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541-737-3795
kuuipo.walsh@oregonstate.edu

Do you want to learn to collect and analyze real-time geospatial data to help solve environmental problems? Are you already using geospatial data in your graduate degree and would like to take your skills further? A graduate certificate in Geographic Information Science can supplement any other graduate degree, or be done standalone, providing marketable skills in remote sensing, geospatial data collection and analysis, modeling, use of machine learning and geovisualization. Your GIScience graduate certificate, consisting of 19 credit hours, will help you combine theory and principles underlying geospatial data collection; technologies to manage, analyze, and visualize geospatial data; computational, statistical, and mathematical methods; and social and environmental implications of GIScience. Your GIScience certificate will pave the way to careers in academia, government, industry and beyond.

Why GIScience at Oregon State?

  • World-class faculty who have garnered national and international awards
  • Online program provides an economical and flexible choice for distance education students
  • Real-world experience through a 10-week internship in a GIScience field
  • Oregon State’s status as an Esri Development Center which confers special status as an exemplary GIS program

Explore the certificate

On-Campus Curriculum

Online Curriculum

Geographic Information Science Curriculum Worksheet

Program Requirements

Graduate Certificate (on campus)

Must already be a graduate student at OSU in residence here in Corvallis and seeking a degree (in good standing), and in any major, any degree program. Upon consultation with Certificate Program Director Kuuipo Walsh, CEOAS, you may apply to the certificate program by submitting a Change of Degree/Major/Certificate form. Please also send a copy of your graduate program form to Ms. Walsh for her records. Declaring for the certificate does NOT require that a GIScience faculty member be on your committee (this is a main difference between a certificate and a minor). Upon completion of the coursework, Ms. Walsh will conduct the appropriate audit with the Graduate School to ensure that the credential is assigned to your student record, and that a paper certificate is issued.

Graduate Certificate (online)

This option is for people seeking to obtain our 19-credit graduate certificate WITHOUT already being in a full-time, degree-seeking graduate program here at OSU. In other words, you do not have to complete an entire 45-credit graduate degree course sequence or a thesis. This option is therefore aimed at off-campus, in-career working professionals, or other kinds of continuing-education students seeking a credential in geographic information science. Individuals interested in this certificate may apply to OSU only to obtain the certificate and nothing else, or to obtain the certificate as part of their post-baccalaureate status. Courses taken for the certificate may enhance and expand existing skills, or help prepare participants for a completely new career that involves working with GIS, remote sensing, or other geographic technologies.

  • Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree (in any field) from a college or university.
  • The undergraduate GPA must be at least a B (3.0).
  • Students should expect and be prepared to complete graduate-level coursework toward the certificate.
  • Applicants must have basic computer literacy (high comfort level with Microsoft Windows file and disk management, as well the Internet).
  • Applicants should have in their record the equivalent of a basic statistics course (including rudimentary data processing), a basic cartography course, and the equivalent of high school algebra before starting the core courses in the certificate. Statistics or cartography coursework can also be pursued in tandem with the required certificate courses.
  • Prior experience with relational databases or spatial analysis is not required, but will be extremely helpful. Prior experience with GIS or remote sensing software is not required.

Courses for credit taken previously at OSU may used to satisfy the requirements for the graduate certificate. Courses for credit taken for the online graduate certificate may also be transferred to a full OSU graduate degree program at a later date, should the student decide to pursue a full graduate degree at OSU.

GI Science Graduate Student Handbook

If interested, please contact the Certificate Program Director, Ms. Kuuipo Walsh, CEOAS.

Grad School Policies Governing Graduate Certificates

OSU ECampus Online Grad GIScience Certificate Web Site


Program Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes: Students in Geographic Information Science shall:

  • Demonstrate skill in integrative spatial thinking and effective implementation of various spatial analysis methods, as well as collaborative learning across several sub-disciplines within the GIScience field.
  • Develop solid grounding in GIScience technology and the appropriate application of that technology (software, data collection instruments and devices).
  • Express familiarity with a wide variety of research applications, management and decision-support scenarios, with the capacity to apply knowledge to natural resource problems at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

 


Program Registration

Graduate Certificate (on campus)

You must already be a graduate student in residence here in Corvallis at OSU, in good standing in any major, any graduate degree program. Upon consultation with the Certificate Program Director Ms. Kuuipo Walsh, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, you may apply to the GIScience certificate program by filling out the Change of Degree/Major/Certificate form. The change requested will be "Work on Concurrent Degree/Certificate" and the New Degree/Certificate will be "Certificate" and the New Major will be "Geographic Information Science (Certificate)". Declaring for the certificate does NOT require that a GIScience faculty member be on your committee (this is a main difference between a certificate and a minor). Upon completion of the coursework, Ms. Walsh will conduct the appropriate audit with the Graduate School to ensure that the credential is assigned to your student record, and that a paper certificate is issued.

Graduate Certificate (online)

This option is for people seeking to obtain our 19-credit graduate certificate WITHOUT already being in a full-time, degree-seeking graduate program here at OSU. This option is therefore aimed at off-campus, in-career working professionals or other kinds of continuing-education students seeking a credential in geographic information science.

  • Fill out and submit the GIScience pre-screening application form on the web.
  • The certificate program director will notify you of the results of the pre-screening and advise accordingly. The certificate program director will notify you of the results within 1-2 business days.
  • Upon positive notification from the director, proceed to the application process.
  • Upon acceptance by the Graduate School, proceed with registering for the classes in the online graduate certificate program that are available during the upcoming term.

For assistance, please contact the Certificate Program Director, Ms. Kuuipo Walsh, CEOAS.

Grad School Policies Governing Graduate Certificates

OSU ECampus Online Grad GIScience Certificate Web Site


OSU Catalog - Graduate

What Can I Do with My Certificate (PDF on Box)

Meet the faculty

Program director, Kuuipo Ann Walsh
Schedule an appointment with Kuuipo
Employment opportunities in GISciences have grown substantially over the last 10 years. With a GIScience certificate, students will be more in-demand than ever.

Faculty

  • Core Faculty (Level 1) - GIScience Coordinating Committee

    Forest Engineering, Resources and Management

    Michael G. Wing
    Associate Professor, Senior Research; PhD, Oregon State University; spatial applications and environmental research, stream habitat, visibility analysis, GIS, remote sensing, spatial statistics. Email: Michael.Wing at oregonstate.edu

    College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

    Robert Kennedy
    Associate Professor, CEOAS; PhD, Oregon State University; Geospatial analysis, remote sensing, modeling, landscape ecology, disturbance dynamics, computational methods. Email: rkennedy at coas.oregonstate.edu

    Kuuipo Walsh
    Program Director, Undergraduate, Graduate, and Online Grad Certificate Adviser, Faculty Research Assistant; MS, Oregon State University; marine and coastal GIS, particularly spatial analysis, metadata, and web GIS. Email: Kuuipo.Walsh at oregonstate.edu

    Jamon Van Den Hoek
    Associate Professor, CEOAS; PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison; using large volume satellite imagery, open source programming, machine learning, and social datasets to examine interrelationships between land degradation, environmental resource deprivation, and social conflict. Email: jvandenhoek at coas.oregonstate.edu

  • Teaching Faculty (Level 2)

    Arras, Tracy
    Instructor, Civil Engineering. MS, California State University-Fresno; GIS, remote sensing, image processing. Email: arrast at engr.oregonstate.edu

    Bailey, Mike
    Professor, School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. PhD, Purdue University; Scientific visualization, solid freeform fabrication, design for manufacturing and assembly, geometric modeling, stereographics/virtual reality, hardcopy, color theory, and user interaction. Email: mjb at eecs.oregonstate.edu

    Becker, Lorene Yokoyama
    Senior Instructor II, CEOAS. MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison; GIS, environmental conservation, decision-support systems. Email: lorene.yokoyama_becker at geo.oregonstate.edu

    Hystad, Perry
    Assistant Professor, College of Public Health and Human Sciences; PhD, University of British Columbia; Spatial exposure assessment methods to determine the chronic health effects associated with exposure to air pollution, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer. Email: perry.hystad at oregonstate.edu

    Jones, Julia A.
    Distinguished Professor, CEOAS. PhD, Johns Hopkins University; spatial analysis in ecology and CEOAS, soils, geomorphology, effects of land use on forest hydrology. Email: geojulia at comcast.net

    Kennedy, Robert
    Associate Professor, CEOAS; PhD, Oregon State University; Geospatial analysis, remote sensing, modeling, landscape ecology, disturbance dynamics, computational methods. Email: rkennedy at coas.oregonstate.edu

