Geographic Information Science, B.S.

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The Geographic Information Science (GIScience) degree recognizes that spatial data is interdisciplinary and important to almost all industries, disciplines, and individuals. This degree gives students the knowledge and technical skills that they need to create, visualize, query, analyze, interpret, and share spatial data through coursework in GIScience, a required minor in computer science, and cognate coursework in mathematics, the natural sciences, and art. Core knowledge is complimented by upper-level electives that provide diverse, interdisciplinary training and a recommended set of spatially-focused general education courses.

Program Requirements

Core Required Courses: 21 Credits

GISC 101 - Geographic Information Systems 4 Credit(s)
GISC 201 - Cartography 3 Credit(s)
GISC 301 - Data Acquisition & Management 4 Credits
GISC 302 - Remote Sensing 1-3 Credit(s)
GISC 401 - Spatial Problems and Analysis 4 Credit(s)
GISC 450 - Capstone Experience 3 Credit(s)

Electives: 17 Credits

17 credits of electives must be taken from at least three different departments. Electives are chosen by advisement and general must include course content that provides a conceptual underpinning for spatial issues. Many courses offered by Anthropology, Archaeology, Biology, Community Health, Environmental Studies, Geology, Math, Political Science, and Sociology complement the GIScience program well.

Cognate Requirements: 16 Credits

GEOL 101 - Environmental Geology 1 and 3 Credit(s)
or
GEOL 103 - Physical Geology 1 and 3 Credit(s)
MATH 151 - Calculus I 4 Credit(s)
MATH 125 - Probability and Statistics I 3 Credit(s) or equivalent
CIS 280 - Selected Languages 1 Credit(s)
ARTS 120 - Color and Design 4 Credit(s)

Minor in Computer Science (Required): 18 Credits

Required Courses: 18 Credits

*GIS majors can ask the CS Department to substitute one of the electives in place of CIS 300 .
**Suggested electives for GIScience majors are CIS 310 - Operating Systems 3 Credits , CIS 410 - Computer Networks 3 Credits , and/or CIS 420 - Database Systems 3 Credits .

CIS 201 - Computer Science I 4 Credit(s)
CIS 203 - Computer Science II 4 Credit(s)
CIS 300 - Foundations of Computer Science 4 Credit(s) *
CIS xxx - CIS Elective (3xx or 4xx) 3 Credits **
CIS xxx - CIS Elective (3xx or 4xx) 3 Credits **

Grade Requirements

Minimum grade of 2.0 is required for all courses in the major and for cognates. Students may not S/U GISC courses.