Capstone Certificate in GIS Fundamentals

The Department of Geography offers an online Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Fundamentals Capstone Certificate.

The GIS Fundamentals Capstone Certificate is intended to produce individuals, both inside and outside of Wisconsin, skilled in the basic conceptual and methodological underpinnings of GIS technology and able to make informed use of current GIS applications in real-world problem solving. GIS Fundamentals Capstone Certificate students will acquire basic technological skills needed in applying GIS toward a wide variety of disciplines while gaining experience with common commercial and open-source GIS software.

The course package will provide foundational competency in mapping science and spatial analysis; consisting of 3 core courses. These core courses include two introductory courses covering fundamentals in cartography and GIS and a third more intensive programming course.

1. Establish a foundation in the conceptual underpinnings of GIS technology in order to make informed use of current GIS applications in real world problem solving.
2. Acquire basic technological skills needed in applying GIS towards a wide variety of disciplines while gaining experience with common commercial and open-source GIS software.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school.

A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. Applicants from an international institution must demonstrate strong academic achievement comparable to a 3.00 for an undergraduate or master’s degree. The Graduate School will use your institution’s grading scale. Do not convert your grades to a 4.00 scale.

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. IELTS scores can be submitted electronically or by paper.  Our office address is: UW-Madison Graduate School, Office of Admissions, 232 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706.  Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if: