GIS Certificate Program
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an exciting and fast-growing field with a broad range of applications. It is a discipline devoted to the acquisition, storage, management, analysis, and visualization of spatial data in a computer environment. GIS allows for many views of data and the ability to integrate and analyze across data sets for a desired purpose. GIS provides a suite of tools used to support many kinds of decision-making and analysis.
The Department of Geography offers a one-year GIS Certificate Program developed to fill a growing demand for GIS skills in today's job market. This graduate-level capstone program is intended to provide a mix of GIS theory and practical knowledge for many possible applications.
About the Program
The primary goal of the program is to ensure that students become sufficiently grounded in theoretical underpinnings of GIS to make informed use of existing GIS applications and gain skills needed to construct new applications in the physical or social realms. The full range of GIS capabilities is covered, including data capture, analysis, modeling and cartographic representation.
The program covers the foundations of GIS and spatial analysis, including cartography and statistical methods. Through hands-on exposure in the form of lab exercises, course projects, and an internship or independent project, experience will be acquired with major GIS software packages, including ArcGIS and MapInfo. By teaching concepts and hands-on use, the program differs from a typical short course designed for GIS training in a particular software package.
The program is intended to serve:
- recent graduates who wish to acquire technical expertise to support the topical knowledge gained in their undergraduate major
- returning students who wish to acquire specialized training to meet current (or future) job requirements calling for GIS knowledge
What's the difference between the Certificate and a MS degree in GIS? See the comparison chart.
This program satisfies the educational requirements of the GIS Certification Institute's professional GIS certification.
Contact Information
Karen Tuerk
GIS Certificate Program Manager
University of Wisconsin-Madison
376 Science Hall
550 N. Park Street
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608.265.9975
Fax: 608.265.3991
kstuerk@wisc.edu