Courses Offered

Start here if you are new to GIS! Topics include:

• Vector and Raster data models 
• Coordinate systems and how they work
• Basic principles of cartographic design
• Structured Query Language (SQL) and how attribute tables work

Instructor: Quentin Clark

Semesters Offered: Fall & Spring

Work with a team of your peers to develop a GIS project from start to finish! Learning objectives for GEOG 9004 include:

• Defining project scope
• Data capture
• Project planning and execution
• Delivery methods for final products

Instructor: Tom Robinson

Semesters Offered: Fall & Spring

It's not hard to make a good map, but it's real easy to make a bad map! Take a deeper dive into the art of mapmaking with GEOG 9009. Topics covered include:

• Cartography best practices
• The visual variables of cartographic design
• Color theory and how color can convey meaning
• Visual hierarchy of a map

Instructor: Quentin Clark

Semesters Offered: Fall & Spring

Learn how to design, construct, and administer a GIS database that includes both spatial and attribute data. Topics include:

• Relational database design
• Table creation and population
• Query optimization
• Data integration

Instructor: Seth Hiatt

Semesters Offered: Fall & Spring

Explore the many different methods and techniques used for capturing data for in a GIS project. In this class you will learn about:

• Digitizing data from preexisting maps and imagery
• Geocoding and address matching
• Image classification

Instructor: Jessica Solis

Semesters Offered: Fall & Spring

ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based web mapping platform used across multiple industries and by GIS
professionals worldwide. This course will include:

• Fundamental terminology and capabilities of ArcGIS Online
• Mobile data collection
• Web map configurations and desktop web applications

Instructor: Dara O'Beirne

Semesters Offered: Fall & Spring

Learn how GIS professionals use GPS receivers to collect spatial data in the field and display it on a map with ease. Course highlights include:

• How to use GPS receivers to gather positional and attribute data in the field
• The steps for importing and displaying GPS data
• Common issues with GPS data collection

Instructor: Quentin Clark

Semesters Offered: Spring only 

Data management is an essential component of every successful GIS project. Learn how to better organize your data in GEOG 9030. Course highlights include:

• Building out and populating a geodatabase
• Migrating existing GIS data into a geodatabase 
• Setting up relationships between objects 
• Applying topology rules to improve data accuracy

Instructor: XiaoHang Liu

Semesters Offered: Spring only

Take the helm and learn how to collect and process imagery using drones. No pilot license required! Highlights include:

• The basics of drone piloting and image collection
• The benefits of multispectral imagery 
• Using color imagery to capture landform features
• Methods for capturing ground control points

Instructor: Jerry Davis

Semesters Offered: Spring only 

Use of geospatial technologies to map coastal and ocean processes is necessary for the analysis of marine conservation issues and effective coastal zone management. This intensive course focuses on:

• Benthic habitat mapping
• Spatial analysis of marine animal movements
• Mapping of marine protected areas

Instructor: Course awaiting new instructor assignment

Semesters Offered: Fall only 

Learn how GIS is used to study and manage watersheds, with a focus on source areas, stream channels, and riparian habitats. This class explores issues of:

• Hillslope runoff and soil erosion 
• Interpretation of historical and current runoff-discharge relationships
• Land-use change in watersheds

Instructor: Jerry Davis

Semesters Offered: Spring only

This course introduces the use of GIS in the collection and analysis of public health data. GEOG 9027 covers the following health-related topics:

• Public health data sources
• Assessment of spatial patterns of disease location and transmission rates
• Spatial interpolation of disease exposures

Instructor: XiaoHang Liu

Semesters Offered: Spring only 

The power of GIS lies within its applicability across disciplines. Learn how ecologists leverage GIS to identify ecological patterns and advance their understanding of the natural world. GEOG 9032 explores the following:

• How GIS is used within the field of ecology
• Ecological data sources and potential issues
• Patterns of dispersal and hot spot analysis
• Species interactions (including people!)

Instructor: Seth Hiatt

Semesters Offered: Spring only 

The course covers the cartographic and analytic techniques used in GIS to assist sustainable planning and urban design. Topics include:

• Use of Network Analyst for evaluating walkability
• Using GIS to calculate indicators of smart growth 
• Land-use scenario planning analysis
• Use of 3D Analyst for building 3D models, flythroughs, and form based planning

Instructor: Brian Fulfrost

Semesters Offered: Fall only

Using GIS, this course teaches current methods for assessing vulnerabilities and resilience to expected effects of climate change such as: 

• Extreme heat
• Aridification
• Major precipitation events
• Natural & urban flooding 
• Sea-level rise

Instructor: Tom Robinson

Semesters Offered: Fall only

Take your understanding of how to use raster data to the next level with GEOG 9008. This class covers the following subjects:

• Using raster tools for natural resource modeling and environmental analysis
• Advantages and limitations of the raster data model
• Raster surface modeling
• Map algebra concepts

Instructor: Jerry Davis

Semesters Offered: Fall only

Take the next big step in your GIS journey with GEOG 9013 - Spatial Analysis and Modeling. Across two days, you will discover how:

• Vector and raster spatial analysis tools work and when to use them
• To automate spatial analysis processes using ModelBuilder in ArcGIS
• Integrate external analytical tools
• To construct complex spatial models in ArcGIS Pro

Instructor: XiaoHang Liu

Semesters Offered: Spring only

An introduction to the use of GIS in the visualization of scientific datasets. The following topics are explored:

• Terrain and viewshed analysis
• Statistical analysis of point sample data
• Surface generation from point and contour datasets
• Exploring 3D visualizations

Instructor: Seth Hiatt

Semesters Offered: Fall only

An intro to programming in ArcGIS using Python from within the geoprocessing environment. No prior programming experience needed! Students will learn:

• Why Python is the appropriate programming language for scripting in GIS
• How to create geoprocessing tools that can be combined with other tools to complete both repetitive and complex analytical tasks

Instructor: Dara O'Beirne

Semesters Offered: Spring only 

The course introduces students to the geoprocessing framework and will focus on the use of models for both advanced analysis and common repetitive procedures that are common in GIS. Topics will include:

• The geoprocessing framework
• How to use ModelBuilder in ArcGIS to integrate tools, scripts, and models into a GIS project

Instructor: Dara O'Beirne

Semesters Offered: Fall only

Tackle big data challenges with R, a widely used open source statistics program. Completion of a stats course and some GIS experience is highly recommended. Course topics will include:

• Fundamentals of the R command-line interface
• Data management and manipulation
• Data visualization and graphics
• Basic spatial statistics and modeling

Instructor: Seth Hiatt or Jerry Davis 

Semesters Offered: Spring only 

This course is geared toward GIS analysts who want to create content-rich mapping applications. Familiarity with HTML and JavaScript is recommended. Class highlights include:

• How HTML and Javascript are used in app generation
• How to publish GIS content (both internal and public-facing) via web mapping apps

Instructor: Barry Nickel

Semesters Offered: Fall only

This course covers the basic concepts and procedures used in remote-sensed image processing, with an emphasis on imagery captured from satellites. This class will cover:

• The electromagnetic spectrum
• Image analysis and classification
• Image transformation and enhancements
• GIS integration
• How to use the ERDAS Imagine software platform

Instructor: Leonhard Blesius

Semesters Offered: Fall only

GEOG 9035 serves as an introduction to one of the most powerful data models within the field of Remote Sensing - LiDAR. With this course, students will learn:

• What exactly Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is and how it's used
• How to create surface models from LiDAR point clouds
• How to complete vegetation classification using LiDAR data

Instructor: Leonhard Blesius

Semesters Offered: Spring only