Certificates and combined degrees are a great way to enhance your undergraduate experience. They will help you to stand out when you graduate and are looking for a job or you are pursuing graduate studies.
The last decades have witnessed an exponential growth in digital data, the totality of which must be measured in the almost inconceivable scale of (1 Zettabytes = 1 billion Terabytes). A significant portion of this data, perhaps even a majority, has some geospatial component, whether it is simple street addresses and GPS coordinates, or high-resolution satellite imagery.
With the wide availability of GPS-enabled smartphones that log location alongside a myriad of other day-to-day activities, as well as powerful applications that instantly bring detailed maps from the cloud to mobile devices, geospatial data has never been more widely available, and widely used, than it is now. In this world of nearly ubiquitous geospatial data it is crucial for academia, government and industry to understand the sources of these data, critically assess their accuracy and utility, and apply the data to solving pressing problems at the local, regional and global scales.
As a consequence of the rapid growth in this area, conservatively put at 9.6% annually, the job prospects for those who process and analyze geospatial data in the and have never been better, .
Geographic Information Science (GISc) is the broad umbrella under which geospatial data is collected, processed and analyzed. The 皇冠体育鈥檚 University Department of Geography and Planning offers a Geographic Information Science Certificate (GISC) to enhance the skills of students not only in Geography and cognate disciplines, but across the gamut of concentrators in the university.
With a strong record of internships, co-op placements and employment, the faculty who offer courses within the GISC give students hand-on experience in the latest software packages and techniques used to work with geospatial data. Beyond just technical skills, the GISC, through a broad suite of courses, will equip students with a deeper understanding of the geographic and environmental concepts that underlie GISc. Students will acquire skills to address emerging issues in:
- Environmental Science
- Agriculture
- Forestry
- Health Care
- Navigation
- Business
- Government
- Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Mapping
Areas of regular (either annual or biennial) instruction in the GISC include:
- Basic geospatial concepts (GPHY 105 鈥淭he Digital Earth鈥)
- GIS concepts, map making and spatial data operation in industry-standard GIS software, like ESRI鈥檚 ArcGIS (GPHY 243 鈥淕eographic Information Science鈥)
- Customizing GIS software (GPHY 348 鈥淎pplication Design and Customization in GIS鈥)
- Detecting patterns in geospatial data (GPHY 345 鈥淪patial Analysis鈥)
- Satellite and airborne Remote Sensing (GPHY 242 鈥淩emote Sensing I: Remote Sensing of the Environment鈥 and 342 鈥淩emote Sensing II: Digital Image Processing鈥)
- Applications of Geospatial Technology for Business (GPHY 343)
- Ecology and the Environment (GIS and Modelling for Environmental Applications鈥, GPHY 310 鈥淟andscape Ecology鈥
- 3D Measurement using photos from aircraft and UAVs (GPHY 341 鈥淧hotogrammetry鈥)
- Map-making, CAD and data-visualization (GPHY 344 鈥淐artographic Design and Visualization鈥)
- The history and ethics of map-making and GIS (GPHY 325 鈥淢aps and Society)
In addition to courses offered within the Department of Geography and Planning, introductory courses in Computer Science (CISC 101 鈥淓lements of Computing Science鈥 and 121 鈥淚ntroduction to Computer Science I鈥), Math (up to 3.0 units) and Geology (GEOL 463 鈥淪patial Information Management in the Geosciences鈥) may be used towards the GISC Certificate.
Learn more about Certificate in Geographic Information Science.
The Certificate in Urban Planning Studies introduces students to urban planning-related issues grounded in an appreciation of city life and city structures and prepares students for advanced studies and careers related to urban planning, such as community development, real estate, municipal governance, international development, or education. The Certificate in Urban Planning Studies provides a balanced, multi-disciplinary approach to the study of cities by incorporating the main disciplinary foundations of the study of urban planning including social planning, municipal regulation, transportation, real estate law, resource management, land use planning, and community relations. This certificate provides students with an opportunity for focused, advanced study of city planning and city development, combined with skills regarding the practice of urban planning that will support them should they decide to complete a professional degree in this field.
School of Urban and Regional Planning and Geography Department Combined Degree Program
Background
The combined degree program is intended to help geography students who want a fast-track professional degree in urban and regional planning. The combined degree program makes it possible for geography students to finish their BAH / BSCH and MPL. degrees in less time th