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Duluth Campus

Geographic Information Science B.A.

Geography & Philosophy
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Program Type: Baccalaureate
  • Requirements for this program are current for Fall 2014
  • Required credits to graduate with this degree: 120
  • Required credits within the major: 55
  • Degree: Bachelor of Arts
The core of the Geographic Information Science major is the study and use of geographic information systems (GIS). Central to this program are the theoretical and applied fundamentals of the collection, management, analysis, and representation of spatial data. The program builds on this core by exploring both traditional and novel methods for geo-visualization and by exploring applications of GIS to environmental, resource, and policy/management issues. Methods include teaching various remote sensing technologies used to collect and classify remotely sensed data, critically discussing the implications of geo-spatial technologies on individuals and society, and demonstrating how geo-spatial technologies are used effectively in urban and regional planning processes. Students also learn about GIS project management and research process, professional ethics, and presentation. The major blends well with other majors such as anthropology, biology, chemistry, computer science, criminology, engineering, environment and sustainability, geography, geology, history, mathematics, political science, sociology, statistics, and urban and regional studies. Students are encouraged to double major. Honors Requirements: Candidates must have a 3.00 overall GPA and a 3.30 in the major. An honors project and paper must be completed in GEOG 4999. Students who wish to have such work considered for honors must complete a departmental form prior to the second semester of their senior year. Completed projects and papers must be approved by the sponsoring faculty member and other members of the department.
Program Delivery
This program is available:
  • via classroom (the majority of instruction is face-to-face)
Admission Requirements
For information about University of Minnesota admission requirements, visit the Office of Admissions website.
Required prerequisites
Introductory Requirement (1 cr)
Transfer students with 24 or more credits and current UMD students who change colleges to CLA are exempt from this requirement. New first-year students with 24 or more PSEO credits may request to be waived from this requirement.
UST 1000 - Learning in Community (1.0-2.0 cr)
General Requirements
  1. Students must meet all course and credit requirements of the departments and colleges or schools in which they are enrolled including an advanced writing course. Students seeking two degrees must fulfill the requirements of both degrees. However, two degrees cannot be awarded for the same major.
  2. Students must complete all requirements of the Liberal Education Program or its approved equivalent.
  3. Students must complete a minimum of 120 semester credits completed in compliance with University of Minnesota Duluth academic policies with credit limits (e.g., Satisfactory/Non-Satisfactory Grading Policy, Credit for Prior Learning, etc).
  4. At least 30 semester credits must be earned through UMD, and 15 of the last 30 credits earned immediately before graduation must be awarded by UMD.
  5. At least half of upper-division (3xxx-level or higher) credits that satisfy major requirements (major requirements includes all courses required for the major, including courses in a subplan) through UMD.
  6. If a minor is required, students must take at least three upper division credits in their minor field from UMD.
  7. For certificate programs, at least 3 upper-division credits that satisfy requirements for the certificate must be taken through UMD. If the program does not require upper division credits students must take at least one course from the certificate program from UMD.
  8. The minimum cumulative University of Minnesota (UMN) GPA required for graduation is 2.00 and includes only University of Minnesota coursework. A minimum UMN GPA of 2.00 is required in each UMD undergraduate major, minor, and certificate. No academic unit may impose a higher GPA standard to graduate.
  9. Diploma, transcripts, licensure, and certification will be withheld until all financial obligations to the University have been met.
Program Requirements
1. A second field or study (either a minor or another major). 2. If students choose to double major in any of the following combinations GIS, GEOG, ES, or URS, they must follow the fall 2012 or later degree requirements for all programs. Following these requirements addresses the overlapping of courses across programs. 3. Students with the GIS major cannot pursue the GIS certificate.
Required Core (37 cr)
GEOG 1414 - The Physical Geography [LE CAT, NAT SCI, SUSTAIN] (4.0 cr)
or EES 1110 - Geology and Earth Systems [LE CAT, NAT SCI, SUSTAIN] (4.0 cr)
GEOG 1304 {Inactive} [LE CAT6, LECD CAT06, SOC SCI] (3.0 cr)
or GEOG 2305 - Geography of Cultural Diversity [CDIVERSITY] (3.0 cr)
And all of the following:
GEOG 2552 {Inactive} [LE CAT2, LOGIC & QR] (3.0 cr)
GEOG 3532 {Inactive} (4.0 cr)
GIS 3563 - Geographic Information Science I: Theory and Analysis (4.0 cr)
GIS 3564 - Geographic Information Science II: Applied GIS (4.0 cr)
GIS 3580 - Earth Imagery (4.0 cr)
GIS 4585 - Advanced GIS Analytics (4.0 cr)
GIS 3597 - Internship in GIS (3.0-4.0 cr)
GEOG 4612 {Inactive} (4.0 cr)
Electives (14 cr)
Take 2 courses for a minimum of 8 credits from GIS 3xxx-5xxx. Additional GIS 2xxx-5xxx courses will apply to the 'Other Electives' area. To fulfill this requirement take courses from the 'Other Electives' area to reach a minimum of 14 elective credits across both sub-requirements.
Take 2 or more course(s) totaling 8 or more credit(s) from the following:
· GIS 3xxx-5xxx
· Other Electives
Take 6 or more credit(s) from the following:
· BIOL 5808 {Inactive} (3.0 cr)
· ES 3xxx
· FORS 3205 {Inactive} (3.0 cr)
· GIS 2xxx-5xxx
· CS 1121 - Introduction to Programming in Visual BASIC.NET [LE CAT, LOGIC & QR] (3.0 cr)
or CS 1141 {Inactive} (3.0 cr)
or CS 2121 {Inactive} [LE CAT, LOGIC & QR] (3.0 cr)
· CS 3211 {Inactive} (4.0 cr)
or CS 4322 - Database Management Systems (4.0 cr)
Advanced Writing Requirement (3 cr)
WRIT 31xx - Adv Writing (3 cr)
 
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· College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

View future requirement(s):
· Fall 2018
· Fall 2016
· Fall 2015

View sample plan(s):
· Geographic Information Science B.A.

