Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

The Department of Geography and Planning offers a certificate program in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that consists of four courses (12 credits). Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies have become prominent workplace tools used widely in public and private sectors. This certificate program will provide graduate-level instruction on their use. If a certificate student subsequently or simultaneously applies for and is accepted into one of the masters degree programs in geography, the geography courses (GEO) listed below can be counted towards the degree.

Prerequisites

A student who wishes to enroll in the certificate program needs to hold a bachelor's degree (in any subject area) from an accredited institution, and needs to have an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.8 or greater.

Program Requirements

The required core courses: 9 credits

  • Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GEO534)
  • Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GEO584)
  • Geodatabases (GEO577)

Additional elective course chosen from the following: 3 credits

  • Internet Mapping (GEO507)
  • Environmental Modeling with GIS (GEO538)
  • Introduction to Business GIS (GEO556)
  • Geography Field Methods (GEO585)
  • GIS-related Internship (GEO615)
  • Water Quality & Health (ENV533)
  • Emergency Preparedness (ENV570)
  • Topical Application Elective: 3 credits- chosen in consultation with graduate coordinator to combine geographic technology application in a topical area of interest to the student.

Advising sheets are available online .  Paper copies are available at the Business and Public Management Center, in the hallway outside of room 505. Advising sheets are subject to change; students should check with their advisor before registering for classes.

To Apply

A student who wishes to apply to the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) certificate program should download The Graduate School Application, and follow the instructions for the self-managed application process.

For The Graduate School application, the plan number for the Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is C233. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Coutu, Graduate Coordinator for the certificate program.