The Certificate in Geographic Information Systems is designed for those individuals seeking careers as GIS specialists, providing geographic data management, spatial analysis, and GIS system management support to professionals in a broad range of disciplines, such as criminal justice, health services, city and regional planning, civil and environmental engineering, transportation, and marketing. Certificate holders will seek employment in positions such as “GIS Specialist,” “GIS Analyst,” or “GIS Coordinator.”
The School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the College of Letters and Science jointly offer the certificate. The core courses (12 credits) focus on the structure of geographic data, components for managing geographic information systems, spatial analysis, and delivery of geographic information through maps and displays. Students select the remaining 6 credits for the certificate from electives, which may include an internship, in areas such as remote sensing, map-making, and data management systems.
Upon completion of the certificate courses, a student is awarded the certificate which qualifies for 5 credential points in the GIS Certification Institute’s standards for professional certification in GIS.
Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Application
- Students wishing to obtain this certificate must declare their intention by applying to the program office or director.
- All graduate certificate applicants—even those already enrolled in a UWM graduate program—must apply to the Graduate School through the Panthera Admission Application.
- Graduate degree and previously admitted graduate non-degree students who decide to pursue a certificate program must submit the Panthera application before completing 6 credits in the certificate sequence.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted in to a certificate program.
Credits and Courses
A minimum of 6 credits each in Urban Planning and Geography courses are required for completion of the certificate. To earn the Certificate, one must complete six semester-long courses (with a minimum of 18 credits), satisfy graduate school criteria for successful completion and maintain at least a B (3.00) average among the following courses:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | 12 | |
| Tier 1 (select one course) | ||
| Geographic Information Science | ||
| Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | ||
| Tier 2 (select one course) | ||
| Intermediate Geographic Information Science | ||
| Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | ||
| Tier 3 (Select two courses) | ||
| Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | ||
| Cartography | ||
| ArcGIS Programming with Python | ||
| GIS and Society | ||
| Advanced Geographic Information Science: Geographic Modeling | ||
| Seminar: Geographic Techniques: | ||
| Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| Techniques and Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Data and Information Management | ||
| Electives | 6 | |
| Select two courses from the list below | ||
| Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis | ||
| Advanced Geographic Information Science: Geographic Modeling | ||
| Seminar: Geographic Techniques: | ||
| Independent Work | ||
| Special Topics in Urban Planning: | ||
| Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | ||
| Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | ||
| Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| Legislative/Administrative Agency Internship | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Anthropological Applications of GIS | ||
| Techniques and Problems in Archaeology | ||
| Topics in Advanced Research Design in Anthropology | ||
| Data and Information Management | ||
| Analysis Oriented Technology: Spatial Data Analysis; Crime Mapping; ArcGIS | ||
| Legal Aspects of Information Products and Services | ||
| Special Topics in Information Science: | ||
| Metadata | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 403 | Remote Sensing: Environmental and Land Use Analysis (if not selected above) | 4 |
| GEOG 405 | Cartography (if not selected above) | 4 |
| GEOG 515 | Watershed Analysis and Modeling | 3 |
| GEOG 525 | Geographic Information Science (if not selected above) | 4 |
| GEOG 547 | Spatial Analysis | 4 |
| GEOG 625 | Intermediate Geographic Information Science (if not selected above) | 4 |
| GEOG 647 | ArcGIS Programming with Python (if not selected above) | 4 |
| GEOG 698 | GIS/Cartography Internship | 1-6 |
| GEOG 804 | Advanced Remote Sensing | 3 |
| GEOG 926 | Advanced Geographic Information Science: Geographic Modeling | 3 |
| GEOG 834 | GIS and Society | 3 |
| GEOG 904 | Remote Sensing and Urban Analysis | 3 |
| GEOG 960 | Seminar: Geographic Techniques: (if not selected above) | 3 |
| GEOG 999 | Independent Work (with appropriate topic) | 1-6 |
| URBPLAN 692 | Special Topics in Urban Planning: (“Transportation Planning and GIS” subtitle) | 1-3 |
| URBPLAN 791 | Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning (if not selected above) | 3 |
| URBPLAN 792 | Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning (if not selected above) | 3 |
| URBPLAN 793 | Applied Projects in Urban Geographic Information Systems (if not selected above) | 3 |
| URBPLAN 794 | Internet Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (if not selected above) | 3 |
| URBPLAN 991 | Legislative/Administrative Agency Internship | 3-6 |
| URBPLAN 999 | Independent Study | 1-3 |
| ANTHRO 380 | Anthropological Applications of GIS | 3 |
| ANTHRO 562 | Techniques and Problems in Archaeology (if not selected above) | 3 |
| ANTHRO 768 | Topics in Advanced Research Design in Anthropology | 3 |
| BUS ADM 749 | Data and Information Management (if not selected above) | 3 |
| CRM JST 520 | Analysis Oriented Technology: Spatial Data Analysis; Crime Mapping; ArcGIS | 3 |
| INFOST 465 | Legal Aspects of Information Products and Services | 3 |
| INFOST 691 | Special Topics in Information Science: (Economics of Information) | 1-3 |
| INFOST 714 | Metadata (prerequisites strictly enforced) | 3 |
| Other courses as approved by the GIS Certificate Advisory Committee chairperson | ||
Students will be advised by the Geography and Urban Planning faculty who teach GIS courses.
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
No more than 20% of the required credits may be taken at an institution other than UWM. To be eligible for transfer, the course must have been completed within the last two years. These courses are subject to Graduate School transfer policy and must be approved by the director of the certificate program.
Grade Point Average Requirement
A minimum cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM is required.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.