Geographic Information Systems, Graduate Certificate (College of Letters and Science) Graduate Certificate
The Certificate in Geographic Information Systems is designed for those individuals seeking careers as GIS specialists, providing geographic data management, spatial analysis, and GIS system management support to professionals in a broad range of disciplines, such as criminal justice, health services, city and regional planning, civil and environmental engineering, transportation, and marketing. Certificate holders will seek employment in positions such as “GIS Specialist,” “GIS Analyst,” or “GIS Coordinator.”
The School of Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of the Arts & Architecture and the College of Letters and Science jointly offer the certificate. The core courses (12 credits) focus on the structure of geographic data, components for managing geographic information systems, spatial analysis, and delivery of geographic information through maps and displays. Students select the remaining 6 credits for the certificate from electives, which may include an internship, in areas such as remote sensing, map-making, and data management systems.
Upon completion of the certificate courses, a student is awarded the certificate which qualifies for 5 credential points in the GIS Certification Institute’s standards for professional certification in GIS.
Program Type
Graduate Certificate
Program Format
On Campus
What is a certificate?
A graduate certificate is open to individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree and wish to pursue additional education.
A graduate certificate can be earned alongside a master’s or doctoral degree. Some certificates – including the graduate GIS certificate – can be completed as a standalone credential without also pursuing a master’s or PhD.
As a standalone, the GIS certificate requires about half as many credits as the master’s degree.
Credits and Courses
A minimum of 6 credits each in Urban Planning and Geography courses are required for completion of the certificate. To earn the Certificate, one must complete six semester-long courses (with a minimum of 18 credits), satisfy graduate school criteria for successful completion and maintain at least a B (3.00) average in all courses. No more than 3 credits of Internship or Independent Study will be counted towards the Certificate. The program requirements are as follows:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | 12 | |
| Tier 1 (select one course) | ||
| Geographic Information Science | ||
| Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | ||
| Tier 2 (select one course) | ||
| Intermediate Geographic Information Science | ||
| Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | ||
| Tier 3 (Select two courses) | ||
| Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | ||
| Cartography | ||
| Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| Techniques and Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Data and Information Management | ||
| Electives | 6 | |
| Select six credits in courses from the list below: | ||
| Watershed Analysis and Modeling | ||
| Spatial Analysis | ||
| GIS/Cartography Internship | ||
| Advanced Remote Sensing | ||
| Independent Work (with appropriate topic) | ||
| Special Topics in Urban Planning: | ||
| Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | ||
| Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | ||
| Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| Legislative/Administrative Agency Internship | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Anthropological Applications of GIS | ||
| Techniques and Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Topics in Advanced Research Design in Anthropology | ||
| Data and Information Management | ||
| Analysis Oriented Technology: Spatial Data Analysis; Crime Mapping; ArcGIS | ||
| Legal Aspects of Information Products and Services | ||
| Special Topics in Information Science: | ||
| Metadata | ||
Other courses as approved by the GIS Certificate Subcommittee 1 | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
- 1
Tier 1, 2, or 3 courses may count as electives once the Tier requirements have been satisfied.
Advising
Students will be advised by the Geography and Urban Planning faculty who teach GIS courses.
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
No more than 20% of the required credits may be taken at an institution other than UWM. To be eligible for transfer, the course must have been completed within the last two years. These courses are subject to Graduate School transfer policy and must be approved by the director of the certificate program.
Application to all graduate programs are completed through the UWM Graduate School. Please see their website for detailed information about the application process and contact them with questions.
We also have provided information about applying to one of the Geography graduate programs and our admissions criteria: