The objective of the Geographic Information Systems minor is to provide an interdisciplinary educational experience that prepares undergraduate students to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) within their chosen fields of study. A GIS is a computer-based system, comprised of both hardware and software that enables the collection, integration, analysis, and graphic display of geographically referenced data. It is estimated that as much as 85 percent of a government agency’s data is geographic, including, at a minimum, street addresses, political boundaries, postal codes, and latitude and longitude coordinates. Private sector organizations also work with an overwhelming amount of similar kinds of data in their day-to-day operations. With so much geographically based information, GIS has become essential to the effective operation of both public and private organizations.

The minor will prepare students for careers or graduate study in virtually all areas of the public or private sector where GIS is increasingly in use and critical for efficient management, thorough policy analysis, cost-effective decision making, and GIS display and processing.

The curriculum in this minor is multidisciplinary in content and interdisciplinary in approach, drawing on a variety of disciplines and departments.

Requirements for GIS Minor

Requirements may differ according to date of enrollment. Current students should check their college catalog.

Students are required to take 24-25 credit hours (a minimum of 15 credit hours outside of their major) from among the following courses:

1. GIS Core Courses: 12-13 credit hours required
   

2. GIS Elective Courses: 6 credit hours required
   
   Two courses from the following:

3. Interdisciplinary Elective: 3 credit hours required
   
   One course required from the following:

4. Practicum Experience Required: 3 credit hours required