There are many areas in which formal ontology is becoming significant, whether in scientific research, government systems, business applications, or in the semantic web. Each of these areas need people competant in formal ontology.
Ontology is an interdisciplinary enterprise, with contributions from philosophy, computer science, information theory, as well as other disciplines. Consequently, ontology can be approached from any of these disciplines. Furthermore, ontology can be approached from the side of its applications. For example, bioinformatics currently relies heavily upon formal ontology to represent research in a wide range of biological and medical areas.
So whether you are studying in a field related to information science, or whether you are studying in a field where ontology is or is becoming important, gaining a competance in formal ontology can be an important element of your professional education.
To start exploring how to incorporate formal ontology into your education and your future career, see the following:
Training and education in ontology development
Ontology courses at the University at Buffalo (SUNY)
- Biomedical Ontology 2016, Departments of Philosophy and Biomedical Informatics
- Analytic Metaphysics 2016, Department of Philosophy
- Ontological Engineering 2013, Department of Industrial Engineering
- Ontological Engineering 2014, Department of Industrial Engineering