Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Application
- Students wishing to obtain this certificate must declare their intention by applying to the program office or director.
- All graduate certificate applicants—even those already enrolled in a UWM graduate program—must apply to the Graduate School through the Panthera Admission Application.
- Graduate degree and previously admitted graduate non-degree students who decide to pursue a certificate program must submit the Panthera application before completing 6 credits in the certificate sequence.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted into a certificate program.
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) | ||
GEOG 726 | Geographic Information Science | |
URBPLAN 791 | Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | |
| Tier 2 (select one course) | ||
GEOG 826 | Intermediate Geographic Information Science | |
URBPLAN 792 | Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | |
| Tier 3 (Select two courses) | ||
GEOG 704 | Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | |
GEOG 705 | Cartography | |
URBPLAN 793 | Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems | |
URBPLAN 794 | Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | |
ANTHRO 562 | Techniques and Problems in Archaeology | |
BUS ADM 749 | Data and Information Management | |
| Electives | 6 | |
| Select six credits in courses from the list below: | ||
GEOG 716 | Watershed Analysis and Modeling | |
GEOG 747 | Spatial Analysis | |
GEOG 798 | GIS/Cartography Internship | |
GEOG 804 | Advanced Remote Sensing | |
GEOG 999 | Independent Work (with appropriate topic) | |
URBPLAN 692 | Special Topics in Urban Planning: | |
URBPLAN 791 | Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | |
URBPLAN 792 | Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | |
URBPLAN 793 | Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems | |
URBPLAN 794 | Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | |
URBPLAN 991 | Legislative/Administrative Agency Internship | |
URBPLAN 999 | Independent Study | |
ANTHRO 380 | Anthropological Applications of GIS | |
ANTHRO 562 | Techniques and Problems in Archaeology | |
ANTHRO 768 | Topics in Advanced Research Design in Anthropology | |
BUS ADM 749 | Data and Information Management | |
CRM JST 520 | Analysis Oriented Technology: Spatial Data Analysis; Crime Mapping; ArcGIS | |
INFOST 465 | Legal Aspects of Information Products and Services | |
INFOST 691 | Special Topics in Information Science: | |
INFOST 714 | 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.
Grade Point Average Requirement
A minimum cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM is required.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.