    Kiser, Jim
    Lecturer, Forest Engineering, Resoures & Management. MS, Oregon State University; GPS, photogrammetry, laser technologies, commercial thinning operations and damage. Email: jim.kiser at oregonstate.edu

    Lybrand, Rebecca
    Assistant Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Science. PhD, University of Arizona; Pedology in the Critical Zone. Email: rebecca.lybrand at oregonstate.edu

    Nelson, Peder
    Senior Instructor I / Senior Faculty Research Assistant II, CEOAS. Remote sensing, GIS, satellite imagery, automated visualization and analysis. Email: peder.nelson at oregonstate.edu

    Olsen, Mike
    Assistant Professor, Civil & Construction Engineering. PhD, University of California, San Diego; geomatics engineering, digital terrain modeling, applications of terrestrial laser scanning and GIS to earthquake, liquefaction, and coastal hazards. Email: michael.olsen at oregonstate.edu

    Park, Jihye
    Assistant Professor, Civil and Construction Engineering. Phd, The Ohio State University; Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning/navigation and GNSS remote sensing. Email: jihye.park at oregonstate.edu

    Parrish, Christopher
    Associate Professor, Civil & Construction Engineering. PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Full-waveform LiDAR, topographic-bathymetric LiDAR, hyperspectral imagery, uncertainty modeling, and UAVs for coastal applications. Email:christopher.parrish at oregonstate.edu

    Reuter, Ron
    Associate Professor, Natural Resources, OSU Cascades Campus, Bend. PhD, University of Minnesota; soils and landscape ecology, forest resources, GIS. Email: ron.reuter at oregonstate.edu

    Ripple, William J.
    Professor, Forest Ecosystems & Society. PhD, Oregon State University; remote sensing, GIS. Email: bill.ripple at oregonstate.edu

    Wing, Michael
    Associate Professor, Senior Research, Forest Engineering, Resources & Management. PhD, Oregon State University; spatial applications and environmental research, stream habitat, visibility analysis, GIS, remote sensing, spatial statistics. Email: Michael.Wing at oregonstate.edu

    Zhao, Bo
    Courtesy,  Associate Professor at University of Washington, Department of Geography; PhD, Ohio State University; Cartography, geo-visualization and analysis of big data and the critical evaluation of behaviors and dynamics in space and time. Email: zhao2 at oregonstate.edu

  • Adjunct Faculty (Level 3)

    Ashkenas, Linda
    Senior Faculty Research Assistant, Fisheries and Wildlife (GIS, stream ecology, environmental history). Email: Linda.Ashkenas at oregonstate.edu

    Boggess, William G.
    Professor and Chair of Agricultural and Resource Economics. PhD, Iowa State University; interactions between agriculture and the environment (water allocation, groundwater contamination, surface water pollution, water and environmental policy); applied decision theory under risk and uncertainty, stochastic/dynamic simulation and optimization techniques. Email: bill.boggess at oregonstate.edu

    Bolte, John P.
    Associate Professor, Bioengineering. PhD, Auburn University; mathematical modeling and simulation of agricultural, aquacultural and environmental systems, GIS-based spatial modeling, artificial intelligence applications in bioresource management. Email: boltej at engr.orst.edu

    Cohen, Warren
    Research Forester, USDA Forest Service PNRS. PhD, Colorado State University; remote sensing, scaling field-based ecological information to landscape and regional levels, forest structure. Email: Warren.Cohen at oregonstate.edu

    Coop, Len
    Assistant Professor Senior Research, Botany and Plant Pathology. PhD, Oregon State University; integrated pest management, decision support systems, phenology and systems modeling, GIS, the web, and IPM delivery systems. Email: coopl at bcc.orst.edu

    Daly, Chris
    Professor, Senior Research, Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering . PhD, Oregon State University; climatology, meteorology, author of the PRISM climate parameter expert system. Email: chris.daly at oregonstate.edu

    Dietterich, Tom
    Professor, Computer Science. PhD, Stanford University; adaptive computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence. Email: tgd at cs.orst.edu

    Edwards, Mark
    Associate Professor, Sociology. PhD, University of Washington; research methods and statistics, stratification, GIS and society. Email: medwards at oregonstate.edu

    Fern, Xiaoli
    Associate Professor, School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. PhD, Purdue University; Machine learning, data mining and knowledge discovery. Email: xfern at eecs.oregonstate.edu

