Geospatial Information Science, Graduate Certificate

Admission Requirements

Students may pursue the graduate certificate while enrolled in the any master’s program or as a certificate-only student.

  • Students already enrolled in the master’s degree program should submit to the academic dean a Secondary Program Request form at https://www.marshall.edu/graduate/current-students/forms-and-information/.
  • Applicants interested in the certificate-only program should apply for admission to Marshall University as a Certificate/Professional Development student and select on the application form the Certificate in Geospatial Information Science.

Program Requirements

A graduate certificate in Geospatial Information Science consists of a minimum of 16 graduate hours in courses designated as GIScience Courses, including regularly offered courses as well as special topics courses. Students must have a B (3.0) average in their GIScience courses and no grade below a C (2.0) in their GIScience courses to earn the certificate. The program is designed to:

  • offer Geospatial Information Science study in a variety of disciplines with a variety of applications;
  • teach students Geospatial Information Science techniques;
  • teach students to apply Geospatial Information Science to solve scientific research problems;
  • encourage students to gain experience in the Geospatial Information Science field by means of internships;
  • integrate Geospatial Information Science applications with computer science concepts;
  • prepare students for Geospatial Information Science employment. or additional work at the doctoral level.

Students may earn this certificate entirely online or in the traditional classroom.

Course Requirements

GIScience Required Course
GEO 526Principles of GIS 14
Select one Remote Sensing course4
Remote Sensing & Photogram
Remote Sensing/GIS Appl
Dgtl Image Proc/GIS Model
Special Topics/Independent Study as approved by the GIScience certificate director.
GIScience Electives8
Select at least two of the following:
Remote Sensing/GIS Appl
Dgtl Image Proc/GIS Model
Landscape Ecology
Remote Sensing & Map Use
Cartography & GIS
Principles of GIS II
Location Analysis and GIS
Environmental Raster Analysis
Remote Sensing & Photogram
Enterprise GIS
GPS & Mobile Geospatial T
Flood Hazards and GIS
Spatial Statistics and GIS
Drones:Remote Sensing & GIS
Applied GIS Projects
Internship in Geography (must be GIScience approved by advisor in advance)
Geographic Information Systems
Advanced Practicum (must be GIScience approved by advisor in advance)
Special Topics courses as approved by program director in advance
Independent Studies courses as approved by student's advisor in advance
Total Credit Hours16
1

Requirement waived if GEO 426 Principles of GIS or its equivalent taken as an undergraduate

Oversight of the Geospatial Information Science Certificate Program

The interdisciplinary Geospatial Information Science Curriculum Committee oversees the program and approves changes to the program. Additional Geospatial Information Science faculty members and administrative stakeholders may be added to the Committee by consensus of the members or at the request of their Dean. As members leave university service, they may be replaced at the discretion of their department. Current members and their colleges are:

  • Anne Axel, COS
  • David Cartwright,  COS
  • Hilton Cordoba, COLA
  • Yi Duan, LCOB
  • Tom Jones, COS
  • Min Kook Kim, COS
  • Jamie Leonard, COLA, Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Certificate Programs and Undergraduate Minor
  • Ron Martino, COS
  • Brian Morgan, COS
  • Andrew Nichols, CECS
  • Scott Simonton, CECS
  • Jayme Waldron, COS
  • Anita Walz, COLA
  • Jamie Wolfe, CEGAS

Administrative Home

James Leonard, Ph.D., Geography Department, College of Liberal Arts, is the director of the program and can provide students with information, course substitutions, advising, forms, and other assistance.