Geographic Information Systems Minor

Coordinator: Associate Professor R. Kirk

Professor: MacFall

Associate Professors: Morgan, Xiao

Senior Lecturer: Kleckner

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) minor is designed to prepare students with the basic training necessary to enter the rapidly expanding field of geographic information science. Employment opportunities are limitless for students who are proficient with this interdisciplinary tool. The U.S. Department of Labor has listed geospatial technologies like GIS as one of the three most important high growth industries in the 21st century. Well-qualified GIS specialists are sought in the areas of business, disaster mitigation, economics, education, emergency management, environmental studies, homeland security, law enforcement, physical sciences, political campaign management, public policy research and analysis, transportation, and urban development and planning. The minor provides students with fundamental knowledge and skills in GIS, and opportunities to explore application of these skills in courses selected from a wide variety of disciplines. Students are given hands-on experience with state-of-the-art computer programs and software.

This minor includes courses from the computing sciences, communications, economics, environmental studies, history and geography, marketing and entrepreneurship, political science and policy studies, sport and event management, and statistics departments. There are three components to the curriculum: a set of three core technology courses, a pair of elective disciplinary courses in which GIS can be a supporting tool, and a capstone experience consisting of a significant project or internship in the student’s area of interest.

Minor Requirements:

Required course: 4 sh

ENS 2500/GEO 2500INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

4 sh

Capstone Project: 2 sh

Approved GEO 499 Research Credits, GEO 491 Independent Study, or GEO 481 internship with significant GIS component. Meet with GIS program coordinator to discuss and receive approval form. 

Choose six to eight hours from the following: 6-8 sh

GEO 1500OUR SPATIAL WORLD

2 sh

GEO 3560INTRODUCTION TO REMOTE SENSING

4 sh

CSC 1100DATA SCIENCE AND VISUALIZATION

4 sh

Select two discipline-specific courses from the following: 8 sh

BUS 2110MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

4 sh

CSC 1300COMPUTER SCIENCE I

4 sh

MEA 360INTERACTIVE MEDIA

4 sh

ECO 3300INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRICS

4 sh

ECO 4210URBAN ECONOMICS AND PLANNING

4 sh

ENS 1110INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

3 sh

ENS 3200RESTORATION ECOLOGY

4 sh

ENS 3300WILDLIFE ECOLOGY

4 sh

ENS 3400/GEO 3400WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

4 sh

GEO 1210GLOBAL PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

4 sh

GEO 3450GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

4 sh

MKT 4160GLOBAL MARKETING

4 sh

PHS 3010INTRODUCTION TO EPIDEMIOLOGY

4 sh

PHS 3020GLOBAL HEALTH

4 sh

POL 2200RESEARCH METHODS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND POLICY STUDIES

4 sh

POL 3210PUBLIC OPINION POLLING

4 sh

PST 2310PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

4 sh

SPT 226FACILITY AND VENUE MANAGEMENT

4 sh

STS 3270STATISTICAL COMPUTING FOR DATA MANAGEMENT

4 sh

COM 360, ECO 347, ECO 440, ENS 320, ENS 330, MKT 416, PHS 301, PHS 302, STS 327: Consult the course description for information on course prerequisites. 

Total Credit Hours: 20-22

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