – Summer only)
• Records, Archives and Ethics (1 unit – Summer only)

MARA 294 Professional Experience

Professional Experience gained through completion of an internship assignment, an organizational consulting project, or a special project related to the field of archives, records management and/or information governance.

Students must be in good academic standing [3.0 CUM GPA or above and no outstanding incompletes]. Credit/No Credit grading. 3 Units. Each unit is equivalent to a minimum of 45 hours of work.
Prerequisites: MARA 200, 204, and six advanced courses. Not repeatable.

MARA 294 – Professional Experience is a highly recommended course for 3 of the 12 elective units possible.  Credit for one year of work experience toward ICRM certification is granted to students who complete one of the following:  Internship or OCP.

MARA 295 Organizational Consulting Project

Students who come into the MARA program with at least three years of work experience in archives and/or records management have the option of undertaking an Organizational Consulting Project when enrolled in MARA 295, Professional Experience. See the Organizational Consulting Project page.

MARA Elective Clusters

5 Elective clusters have been designed to aid you in selecting elective courses to meet your career interests.  

Non-MARA Electives

MARA students may take up to a total of 9 units of elective credit comprised of Non-MARA courses (MLIS courses or Informatics courses).

MLIS Courses as Electives

MARA students may take up to 9 units of elective credit from the MLIS program. For those not following one of the elective clusters, popular MLIS electives include:

• INFO 256 Archives and Manuscripts (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 259 Preservation Management (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 240 Information Technology, Tools and Applications
• INFO 284 Seminar in Archives and Records Management with offerings in electronic records, digital curation (ACA Pre-Approved Course), encoded archival description, oral history, digitization and digital preservation (ACA Pre-Approved Course), special collections in a Web 2.0 world, characteristics and curation of new digital media, photographic archives and more from which to choose. 

Informatics courses as electives

Informatics courses are listed as required or electives within that program. Although MARA students may elect to take any courses (up to 6 units of Informatics electives toward the MARA degree), they must first receive approval of the MARA advisor since:

• Fees are $525 a unit (MARA and MLIS courses are $474 a unit)
• The informatics classes are intensive and run at different dates from our MLIS and MARA classes.
• Students must demonstrate a strong technical foundation by having completed coursework and/or work experience with either 1) HTML5 and CSS, 2) a programming language, or 3) in information systems

MLIS Pre-Approved Electives for MARA Students

(Updated Jan. 16, 2025)

• INFO 202 – Information Retrieval
• INFO 210 – Reference & Information Services
• INFO 220 – Resources & Information Services: Digital Humanities
• INFO 220 – Resources & Information Services: Film & Media
• INFO 220 – LGBTIQ Resources and Services
• INFO 221 – Government Information Sources
• INFO 240 – Information Technology Tools and Applications
• INFO 241 – Automated Library Systems
• INFO 242 – Database Design and Management
• INFO 246 – Learning to use Drupal and Understanding Content Management Systems
• INFO 246 – MySQL in Depth
• INFO 246 – Tools and Applications – Advanced Information Visualization
• INFO 246 – Tools and Applications – Big Data Analytics and Management
• INFO 246 – Tools and Applications – Information Visualization
• INFO 246 – Tools and Applications - Web 2.0 and Social Media
• INFO 246 – Tools and Applications – Web/Text/Data Mining
• INFO 247 – Vocabulary Design
• INFO 248 – Beginning Cataloging and Classification
• INFO 251 – Web Usability
• INFO 256 – Archives and Manuscripts (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 259 – Preservation Management (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 281 – Globalization and Communication
• INFO 281 – Information Privacy
• INFO 281 – Information Secrecy
• INFO 281 – Intercultural Communication
• INFO 281 – Metadata
• INFO 281 – Outreach and Equity
• INFO 282 - Change Management
• INFO 282 – Digital Asset Management (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 282 – Grant Writing
• INFO 282 – Managing Information Technology in the 21st Century
• INFO 282 – Project Management (assignments geared to archives and records/information organizations)
• INFO 282 - Using Social Media for Competitive and Company Research
• INFO 284 – Archivists Meet Web 2.0
• INFO 284 – Characteristics and Curation of New Digital Media
• INFO 284 - Curating Exhibitions from Archival Collections
• INFO 284 – Digital Curation (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 284 – Digitization and Digital Preservation (ACA Pre-Approved Course)
• INFO 284 - Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
• INFO 284 – Genealogy
• INFO 284 – History of Books 
• INFO 284 – History of Libraries in the US
• INFO 284 – Managing Photographic Collections
• INFO 284 – Medieval Manuscripts: Codicology and Paleography
• INFO 284 – Medieval Manuscripts: Codicology
• INFO 284 - Medieval Manuscripts: Genres
• INFO 284 – Medieval Manuscripts: Paleography
• INFO 284 – Oral History 
• INFO 284 – Photographic Preservation
• INFO 284 – Rare Books
• INFO 284 – Reference and Information Services in Archives
• INFO 284 – Special Collections
• INFO 284 - Tools, Services, Methodologies for Digital Curation
• INFO 287 - AI, Data, and Ethics
• INFO 287 - Collecting and Analyzing Data for Evidence Based Decisions
• INFO 287 – Cybersecurity
• INFO 287 – Institutional Repositories: Management and Outreach
• INFO 287 – Problem Solving With Data
• INFO 287 – Virtual Worlds
• INFO 287 – Virtual Environments: Immersive Learning for Libraries and Archives
• INFO 293 – Introduction to Data Networking
• INFO 298 – Independent Study

Contact the MARA Coordinator for approval regarding any variable unit (1 and 2 unit) INFO electives that are not listed on the approved list.