Reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of GIS, the certificate consists of core introductory courses, advanced topics and applications development courses drawn from the Geography, Urban Studies and Planning, and Geology departments at PSU. The certificate program is administered by the Department of Geography.
Requirements
Students must complete 20 graduate credits, including 8 credits of core courses and 12 credits of courses selected from the list of electives. All certificate program courses must be taken for a letter grade (A-F).
Students have up to 3 years to complete the Certificate program once they start. Courses taken within 7 years of the program completion date can be used to fulfill the program requirements.
Required Core Courses (8 credits)
You may request a waiver of these 2 courses from the program director on the basis of prior educational background under the following circumstances:
- If you have taken the courses at the undergraduate level or taken them as part of an undergraduate program at PSU.
- If GIS I and GIS II equivalent courses were taken at another institution you must submit syllabi from those courses as part of your waiver request.
Waivers are at the discretion of the program director. If the waiver is not approved you must take GIS I and GIS II. If the waiver is approved you must take additional credits from the following list to fulfill the required 8 credits of core curriculum:
- GEOG 575 Spatial Database Design and Applications (4 credits)
- GEOG 581 Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction (4 credits)
- GEOG 584 Cartographic Applications of GIS (4 credits)
- GEOG 597 Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis (4 credits)
Electives (12 credits from the following courses)
Experimental 510 Courses
Due to the fast developments in geospatial technologies, some experimental courses can be used toward the Certificate with the approval of the Program Director. Please verify the eligibility with the instructor or Geography department before taking a 510 course to fulfill the Certificate requirements. Each student can have a maximum of one 510 course per program. The experimental course can only be used as a substitute for an elective, not a core course. Joint campus courses (JC 510) are considered transfer credits for which all transfer credit limitations apply.
Transfer Credits
Transfer credit is defined as eligible graduate credit taken at other accredited institutions. Two-thirds of the Graduate Certificate program requirements or 15 credits minimum, whichever is larger, must be taken at Portland State University. Transfer credits must be letter-graded with a B or higher and eligible for use in master’s degree programs at PSU. The Proposed Transfer Credit form (.pdf) (GO-11GC) must be used for approval of transfer credit.
Course Overlap between Degrees and Certificates
Graduate courses can be applied to a master's (or a doctoral) degree and a graduate certificate or to another graduate certificate that accepts the courses as electives.