Geographic Information Science and Technology, Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS&T) program provides students in-depth training and education in GIS.  Students with different backgrounds (e.g., biology/ecology, geography, earth sciences, meteorology, engineering, social science, public health and health analytics, data science, and computer science) are exposed to knowledge in cutting-edge geospatial theory, methods, and technologies, including GIS, spatial data analytics, geoAI, cartography, and geovisualization, and remote sensing.  Students develop geospatial skills that are of great help in their domain-specific problem-solving using state-of-the-art GIS. The GIS training that students receive from the graduate certificate program makes them highly competitive in their future careers in industry and in academia.

Admission Requirements

The certificate program is open to all applicants who either hold a bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by an accepted accrediting body or are enrolled and in good standing in a graduate degree program at UNC Charlotte.  Applications for admission are considered as they are received, and admissions are ongoing.  All students are admitted to the Graduate School in a special category for certificate programs. Students currently enrolled in the M.A. in Geography program within the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences are also eligible to apply for the certificate.

To apply for the admission to the certificate program, applicants are required to submit: 

  • A completed Graduate Admissions application form to Graduate Admissions with a statement of professional goals
  • One letter of recommendations from an academic or professional source
  • For select international applicants, TOEFL or other score of language proficiency accepted by the UNC Charlotte Graduate School
  • GPA: In general, the department would prefer an overall undergraduate GPA above 3.0 (or a 3.0 for the last 2 years) on a 4.0 scale. However, averages less than these will not exclude applicants if the other elements of the application are strong
  • Official transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions

Program Requirements

At least 13 total credit hours are required to obtain a Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences. Students are required to take the core course which focuses on the fundamentals of GIS&T and then three elective courses from the list below. 

Core Course (4 credit hours)

Select one of the following:

GEOG 6125 – Geographic Information Science and Technology (4)

GEOG 8125 – Geographic Information Science and Technology (4)

Elective Courses (9 credit hours)

Select three of the following:

ESCI 5170 – Fundamentals of Remote Sensing (4)

ESCI 5180 – Digital Image Processing in Remote Sensing (4)

GEOG 5000 – Topics in Geography (3) (with permission of Certificate Director)

GEOG 5103 – Computer Programming for GIS Applications (3)

GEOG 5131 – Environmental Modeling with GIS (4)

GEOG 5132 – Spatial Modeling for Social and Economical Applications (3)

GEOG 5150 – Spatial Database Development with GPS and GIS (3)

GEOG 5180 – Web GIS (3)

GEOG 6182 – Agent-Based Modeling of Coupled Human and Natural Systems (3)

GEOG 6000 or GEOG 8000 – Topics in Urban and Regional Analysis (3) (with permission of Certificate Director)

GEOG 6030 or GEOG 8030 – Topics in Geographic Techniques (3) (with permission of Certificate Director)

GEOG 6205 or GEOG 8205 – Geovisualization (3)

GEOG 6282 or GEOG 8282 – CyberGIS and Big Data (3)

GEOG 6408 or GEOG 8408 – Spatial Optimization (3)

GRAD 6104 or GEOG 6120 or GEOG 8120 -Spatial Statistics (3)

GEOG 6800 or GEOG 8800 – Directed Problems in Geography (3) (with permission of Certificate Director)

Certificate Total = 13 Credit Hours

Grade Requirements

Students must earn a grade of C or above in all courses toward the certificate.

Contact

For more questions or information, contact Program Coordinator: Dr. Wenwu Tang (Email: wenwutang@charlotte.edu)