GIS and Geospatial Certificate

GIS and Geospatial Certificate Program Overview

The modern energy and environmental sectors couldn’t operate without geospatial technology and expertise. From identifying new oil and natural gas deposits and new sites to place renewable energy farms to estimating their future energy output and environmental impact, there’s always an individual skilled in GIS at the helm. But the applications just start there.  

The Diverse Career Potential of GIS  

You’ll find GIS applications across the professional world. The criminal justice field uses GIS to identify areas where more law enforcement resources need to be allocated. Public health officials use GIS to identify and target disease hotspots and predict where new outbreaks might crop up. Many city governments have at least one GIS analyst on staff, and some major cities have entire dedicated departments. You’ll see GIS technology used in areas as diverse as biology, business management, political science, social media, and sociology. 

With virtually unlimited professional applications, GIS and geospatial skills and credentials bring tremendous potential for your current or future career. That’s where The University of Texas Permian Basin’s graduate-level online GIS and Geospatial Certificate comes in. Through our 12-credit, asynchronous online program, you’ll build valuable skills at your own pace—from any location—without compromising your professional or personal commitments.  

Drawing from our close, decades-long relationship with the GIS and geospatial industry, we’ll show you how to use the latest tools, create your own maps, and immediately apply core principles of the field on the job. What kind of jobs? Here are a few to start:

GIS and Geospatial Required Courses

You may complete our program’s four required courses in any order you wish.

Courses
Duration
Credits
GEOL 4329 - GIS and GPS Applications
8 weeks
3
Introduction to the basic components of a GIS and some fundamental concepts that underlie the use of a GIS will be taught. Practice working with GIS maps and geographic data, you will learn how a GIS helps people visualize and create information that can be used to make a decision, and solve problems. This is done through interpretation and graphic presentation of these data using GIS (Arc View) software.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Spring A 2025
GEOL 6350 - Introduction to GIS
8 weeks
3
This course presents an overview of the principles and practices of Geosciences Information System (GIS). The objective of this class is to emphasize the fundamentals and importance of geosciences information.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall A 2024 Fall A 2025
GEOL 6351 - Mapping and Cartography
8 weeks
3
This course covers the fundamentals of map use and interpretation, map design, and map production using GIS and geospatial technology. The student will gain experience in the application of map-based analysis in the fields of environment and natural resources management.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Fall B 2024 Fall B 2025
GEOL 6352 - Advanced GIS
8 weeks
3
This course provides the advanced understanding of Geosciences Information System (GIS) and geospatial technologies. The objective of this class is to emphasize the practical aspects for GIS and geospatial data managements.
Prerequisites: N/A
Semesters Offered: Spring B 2024 Spring B 2025

Admission Requirements

Our online GIS and Geospatial Certificate is designed for students who have earned an undergraduate degree in science, engineering, or another field (with professor approval) and who have been accepted into the program.

 Regular Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university 
  • Minimum GPA of 3.0 in last 60 credits of undergraduate work
  • Official transcripts

Conditional Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
  • GPA of 2.50-2.99 in last 60 credits of undergraduate work
  • Official transcripts

Official Transcripts
Official copies of transcripts must come directly from the school in a sealed envelope and can be mailed to:

UT Permian Basin
Graduate Studies Office
4901 E. University Blvd.
Odessa, TX 79762

Official transcripts in electronic format can be sent to gradstudies@utpb.edu.

Application Fee

The application fee is $40.

If you have any questions regarding the admission requirements, please email studentinquiries@online.utpb.edu.

 

Associate Professor, Faculty Senate
Department of Geosciences
heo_j@utpb.edu

We’re pleased to offer program admission on a rolling basis.

Rolling admission refers to our process of accepting and evaluating applications as we receive them and moving any applications that miss the deadline to the next semester. However, if you want to enroll in courses for a specific semester, you will need to make note of the application deadlines found below. If you don’t complete your application and submit the required materials by the deadline, your application will be rolled over to the next semester. 

LengthApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlinePayment DeadlineFirst Day of ClassLast Day of Class
Spring A1/2/241/8/241/12/241/16/243/8/24
Spring B3/4/243/11/243/15/243/18/245/10/24
LengthApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlinePayment DeadlineCourses BeginCourses End
Fall A8/12/248/19/248/23/248/26/2410/18/24
Fall B10/7/2410/14/2410/18/2410/21/2412/13/24
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