Why study an information management course at university?

Picture with text overlay

What is information management?

Information management is a growing sector that affects every day life. From social media, data storage and marketing, information management is an important, but unseen, component in harnessing the potential of information technology. 

A management of information systems course focuses on the collection and management of information. It covers how people and organisations work with information, typically digital information, as well as data and how it’s collected, formatted and distributed.

What will you study during an information management degree?

Studying an information management degree at university will help you build an understanding of the core concepts and principles related to information management.

You will learn the foundations of information management through a variety of modules that will give you the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a wide variety of organisational and consultancy roles. Some of the modules you will cover on the MSc Information Management degree at the University of Sheffield include:

  • Information And Knowledge Management
  • Information Governance And Ethics
  • Information Retrieval: Search Engineering And Digital Libraries
  • Information Systems In Organisations

You will typically also have a choice of optional modules, some examples from the University of Sheffield degree include:

  • Introduction To Programming
  • Website Design And Search Engine Optimisation
  • Business Intelligence
  • Database Design
  • User-centred Design And Human-computer Interaction

Why study information management?

If you are wondering why study an information management course at a UK university, there are plenty of reasons, from growing demand to the transferable skills you will develop. Here are our top five reasons to study a degree in information management:

1. Growing demand for information management graduates

With the digitalisation of information, there is a growing demand for information management graduates and the skills and knowledge they can bring to a business. 

Information is key to any business and it’s incredibly important to store, format and distribute it correctly. One side of the increased demand comes from wanting to make information management systems more efficient and is crucial to business growth. The other reason for the increase in demand is the growing pressure organisations and businesses face in handling information ethically, responsibly and in the confines of the law. With a degree in information management, you could help ensure that this data is kept safe.

2. Develop transferable skills

Information management will help you develop skills that are desirable to employers across the globe. Some of the transferable skills you will learn include:

  • Problem solving
  • Organisation
  • Communication
  • Analytical
  • Decision making
  • Data processing
  • Report writing
  • Presenting

3. Work in any industry

Graduating with a degree in information management means you will have the flexibility to be able to pursue a career in any industry. Information management is required across all businesses, big and small, so you’ll be able to combine your knowledge and skills to work in an industry of your choice. Some of the industries that you could work in include:

  • Administrative
  • Insurance
  • Finance
  • Government
  • Education
  • Healthcare

4. Career advancement

Having a degree in information management can help you advance your career and help you move through the ranks. You’ll have the education to progress to more senior roles and can be a driving force in the information society and digital economy. 

As information management and technology grows so do the countless opportunities across various industries for IT professionals. Our reliance on technology means there will always be opportunities for career development. 

5. Exciting multidisciplinary learning

Studying information management means you will get to experience other exciting subject areas that are becoming more and more in-demand. You’ll touch on areas such as user-centred design, which is all about putting the user and their needs at the forefront of the design process, and big data, which is a field that focuses on how to handle data sets which are typically too large or complex for traditional data-processing methods and software. 

Other areas you could be involved in include artificial intelligence and machine learning which are all about machines and software learning to adapt through experience and executing tasks ‘smartly’. 

Career opportunities with an information management degree

Due to obtaining many desirable, transferrable skills, information management graduates have a variety of careers they can pursue. 

Careers directly related to an information management degree include:

  • Data scientist
  • Database administrator
  • Information systems manager
  • Cybersecurity analyst
  • Business analyst
  • IT test manager
  • Web developer

Other careers you could pursue include:

  • UX researcher
  • Web content manager
  • Estimator
  • Network engineer
  • Applications developer

Should you study information management?

Information management is a degree that offers you desirable transferable skills, in-demand knowledge and great career development opportunities. With the variety of job roles you could pursue, a degree in information management offers plenty of opportunities to take your career in any direction you want. It’s a great choice of degree to study at university; especially if you don’t have a set career path in mind and want to keep your options open, or if information management is exactly what you want to do. 

Study information management in the UK

If you want to study an information management course in the UK then the University of Sheffield International College can help you get there. By studying our Pre-Masters in Business, Social Sciences and Humanities you can develop the skills, academic knowledge and English language ability to meet the requirements to study a masters degree at the University of Sheffield. Building on what you already learnt on your undergraduate degree, our Pre-Masters will introduce you to the UK education system so you can succeed on your MSc Information Management degree.

FAQ's

Is information management a good degree?

Studying for an information management degree with give you desirable transferrable skills, knowledge in high demand and ample career opportunities. With a large variety of job roles available to you with an information management degree you can take your career in any direction you want. 

Where can I study information management?

If you want to study information management, the University of Sheffield International College can help you get there. By studying our Pre-Masters in Business, Social Sciences and Humanities you can develop the skills, academic knowledge and English language ability to graduate with an information management degree.