Students
Tuition Fee
Not Available
Start Date
Not Available
Medium of studying
On campus
Duration
4 years
Details
Program Details
Degree
Bachelors
Major
Geographic Information Science | Geographic Information Systems (Gis)
Area of study
Information and Communication Technologies | Natural Science
Education type
On campus
Timing
Full time
Course Language
English
About Program

Program Overview


School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences offers a Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences.


Geospatial Information Sciences (BS)

Geospatial Information Science (or GIScience) is the study of relationships between phenomena in space and time. In recent years, powerful new technologies and techniques have emerged that greatly improve our ability to acquire, archive, analyze, and communicate information regarding people, places, and other things on or near the Earth's surface.


Mission and Objectives

The mission of the Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences program is to provide students with a rigorous understanding of the fundamental theories and concepts underlying GIScience, as well as to provide them with extensive hands-on experience with contemporary GIScience hardware and software. The goal of the program is to give students a firm grasp of the theories, ideas, and techniques that underlay software and hardware systems for the compilation and analysis of spatially referenced data, and thus provide them with a foundation of knowledge and skill that transcends any individual piece of software or hardware.


Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences

Degree Requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences degree requires 120 semester credit hours.


Faculty

The faculty for the Geospatial Information Sciences program includes:


  • Professors: Brian J. L. Berry, Denis J. Dean, Daniel A. Griffith, Fang Qiu, May Yuan
  • Associate Professors: Yongwan Chun, Dohyeong Kim, Michael Tiefelsdorf
  • Assistant Professors: Anthony R. Cummings, Andrew Wheeler
  • Senior Lecturer: Irina Vakulenko

Core Curriculum Requirements

The core curriculum requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences degree include:


  • Communication: 6 semester credit hours
    • COMM 1311 Survey of Oral and Technology-based Communication
    • RHET 1302 Rhetoric
  • Mathematics: 3 semester credit hours
    • MATH 1325 Applied Calculus I
  • Life and Physical Sciences: 6 semester credit hours
    • Choose two courses from the following:
      • ENVR 2302 or GEOG 2302 or GEOS 2302 The Global Environment
      • GEOS 1303 Physical Geology
      • NATS 1311 The Universe, and Everything Else
      • NATS 2333 Energy, Water, and the Environment
      • PHYS 1301 College Physics I
  • Language, Philosophy and Culture: 3 semester credit hours
    • Choose one course from the following:
      • AMS 2341 American Studies for the Twenty-First Century
      • HUMA 1301 Exploration of the Humanities
      • LIT 2331 Introduction to World Literature
      • PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy
  • Creative Arts: 3 semester credit hours
    • Choose any 3 semester credit hours from Creative Arts core courses
  • American History: 6 semester credit hours
    • Choose any 6 semester credit hours from American History core courses
  • Government / Political Science: 6 semester credit hours
    • GOVT 2305 American National Government
    • GOVT 2306 State and Local Government
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 semester credit hours
    • Choose one course from the following:
      • CRIM 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice
      • CRIM 1307 Introduction to Crime and Criminology
      • ECON 2301 Principles of Macroeconomics
      • ECON 2302 Principles of Microeconomics
      • GEOG 2303 People and Place: An Introduction to World Geographic Regions
      • SOC 1301 Introduction to Sociology
  • Component Area Option: 6 semester credit hours
    • EPPS 2301 Research Design in the Social and Policy Sciences
    • And choose one course from the following:
      • EPPS 2302 Methods of Quantitative Analysis in the Social and Policy Sciences
      • EPPS 2303 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics for the Social and Policy Sciences

Major Requirements

The major requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences degree include:


  • Major Preparatory Courses: 6 semester credit hours beyond Core Curriculum
    • ENVR 2302 or GEOG 2302 or GEOS 2302 The Global Environment
    • GEOG 2303 People and Place: An Introduction to World Geographic Regions
    • GEOG 3370 The Global Economy
    • GEOG 3377 or PA 3377 Urban Planning and Policy
    • MATH 1325 Applied Calculus I
  • Major Core Courses: 18 semester credit hours
    • GISC 2305 or GEOS 2305 Spatial Thinking and Data Analytics
    • GISC 3304 or GEOG 3304 or GEOS 3304 Principles of Geospatial Information Sciences
    • GISC 4381 Spatial Data Science
    • GISC 4325 or GEOS 4325 Introduction to Remote Sensing
    • GISC 4382 Applied Geographic Information Systems
    • GISC 4386 Global Change and Its Challenges
  • Concentrations: 15 semester credit hours in ONE of the following concentration areas
    • Geography
      • GEOG 3331 Urban Growth and Structure
      • GEOG 3357 Spatial Dimensions of Health and Disease
      • GEOG 3359 Human Migration and Mobility: Global Patterns
      • GEOG 3372 Population and Development
      • GEOG 3382 Russia: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
    • GeoComputation and GeoVisualization
      • GISC 4317 GeoComputation
      • GISC 4326 Cartography and GeoVisualization
      • GISC 4363 Internet Mapping and Information Processing
      • GISC 4384 Health and Environmental GIS: A Global Perspective
      • GISC 4385 Advanced Applications in GIS

Elective Requirements

The elective requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Information Sciences degree include:


  • Prescribed Electives: 15 semester credit hours
  • Free Electives: 24 semester credit hours

Minor in Geography

The minor in Geography requires 18 semester credit hours, including:


  • Required Courses: 9 semester credit hours
    • GEOG 2302 The Global Environment
    • GEOG 3304 Principles of Geospatial Information Sciences
    • GEOG 3370 The Global Economy
  • Upper-Division Courses: 9 semester credit hours
    • Any upper-division Geography (GEOG) or Geographic Information Sciences (GISC) courses

Minor in Geospatial Information Sciences (GIS)

The minor in Geospatial Information Sciences requires 18 semester credit hours, including:


  • Required Courses: 9 semester credit hours
    • GISC 2305 Spatial Thinking and Data Analytics
    • GISC 3304 or GEOG 3304 Principles of Geospatial Information Sciences
    • GISC 4325 Introduction to Remote Sensing
  • Upper-Division Courses: 9 semester credit hours
    • Any upper-division Geography (GEOG) or Geographic Information Sciences (GISC) courses
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