Admission Requirements

Applicants seeking admission to the graduate Geographic Information Science certificate program must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in this country, or its equivalent in a foreign institution based on a four-year program, and have a strong overall academic record with a “B” average or better.

To apply for admission to the graduate Geographic Information Science certificate program you must submit the following:

1. An application for admission to the graduate school
2. Official transcripts of all prior university or college coursework (undergraduate and graduate);
3. Three recommendations by individuals in professionally relevant fields;
4. A personal statement describing reasons for pursuing the Geographic Information Science certificate; and
5. Application and supplemental documents must be received by the published deadline.

Individuals who fall below one of these criteria may be admitted if other factors indicate potential for success. Individuals with identified deficiencies may be accepted provisionally with a specific plan for the remediation of these deficiencies. Such remediation may include a requirement of additional hours beyond those normally required for the degree. 

Additional graduate courses that contain a substantial amount of geospatial technology, including transfer courses, may be applied to the program as approved by the Program Coordinator. Up to 6 hours of appropriate graduate coursework completed with a “B” or better at a regionally accredited university will be considered for transfer into the certificate program by the admissions committee.

Certificate Requirements (18 credit hours)

The program requires 18 credit hours. Given that the goal for the certificate program is to provide students with a balanced theoretical and applied education in Geographic Information Science, the curriculum consists of 9 core, or Geographic Information Science theory, credit hours and 9 elective, or applied, credit hours.