Graduate Certificate (on campus)
Must already be a graduate student at OSU in residence here in Corvallis and seeking a degree (in good standing), and in any major, any degree program. Upon consultation with Certificate Program Director Kuuipo Walsh, CEOAS, you may apply to the certificate program by submitting a Change of Degree/Major/Certificate form. Please also send a copy of your graduate program form to Ms. Walsh for her records. Declaring for the certificate does NOT require that a GIScience faculty member be on your committee (this is a main difference between a certificate and a minor). Upon completion of the coursework, Ms. Walsh will conduct the appropriate audit with the Graduate School to ensure that the credential is assigned to your student record, and that a paper certificate is issued.
Graduate Certificate (online)
This option is for people seeking to obtain our 19-credit graduate certificate WITHOUT already being in a full-time, degree-seeking graduate program here at OSU. In other words, you do not have to complete an entire 45-credit graduate degree course sequence or a thesis. This option is therefore aimed at off-campus, in-career working professionals, or other kinds of continuing-education students seeking a credential in geographic information science. Individuals interested in this certificate may apply to OSU only to obtain the certificate and nothing else, or to obtain the certificate as part of their post-baccalaureate status. Courses taken for the certificate may enhance and expand existing skills, or help prepare participants for a completely new career that involves working with GIS, remote sensing, or other geographic technologies.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree (in any field) from a college or university.
- The undergraduate GPA must be at least a B (3.0).
- Students should expect and be prepared to complete graduate-level coursework toward the certificate.
- Applicants must have basic computer literacy (high comfort level with Microsoft Windows file and disk management, as well the Internet).
- Applicants should have in their record the equivalent of a basic statistics course (including rudimentary data processing), a basic cartography course, and the equivalent of high school algebra before starting the core courses in the certificate. Statistics or cartography coursework can also be pursued in tandem with the required certificate courses.
- Prior experience with relational databases or spatial analysis is not required, but will be extremely helpful. Prior experience with GIS or remote sensing software is not required.
Courses for credit taken previously at OSU may used to satisfy the requirements for the graduate certificate. Courses for credit taken for the online graduate certificate may also be transferred to a full OSU graduate degree program at a later date, should the student decide to pursue a full graduate degree at OSU.
GI Science Graduate Student Handbook
If interested, please contact the Certificate Program Director, Ms. Kuuipo Walsh, CEOAS.
Grad School Policies Governing Graduate Certificates
OSU ECampus Online Grad GIScience Certificate Web Site