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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate
	Become certified to work in one of the fastest growing fields: Geospatial Technology. The U.S. Labor Department predicts that the Geospatial Technology Industry will grow from three billion dollars in revenue in 1997 to 21 billion dollars in revenue over the next couple of years. Cal Poly Pomona offers GIS Certification from faculty with years of experience in areas such as Vector GIS, Remote Sensing, Programming for GIS, Environmental Modeling, Project Management, Digital Image Processing and much more. From local government and engineering, to planning, resources management and public safety, our nation’s workforce will increasingly integrate and utilize geospatial technologies.

Overview

Geographic Information Science and Geographic Information Systems are co-existing terms used in academic, research or industrial circles to describe the fields of geo-spatial analysis, cartography, remote sensing and global positioning systems. Geographic Information Systems is the geospatial discipline that focuses on the technologies and software applications used for geospatial analysis. Geographic Information Science is the study of spatial theory, (e.g. Coordinate systems, projections) and methodologies (e.g. Data acquisition, database structure, spatial statistical analysis, quality control) which inform the development of geospatial software and valid interpretation of spatial data. GIScience and GISystems go hand-in-hand to help end users analyze network systems, land use, spatial distributions, vegetation, climate, location/allocation models, navigation systems, temporal changes and many other spatially derived relationships.

GIS end users, researchers and developers are found in: business, marketing, landscape architecture, land surveying, geography, urban planning, local government, legal profession, law enforcement, health care, education, international development, agriculture, biology, water resources, environmental conservation, epidemiology, aeronautics, transportation, anthropology, philosophy, defense, computer programming, and many other fields that use spatially referenced information.

The certificate program at Cal Poly Pomona combines instruction in Geographic Information Systems and Science. In conjunction with hands-on training in geographic information software, students will also learn about methodologies for valid and meaningful spatial data collection, analysis, online mapping, customization, and project management. Each of the certificate courses is taught in two Saturdays from 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. In our GIS lab, a state of the art GIS training facility. Participants may also use the lab for course related work during weekday lab open hours.