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Graduate Certificate
in Geographic Information Science - Online
Students will receive graduate-level university credits and a certificate upon successful completion of this online program. They can also apply the certificate as needed points toward the national credential of GISP (Certified GIS Professional) offered by the GIS Certification Institute. The flexibility of the Ecampus online Graduate Certificate in GIScience allows students to reach their career goals without having to complete an entire 45-credit graduate degree course sequence or a thesis.
OSU runs on a quarter-based academic calendar. Winter term classes start in early January, spring term starts in early April, Summer Session has multiple sessions, most starting in late June, and fall term starts in late September. Registration typically starts two months prior to the start of the term. Check the Ecampus Schedule of Classes for details.
Course Schedule
19 total credits required
Students are required to complete two "core" courses totaling 8 credits, the prerequisites for which have been streamlined so that students may begin the certificate after completing introductory cartography or equivalent experience, trigonometry, and basic statistics courses. The core courses are supplemented by additional coursework totaling at least 11 credits.
Background Courses
- GEO 360 - Cartography (4 credits) or equivalent experience
- MTH 112 - or equivalent high school or university course(s)
- Basic statistics: ST 201/ST 202, or ST 351/ST 352 or ST 511/ST 512
Required Core Courses (8 credits)
- GEO 544 - Remote Sensing of the Environment (4 credits)
- GEO 565 - Geographic Information Systems and Science (4 credits)
Additional Coursework (11 credits)
- GEO 510 - Internship (4 credits); see note on "Internship" below
- GEO 580 - Advanced Applications of GIS in the Geosciences (4 credits)
- GEO 599 - Responsible GIS Practice: Ethics for Future Geospatial Professionals (3 credits)
Internship
Students will also complete a 10-week internship (GEO 510 above) in which they complete a project of a GIScience nature and submit a final report. It is anticipated that many of the distance education students enrolled in the graduate certificate program will be employed for an agency or organization where a GIScience related internship experience can be easily arranged. For students not currently employed in the field and making a career change, the program will help match students to internship providers in their area.
Note: Only online course options offered through OSU Ecampus for the GIScience Graduate Certificate curriculum are listed above. For more information about on-campus classes for the program, visit the main GIScience Certificate Program website.
