School of Earth, Environment and Society

Program Details | Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Minor

To earn a Minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) complete a minimum of 24 credits in geography (at least 16 credits must be taken in residence at Portland State University), to include the following:

Core Courses (8 credits)

  • GEOG 488 GIS I: Introduction
  • GEOG 492 GIS II: Advanced GIS

Note: G 424 GIS for the Natural Sciences may be substituted for Geog 488. Students may not take both courses to meet minor requirements.

Electives (16 credits chosen from the following courses):

Techniques

At least 8 credits must be taken from the following list:

  • Geog 475 Spatial Database Design and Applications (4 credits)
  • Geog 476 3D Terrain Analysis & Visualization (2 credits)
  • Geog 477 Photogrammetry and LiDAR (2 credits)
  • Geog 480 Fundamentals of Remote Sensing (4 credits)
  • Geog 481 Digital Image Analysis I: Introduction (4 credits)
  • Geog 482 Digital Image Analysis II: Advanced Remote Sensing (4 credits)
  • Geog 484 Cartographic Applications of GIS (4 credits)
  • Geog 485 Map Design and Production (4 credits)
  • Geog 490 GIS Programming (4 credits)
  • Geog 494 GIS for Water Resources (4 credits)
  • Geog 496 Introduction to Spatial Quantitative Analysis (4 credits)
  • Geog 497 Advanced Spatial Quantitative Analysis (4 credits)

Concepts and Applications

Up to 8 credits may be taken from the following list:

  • Geog 375U Maps, Culture, and Society (4 credits)
  • Geog 380U Maps and Geographic Information (4 credits)
  • Geog 472 Critical GIS (2 credits)
  • G 425 Field GIS (4 credits)
  • CCJ 336 Applied Crime Mapping (4 credits)

Total Credit Hours: 24

All courses submitted to satisfy requirements for the minor in GIS must be graded and passed with a C- or better.

Students who are also working toward the major in Geography must take (in addition to the core courses for the GIS minor) at least 12 credits from the list of electives that will be uniquely applied to the GIS minor only.

Students considering the GIS minor are strongly encouraged to meet with a geography advisor to work out an instructional program that best meets their needs.