    Freilich, Michael H.
    Professor, CEOAS. PhD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; surface wave modeling, nearshore processes, microwave ocean remote sensing. Email: mhf at coas.oregonstate.edu

    Goldfinger, Chris
    Professor, CEOAS. PhD, Oregon State University; seafloor imaging, mapping and visualization, marine GIS, subduction earthquakes, accretion and erosion of active margins. Email: gold at coas.oregonstate.edu

    Good, James W.
    Professor Emeritus, CEOAS, Marine Resource Management Program. PhD, Oregon State University; coastal erosion/shoreline management, urban waterfront development, coastal hazards, wetlands management. Email: jgood at coas.oregonstate.edu

    Grant, Gordon
    Research Hydrologist U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Research Station and Courtesy Professor of Geosciences. PhD, Johns Hopkins University; fluvial geomorphology of mountain-forest streams. Email: grantg at fsl.orst.edu

    Hannaway, David
    Professor, Crop and Soil Science. PhD, University of Kentucky; forage crops, GIS-based mapping technologies for climate, soils, and species characteristics. Email: david.hannaway at oregonstate.edu

    Hunter-Zaworski, Kate
    Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Director, National Center for Accessible Transportation. PhD, Oregon State University; transportation engineering, transportation GIS. Email: hunterz at engr.orst.edu

    Jackson, Philip L.
    Professor Emeritus, CEOAS. PhD, University of Kansas; climatology, physical geography, land-resource planning and management, natural hazards policy. Email: jacksonp at geo.oregonstate.edu

    James, Corrine
    Faculty Research Assistant, CEOAS (Remote Sensing). Email: corrine at coas.oregonstate.edu

    Keon, Dylan
    GIS Research Specialist, Northwest Alliance for Computational Science. Email: keon at nacse.org

    Lancaster, Stephen
    Associate Professor, CEOAS. PhD, MIT; fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, GIS. Email: Stephen.Lancaster at oregonstate.edu

    Meyers, S. Mark
    Faculty Research Assistant, CEOAS (GIS, geographical analysis, wildlife science). Email: meyerss at geo.oregonstate.edu

    Noller, Jay
    Professor, Crop and Soil Science. PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder; landscape pedology, soil geomorphology, GIS. Email: jay.noller at oregonstate.edu

    Olsen, Mike
    Assistant Professor, Civil & Construction Engineering. PhD, University of California, San Diego; geomatics engineering, digital terrain modeling, applications of terrestrial laser scanning and GIS to earthquake, liquefaction, and coastal hazards. Email: michael.olsen at oregonstate.edu

    Pancake, Cherri
    Professor and Intel Faculty Fellow, Computer Science. PhD, Auburn University; usability engineering, parallel processing, user interfaces, distributed databases and computing, Director of Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering. Email: pancake at cs.orst.edu

    Reitsma, Rene
    Professor, College of Business. PhD, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands; cartography of information space, information systems, information management. Email: reitsmar at bus.oregonstate.edu

    Schultz, Robert, J.
    Professor, Civil Engineering. MSCE, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; cadastral, geodetic, and photogrammetric surveying. Email: robert.schultz@oregonstate.edu

    Spies, Thomas A.
    Professor, Forest Ecosystems & Society. PhD, University of Michigan; landscape ecology, ecology and management of old-growth forests, forest succession. Email: spiest at fsl.orst.edu

    Turner, David P.
    Professor, Senior Research, Forest Ecosystems & Society. PhD, Washington State University; biogenic emissions, global ecology. Email: turnerd at fsl.orst.edu

    Vincent, Paul
    Associate Professor, Senior Research, CEOAS. PhD, University of Colorado; Surface deformation measurements using terrestrial and satellite geodesy; advanced InSAR techniques; coupled, multi-physics source characterization; dynamic simulations. Email: pvincent@coas.oregonstate.edu

    White, Denis
    Faculty Research Associate, CEOAS, (GIS, cartography, geographic analysis and synthesis). Email: white.denis at epa.gov

    Wright, Dawn J.
    Founder of the GIScience Certificate Program. Chief Scientist at Esri and Courtesy Professor at CEOAS; PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara; GIS, marine and coastal geography, mid-ocean ridges, geography of cyberspace. Email: dwright at esri.com

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