Geographic information systems

The graduate certificate in geographic information systems is a 15-credit program that develops advanced skills in GIS, spatial analysis, remote sensing, mapping and geovisualization. In-person and online students learn to collect, integrate, analyze and communicate spatial data to understand how Earth and human systems change across space and time.

View the online geographic information systems graduate handbook

Explore program courses in the University Catalog 

Real-world experience

Many of your courses will include a lab, and you’ll also have opportunities to contribute to faculty research projects, including:

• Polar meteorology and remote sensing in arctic environments
• Regional climate change in the Western United States
• Forest disturbances and environmental change
• Human adaptation to climate change in high latitudes
• Natural resource applications of GIS in quantifying carbon fluxes

Related clubs and organizations

• Geo Club
• Super Group
• Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) 

Students pursuing a graduate certificate as a standalone program are not eligible for financial aid. However, students enrolled in a separate U of I graduate degree program may apply their financial aid or graduate funding toward a graduate certificate if they are pursuing both simultaneously. 

For more information or to explore funding options, visit Financial Aid or contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@uidaho.edu or call 208-885-6312. 

Have questions about the program, research opportunities or the graduate student experience? Connect with our program team for personalized guidance about curriculum, faculty mentorship, application requirements and graduate funding opportunities. 

Earth and Spatial Sciences department contact:
Alistair Smith
alistair@uidaho.edu

For questions related to admissions, application materials, transcripts or enrollment steps, contact Graduate Admissions: 

Graduate Admissions contact:
graduateadmissions@uidaho.edu
208-885-4001

Interested in research areas or finding a faculty mentor? Explore faculty expertise, research interests and advising opportunities on the department’s faculty page. 

Program availability: 

• Semester intake: Spring, Summer, Fall
• Not eligible for international applicants who require F-1 status
• Deadlines: general application deadlines
• Start dates: View the academic calendar to see start and end dates 

University requirements: 

• Education level: Bachelor's degree in a similar or related field from an accredited or recognized institution (earned or expected before the start of the graduate program)
  • Transcripts for all post-secondary education will be required. Unofficial transcripts may be used for initial admission review. Official transcripts sent by the issuing institution(s) will be required if admitted. View more information on the Graduate Admissions page. 
• GPA: 3.0 (Applicants with a lower undergraduate GPA who have relevant professional experience in the field, have already earned a graduate degree, or have completed graduate-level credits may still be considered for admission with approval from the academic program.)
• Resume
• Statement of purpose: A Statement of Purpose may be required for applicants whose undergraduate GPA is below 3.0 or whose undergraduate degree is in a significantly different field from the graduate program to which they are applying
• Valid picture ID (required to verify students’ identity and will be kept confidential)
• English proficiency (for applicants whose education was completed in countries where English is not an official language).
  • Accepted tests: TOEFL: 4.5, IELTS: 6.5, Duolingo: 115, PTE-A: 58. Learn what qualifies as proof of English proficiency.  
• Application Fee: $50 

Application and admission process:

Applications are submitted online and are specific to the program and term selected. Applicants seeking admission to multiple programs must submit a separate application for each program.

Before submitting an application, applicants must provide personal and academic information from all post-secondary institutions attended, recommender information, required program-specific materials and their intended program and start term.

• For new international graduate certificate applicants:
  • International applicants must meet University of Idaho’s English proficiency language requirement.
  • International students may pursue graduate certificate programs either as standalone degrees or as part of a concurrent curriculum with another graduate program. Students enrolled in a certificate program as a standalone option are not eligible for F-1 or J-1 visa status.
• For current University of Idaho graduate students:
  • Fill out a change of curriculum form to add the certificate to your current course of study.
  • Obtain department approval and return the form to the College of Graduate Studies.
• For current U of I undergraduate students:
  • Must have senior standing and a 3.0 GPA to take graduate-level courses.
  • To reserve credits for the graduate transcript, please submit a Credit Reservation Form to the College of Graduate Studies. This form must be signed by your academic advisor.
  • After earning a bachelor’s degree, apply as a graduate certificate-seeking student to complete the program. 

Visit Graduate Admissions to learn more and start your application. 

Alistair Smith, Department Chair and Professor

• Mortality of plants from fires
• The degree to which post-fire recovery is reduced
• Increased community and home resilience to wildfires
• Quantity of embers generated from garden plants

Timothy Bartholomaus, Associate Professor

• Glaciology  
• Geophysics  
• Surface processes

Elizabeth Cassel, Associate Professor

• Orogenesis and the interactions of tectonics
• Basin analysis
• Stable isotope geochemistry
• Sedimentology and stratigraphy
• Geochronology and thermochronology

Jerry P. Fairley, Professor

• Multiphase flow and transport
• Faults and fluid flow
• Geothermal systems
• Geologic carbon sequestration
• Nuclear waste disposal site characterization

Grant Harley, Associate Professor and Associate Dean

• Dendrochronology – analyzing tree rings to understand past environmental and climatic variability
• Paleoclimatology – reconstructing Earth’s past climate to place modern changes in long-term context
• Climate change – examining ecological and hydrological impacts of ongoing and projected climate shifts
• Wildfire – investigating historical fire regimes and their relationships to climate and vegetation
• Drought – reconstructing and analyzing long-term drought variability and drivers across regions

Jeffrey Hicke, Professor

• Climate change
• Global environmental change
• Forest disturbances

Karen Humes, Professor

• Water/energy nexus
• Food systems
• Remote sensing and GIS

Jeff Langman, Associate Chair and Associate Professor

• Metal mobility in natural aqueous environments
• Sulfide mineral weathering
• Hydrogeology and environmental geochemistry of mine sites
• Isotope geochemistry and the tracing of metal solutes

Felix Liao, Associate Professor

• Economic geography
• Urban geography and planning
• Environmental planning
• GIS
• Spatial analysis and modeling

Eric Mittelstaedt, Professor

• Tectonic and magmatic evolution of mid-ocean ridges
• Mantle plume-ridge interactions
• Hydrothermal vents
• Analog and numerical simulation of Earth systems

Erika Rader, Associate Professor

• Experimental volcanology
• Igneous petrology
• High temperature geochemistry

Jessica Stanley, Assistant Professor

• Continental tectonics
• Thermochronology
• Links between mantle dynamics and surface processes
• Landscape evolution modeling
• Surface history of cratons and continental interiors

Thomas Williams, Clinical Professor

• Igneous and metamorphic petrology
• Forensic mineralogy and geology
• Electron microscopy

Meng Zhao, Assistant Professor

• Hydrology and ecology
• Policy making
• Remote sensing (especially GRACE/GRACE-FO and microwave)
• GIS
• Earth system modeling