Requirements
Certificate requirements: Successful completion of 20 specified graduate credits with a cumulative PSU graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher (all graduate credit taken at PSU) and a cumulative program GPA of 3.0 or higher (all courses used for the graduate certificate), distributed as follows: 8 credits of core courses and 12 credits of electives. All certificate requirements must be fulfilled within three calendar years of admission. Courses taken three years before the program completion date cannot be used to fulfill the program requirements. All certificate program courses must be taken for a letter grade (A-F).
Core Courses (8 credits)
- Geog 588/USP 591 Geographic Information Systems I: Introduction (4 credits) and Geog 588L GIS Lab
- Geog 592/USP 592 Geographic Information Systems II: Advanced GIS (4 credits) and Geog 592L GIS II Lab
Waivers: You may request a waiver of these two 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.
- 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
- GEOG 581 Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction
- GEOG 584 Cartographic Applications of GIS
- GEOG 597 Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis
Electives (12 credits)
Take 12 credits from this list or similar discrete-numbered courses approved in advance by the director.
- G 525 Field GIS
- GEOG 572 Critical GIS
- GEOG 575 Spatial Database Design and Applications
- GEOG 576 3D Terrain Analysis & Visualization
- GEOG 577 Photogrammetry and LiDAR
- GEOG 580 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
- GEOG 581 Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction
- GEOG 584 Cartographic Applications of GIS
- GEOG 585 Map Design and Production
- GEOG 589 Building a GIS Database with GPS
- GEOG 590 GIS Programming
- GEOG 591 Professionalism in GIS
- GEOG 594 GIS for Water Resources
- GEOG 597 Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis
- USP 543 Geographic Applications to Planning
- USP 593 Public Participation GIS
Total Credit Hours: 20
Program Completion Application
Application for award of the Graduate Certificate must be filed by the student in the Graduate School no later than the first week of the anticipated term of graduation (deadlines for each term are available at the Graduate School).
Transfer Credits
Transfer credit is defined as eligible graduate credit taken at other accredited institutions. Two-thirds of the 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 (GO-21M) must be used for approval of transfer credit.
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 program 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.
Course Overlap Between Degrees and Certificates
GIS graduate certificate courses can be applied to a master's (or a doctoral) degree or another graduate certificate that accepts the courses as electives.