View checkpoint chart:
· Geographic Information Science B.A.
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UST 1000 - Learning in Community
Credits: 1.0 -2.0 [max 2.0]
Course Equivalencies: EHS 1000/UST 1000/ ES 1000
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Facilitates the successful transition into college learning and student life at UMD. Credit will not be granted if already received for EHS 1000.
GEOG 1414 - The Physical Geography (LE CAT, NAT SCI, SUSTAIN)
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Periodic Fall, Spring & Summer
The environment is highly dynamic and is continually modified by human and environmental processes. This course examines these processes to better understand how the Earth's landscapes were formed and how they are currently being transformed. Specifically, students will understand the fundamental processes that govern the physical environment including Earth-sun relations, water resources, landforms, weather and climate, natural vegetation, and soils.
EES 1110 - Geology and Earth Systems (LE CAT, NAT SCI, SUSTAIN)
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Course Equivalencies: EES 1110 FST 1409
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Earth systems science is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the processes operating within and the interactions between the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. In this course we investigate the changing nature of the Earth; its composition, architecture, and antiquity; the internal and external processes that shape it through time; cycles of energy and matter; the development of life and impact of human activity; and both local environmental issues and global change. For students using a 2012-2021 LEP catalog year, the GEOL subject is now EES. If you took GEOL 1610, EES 1110 will not fulfill the requirement of a different subject. Credit will not be granted if already received for GEOL 1110
GEOG 2305 - Geography of Cultural Diversity (CDIVERSITY)
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Periodic Spring
This course utilizes social scientific approaches to cultural diversity in the United States to develop a critical understanding of the geography of our unequal society. We examine why humans spatially segregate themselves into racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, how meaning is constructed around these differences, and how the politics of difference are expressed geographically. Credit will not be granted if already received for GEOG 2405
GIS 3563 - Geographic Information Science I: Theory and Analysis
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
GIS 3563 emphasizes the concepts needed to use GIS effectively for acquiring, editing, querying, analyzing and visualizing spatial data. This course is an introduction to GIS and trains basic skills with industry standard GIS software in a wide variety of applications in both the natural and social sciences. The course covers basic data modeling, data manipulation, analytical methods and implications of geospatial technologies on society. prereq: credit will not be granted if already received for GEOG 3564 or 4563 and 4564 or GIS4565.
GIS 3564 - Geographic Information Science II: Applied GIS
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
GIS 3564 follows 3563 and provides more hands-on skills with industry standard GIS software in a wide variety of applications in both the natural and social sciences. It covers more advanced analytical methods for both raster and vector data. Lastly, the course questions ethics regarding geospatial information and introduces the code of ethics for GIS professionals. prereq: 3563; credit will not be granted if already received for GEOG 3564 or 4563 and 4564 or GIS4565.
GIS 3580 - Earth Imagery
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall
his course is a selective overview of the methods used for imaging the Earth and its atmosphere. The objective is to expose students to the common methods of Earth imaging and provide them with hands-on experiences in exploring these rich datasets. This course introduces aerial photographs, satellite imaging (active and passive forms), and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). By the end of the course students will be able to comfortably analyze mulitspectral Earth imagery, handle a LiDAR point cloud, and create a variety of informative outputs from an image. prereq: 2552; credit will not be granted if already received for GEOG 3580
GIS 4585 - Advanced GIS Analytics
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Periodic Fall & Spring
This course provides GIS students, or students in related fields and interested in spatial data analysis with advanced GIS methods and techniques to analyze spatial data and publish valuable insights and monitoring solutions. Methods covered in this course may be applied across a wide variety of fields (social or environmental studies, economics and management, sciences and engineering), whenever spatial information needs to be analyzed. The course marries theory and applications and relies on a variety of desktop or "as-service" software. Examples are: ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS online, QGIS. prereq: GIS 3563, preferred STAT 1411 or 2411; no grad credit
GIS 3597 - Internship in GIS
Credits: 3.0 -4.0 [max 8.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall, Spring & Summer
Scheduled assignments with direct supervision in public agencies or relevant private firms. prereq: GIS major with minimum 60 credits and instructor consent
CS 1121 - Introduction to Programming in Visual BASIC.NET (LE CAT, LOGIC & QR)
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Course Equivalencies: FMIS 2225/CS 1121
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Introduction to programming in the modern Visual BASIC language. Projects are developed in a .NET environment using the Visual Studio. Includes GUI interface development and expert-driven Windows programming. Major topics include variables, datatype, arithmetic expressions, control structures, arrays and database file processing. For students with no prior programming experience. prereq: 1 yr high school algebra or instructor consent
CS 4322 - Database Management Systems
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Study of database management fundamentals focusing on the relational data model. Topics include database organization, file organization, query processing, concurrency control, recovery, data integrity, optimization and view implementation. prereq: no grad credit, 2511, 2521, (2531 or 3512 or MATH 3355) instructor consent; a grade of C- or better is required in all prerequisite courses