The school was formed in 2017 with a focus on academic programs that teach contextually situated computing in an interdisciplinary manner. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as certificate programs and houses three departments: Computer Science, Informatics and Networked Systems, and Information Culture and Data Stewardship.The school was created by combining the university's School of Information Sciences, which was also known as the "iSchool" and was founded in 1901, with the Department of Computer Science, which was founded in 1966 and previously housed the university's Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Located on the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, the school was led by its founding Dean Paul Cohen until he stepped down in July 2020 to be temporarily replaced by Interim Dean Bruce Childers.Founded in 1901, the former School of Information Sciences was one of the nation's pioneering schools in the education of information professionals. Originating as the Training School for Children's Librarians at the Carnegie Library, the school moved to the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1930, and eventually to the University of Pittsburgh in 1961. In its last year as a separate school, it is ranked 10th in the list of Best Library and Information Studies Programs by US News & World Report and is one of the original members in the list of I-Schools. The Department of Computer Science was founded in 1966 making it one of the oldest such departments in the country.
