Advanced Certificate Program in Geographic Information Systems
Purpose
The program is designed (1) to train and provide professional recognition to students and working professionals who desire a sound education and practical experience in the fast-growing field of geographic information systems (GIS), and (2) to supplement thus enhance related degree programs such as Geography, Geology, Environmental Studies, Urban Studies, and Urban Planning at UMKC. The specially designed curriculum for this program consists of 15 credit hours of course work that cover important and emerging aspects of this field, including advanced courses focusing on environmental and urban studies with GIS or remote sensing techniques. The program is not intended to be a requirement for any degree programs at UMKC.
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Rationale
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a fast-growing information technology. GIS and other environmental informatics techniques like satellite remote sensing have been widely adopted for thematic mapping and spatial analysis. GIS related geospatial mapping techniques along with nanotechnology and biotechnology were recently identified by the United States Department of Labor as the three most important emerging and evolving fields (Nature, Vol. 427, 2004: 376-377). Increasing demand for GIS-related techniques provide new opportunities in traditional disciplines and in new application areas such as disease surveillance, environmental mapping, geographic visualization, crime location analysis, and public information management. In the United States, GIS-related technologies have been adopted at all levels of government, in the private sector, and at most educational and research institutions. The UMKC’s GIS instructional program was formally established in 1999 when a GIS faculty position was filled and GIS facilities were set up at the Department of Geosciences. New faculty members with related expertise or interests were subsequently hired at various departments in the College of Arts & Sciences. Thus, GIS-related courses attract students across disciplines and schools at UMKC as well as from industry, government agencies, and local nonprofit organizations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Currently GIS courses support the following degree programs at UMKC:
- B.S. and B.A. in Environmental Studies (a key elective)
- B.S. and B.A. in Environmental Studies (a key elective)
- B.S. in Geology (an elective)
- B.A. in Urban Planning (required
- B.A. in Urban Studies (a key elective)
- M.S. in Bioinformatics (a common elective)
- M.S. in Environmental and Urban Geosciences (required)
Requirement
Enrollment requirement: The program is open to any student with appropriate academic background, which will be evaluated for enrollment permission by the program director. Applicants need to submit previous transcript(s) with the application. Letters of reference is optional.
Course requirement: For the completion of the certificate program, the student is required to finish the coursework of 17-18 credits as listed below*:
I. Required two core courses: Credit hours
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (Geog. 203) 4.0
Advanced Geographic Information Science (Geog. 401/501) 4.0
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Sub-total: 8.0
II. Electives (any three from the below courses):
Environmental Remote Sensing & Digital Image Analysis (Geog. 402/5502) ** 4.0
Geocomputation for Earth & Environmental Sciences (Geog.444/5544) ** 3.0
Satellite Climatology (Geog. 448/548) ** 3.0
Special topics in Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing (Geog. 5598D) ** 3.0
Quantitative Methods in Planning (UPD 300) 3.0
GIS for Urban Analysis I (planned UPD 303) 3.0
GIS for Urban Analysis II (planned UPD 403) 3.0
Advanced GIS for Crime Analysis (CJC 5592)** 3.0
Introduction to Digital Image Processing (ECE 484/ECE 5590IP) ** 3.0
Database Design, Implementation and Validation (CS 471) 3.0
Data Structures and Algorithms (CS 352) 3.0 ________________________________________________________________________
Sub-total:
9.0 – 10.0
Total: 17.0 – 18.0
* The course list will be updated and related new courses may be added.
Individuals with previous GIS training or experience may have the introductory GIS course (Geog. 203) waived. In this situation, the student must consult with the program director and take a substitute course. No more than one course may be transferred from another institution.
Completion requirement: There is no time limit for participating students to complete this program. A 3.0 GPA or better is required for successful completion of this program. Interested students should contact the program director for additional information:
Application Form
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Program Brochure
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Contact
Advanced Certificate Program in GIS Program Director: Dr. Wei Ji