Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate

15-16 credit hours

Beginning Fall 2025, the Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) may be pursued by matriculating, degree-seeking students and as a transcripted stand-alone certificate available to non-degree seeking students.

In the Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), you work to develop the necessary skills to successfully and confidently apply the software in a variety of professions, including urban planning, health sciences, data analysis, environmental sciences, business, and many others. As a part of the coursework, students will examine the range of sources that can be combined to build a GIS database, including aerial imagery, scanned historic maps, raw data, and data collected from Global Positioning Systems. A certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) requires 15 hours of course work, including:

Requirements

Certificate Coursework

12 credit hours of coursework from the following options:

GEO 20000 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Credit Hour: 3
GEO 20400 - Remote Sensing Credit Hour: 3
GEO 30000 - Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Credit Hour: 3
GEO 40100 - Internship in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Credit Hour: 3

Elective Coursework

3-4 credit hours of coursework from the following options:

BSC 24800 - Introduction to Ecology and Evolution Credit Hour: 4
CSC 10011 - Introduction to Computer Science: Python Credit Hour: 3
GEO 10100 - World Regional Geography Credit Hour: 3
GEO 10300 - Human Geography Credit Hour: 3
GEO 11500 - Physical Geography Credit Hour: 4
GEO 20700 - World Economic Geography Credit Hour: 3
GEO 30200 - Droning and Coding Credit Hour: 3
HIST 30200 - Public History Credit Hour: 3
MTH 14100 - Basic Statistics Credit Hour: 3
MTH 24100 - Statistics for Natural Science Credit Hour: 3

Notes:

All students earning the GIS Certificate must complete a formative educational experience such as an internship, courses that are field-work intensive, study abroad, and so on. Relevant instances of such experiences completed in other programs may substitute for the GEO 40100 requirement at the discretion of the program.