Dual Master's with NYU

Dual Degree Admissions Requirements

The Dual Degree Program name is literal in that it requires you to apply to, and be accepted into two master's programs, the LIU Palmer School MSLIS Program, and any program at NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) or from NYU's Steinhardt School, their master’s degree in either Food Studies or Costume Studies. Admitted students pursue both programs in parallel, with significant overlap coming through the Palmer Mentorship and Internship courses.   

Deadlines for the Dual Degree Program Admissions:

The Palmer School has rolling admissions, so you can apply at any time in advance of your NYU application deadline.

Every NYU program has a different application deadline, so you should speak with the Graduate Admission counselors in the department you plan on applying to concerning specific dates and requirements for that program. 

Interested Dual Degree students should apply to Palmer no later than one week after the stated deadline for the NYU program you are pairing with.

The Palmer Application:

The Palmer application is here, and when you come to the place where you select a program be sure to select the Dual Degree option, under the Palmer MSLIS choices. 

In addition to the application form, we will need your official college transcripts, current resume, 2 letters of recommendation and a personal statement 1-2 pages in length that discusses the two disciplines you will be pursuing in the Dual Degree program and how you hope to tie them together to achieve your career goals.

Once you have completed the Online Application you will have login credentials to submit required documents via this link, https://apply.liu.edu/quickapp/Login.aspx.

This will include your references, your current resume and personal statement.

Official transcripts from all prior undergraduate institutions must be sent directly from each school to the LIU admissions at the email address, student-success@liu.edu.   

Acceptance to the Dual Degree Program:

Once you have acceptance letters in hand from both schools you have crossed the primary hurdle. All you need to do then is let us know you’d like to be part of the next Fall’s Cohort, by sending an email with copies of both acceptance letters, your resume, and the statement of purpose you wrote for the application to peter.culliney@liu.edu. These documents, along with a brief call/zoom with the Mentor Coordinators at Bobst Library, will be used in pairing new students with Mentors. This call/zoom will be scheduled for some time before the end of the spring term prior to Fall attendance. 

Current Palmer or NYU Students:

Students will not be eligible if they will have completed three or more courses at either Palmer or NYU before the next Fall semester, when a new Dual Degree Cohort will start. This will allow students who are admitted to Palmer early, to take one or two classes in the Spring or Summer semesters prior to the Fall Cohort Start.   

Students who have already taken more than three classes at NYU will be eligible upon graduation to pursue the MSLIS degree with "Advanced Standing" at LIU Palmer, which allows students who have already completed one master's degree to achieve an MSLIS degree with 27 credits instead of the usual 36, through credit sharing from the prior degree. This is the same credit sharing that Dual Degree students receive.

Mentorship Program

Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Dual Degree is the mentoring program which is specifically designed to train future librarians who aspire to be subject specialists in academic and cultural institutions. For students who hope to work as an archivist, an information officer in a specialized library, or as a library generalist, it might be possible to design an internship in an appropriate setting outside of Bobst. Meetings with the mentors of the program will help determine the direction your individual program will take. 

Mentors are selected from the ranks of the NYU librarians and archivists, and occasionally from other cultural institutions and assigned to new Dual Degree students based upon the student’s interests and program. The goal is to give guidance, instruction, and support through a collegial network of professionals. There are specific benchmarks that students must reach to complete the mentorship which is graded as a pass/fail course. 

Students are enrolled in the mentorship, LIS 785, for 4 credits, through Palmer, and each Cohort begins in the Fall semester of the year you commence your graduate study and runs for the full year across both Fall and Spring semesters. 

As noted above, Mentorship participation is during your first two consecutive semesters, and each semester requires a time commitment of 60 hours from each student. The program is designed to provide NYU/LIU Palmer Dual Degree students with an introduction to research libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions and the services they provide, while also giving the students concrete experiences that translate into employable skills and the guidance of an experienced personal mentor.

The center of this program is a series of required modules, which include Reference/Instruction, Collection Development, Digital Scholarship and Professional Development. The program provides the flexibility to customize the mentoring experience to the needs of the individual student. Past students have spent part of their mentorship at the New York Public Library, the Museum of Modern Art, the Morgan Library, the New York Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and IBM among many other organizations.