Program Overview

Program Details

The School of Earth, Environment and Society offers a Master's program in Geographic Information Science (GIS).

Program Overview

Students will plan a program of study with an advisor and other members of the supervisory committee during the first term of residence. The program of study must include a minimum of 45 graduate credits.

Program Requirements

Of these, a minimum of 32 graduate credits must be in geography, to include:

• 6 credits of Geog 509 (GIS Practicum)
• 10 credits of core geography courses
• 8 credits in core GIS competency courses
• 4 credits in non-GIS, topical courses
• At least two courses (6-8 credits) from one of the five specialized geospatial data science focus areas
• 9-11 elective credits to meet the 45 credits required by the program

Core Geography Courses

• Geog 572 Critical GIS (2 credits)
• Geog 591 Professionalism in GIS (4 credits)
• Geog 592/USP 592 Geographic Information Systems II: Advanced GIS (4 credits)

Core GIS Competency Courses

• Geog 590 GIS Programming (4 credits)
• Geog 575 Spatial Database Design and Applications (4 credits)
• Geog 597 Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis (4 credits)

Non-GIS Topical Courses

• 4 credits of graduate-level non-GIS courses (with approval of the committee)

Specialized Geospatial Data Science Focus Areas

Students must take two courses in one of the following focus areas:

Area 1: Remote Sensing and Digital Image Analysis

• Geog 580 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing (4 credits)
• Geog 581 Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction (4 credits)
• Geog 582 Digital Image Analysis II: Advanced Remote Sensing (4 credits)
• Geog 577 Photogrammetry and LiDAR (2 credits)

Area 2: Cartography and Geovisualization

• Geog 584 Cartographic Applications of GIS (4 credits)
• Geog 585 Map Design and Production (4 credits)

Area 3: Computer and Information Sciences

• CS 520 Object-Oriented Programming & Design (3 credits)
• CS 547 Computer Graphics (3 credits)
• CS 554 Software Engineering (3 credits)
• Geog 575 Spatial Database Design and Applications (4 credits)
• Geog 590 GIS Programming (4 credits)

Area 4: Spatial Statistics and Quantitative Methods

• ESM 566/CE 566 Environmental Data Analysis (4 credits)
• ESM 567 Multivariate Analysis of Environmental Data (4 credits)
• Geog 597 Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis (4 credits)

Area 5: System and Data Science

• CS 541 Artificial Intelligence (3 credits)
• CS 542 Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Combinatorial Games (3 credits)
• CS 543 Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Combinatorial Search (3 credits)
• CS 545 Machine Learning (3 credits)
• SySc 514 System Dynamics (4 credits)
• SySc 525 Agent-Based Simulation (4 credits)
• SySc 527 Discrete System Simulation (4 credits)
• SySc 531 Data Mining with Information Theory (4 credits)
• SySc 535 Modeling & Simulation with R and Python (4 credits)
• SySc 540 Introduction to Network Science (4 credits)
• SySc 552 Game Theory (4 credits)
• SySc 575 AI: Neural Networks I (4 credits)

GIS Practicum

• Geog 509 Practicum (6 credits)

Electives

Graduate-level GIS courses or seminars:

• G 525 Field GIS (4 credits)
• Geog 507 Seminar: Speaker Series (1 credit)
• Geog 576 3D Terrain Analysis & Visualization (2 credits)
• Geog 594 GIS for Water Resources (4 credits)

Other elective courses may be approved by the committee.

Total Credits

The program consists of a total of 45 credits.

Practicum Requirements

Students in the program must complete a project-based practicum. The practicum requires the presentation of the student's practicum project into a topic approved by the student's graduate committee, which may include a community partner. A final oral presentation of the project and a project report are required for completion of the degree.

Enrollment Requirements

The School follows the University requirement for minimum and continuous enrollment.