Foothill Geography

GIS: Geographic Information Systems

Certificate Program

The Foothill College Geographic Information Systems Certificate Program offers a flexible schedule of evening courses leading to a Certificate of Achievement or a Certificate for Geographic Systems Analyst.

You can earn your certificate in one school year (Fall, Winter and Spring quarters). To join the certificate class of 2009, sign up for Introduction to GIS this Fall (2008). For more information about class offerings, click here.

To learn more about GIS jobs or what students have done after completing our program, click here

 

Why learn GIS at Foothill College?

Our Approach

The Foothill College GIS Certificate Program takes a practical, hands-on approach to learning. Our program does not simply teach students how to use a specific software. Students in our program learn how to apply GIS to their discipline and gain experience in a variety of the leading GIS software products. Through the sequence of certificate courses, students will learn to plan and implement GIS projects. The Foothill College GIS Certificate Program curriculum is modeled after the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Geographic Information Analysis (NCGIA) core curriculum in the geographic information sciences.

Cost

California residents pay just $17 per unit for classes at Foothill College. This means that the entire Certificate of Achievement in GIS will cost you just $306 in tuition. This is a fraction of the cost of other GIS programs offered at UC, CSU or private universities. Financial aid is available for qualified students.

Broad Exposure

The Foothill College GIS Program uses four different software products: ESRI's Arc View 9.2, Intergraph's Geo Media and Geo Media Pro 5.1and IDRISI's IDRISI 3.2

The GIS course certificate sequence has been updated as of Fall 2004 to reflect current needs of employers. Students who entered the Foothill GIS program prior to Fall 2004 may apply for a certificate under the current course sequence or under the 2000-2003 course sequence

Certificate of Achievement In GIS (21 units)

Required Courses (15 units)

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (4 units) (GEOG12) For more information, click here

Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4 units) (GEOG52) For more information, click here

Seminar in Specalized Applicatons of Geographic Information Systems (GEOG54A) (2 units) For more information, click here

Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing (3 units) (GEOG58) For more information, click here

Cartography, Map Presentation and Design (2 units) (GEOG59) For more information, click here

Focus Area Courses (6 units)

Each student should select a focus area in which he/she will specalize in the applications of GIS. Six (6) units of course work in this area are required. Students may petition to have a Focus Area not listed below. Each focus area below links to Focus Area courses offered at Foothill.

Agriculture/Ornamental Horticulture, Anthropology, Biology, Business, Economics, Geography, Geology, History, Political Science, Psychology, Real Estate, Sociology, Travel Careers.

Certificate for Geographic Information Systems Analyst (36 units)

Required Courses (25 units)

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (4 units) (GEOG12) For more information, click here

Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4 units) (GEOG52) For more information, click here

Seminar in Specalized Applicatons of Geographic Information Systems (GEOG54A&B) (4 units) For more information, click here

Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing (3 units) (GEOG58) For more information, click here

Cartography, Map Presentation and Design (2 units) (GEOG59) For more information, click here

GIS Internship(3 units) (GEOG36Y) For more information, click here

Introduction to Oracle SQL (5 units) (CIS52B)

Support Courses (5 units)

One of the following courses:

Publishing on the Web Using HTML/XHTML (5 units) (COIN61)

Computer Science I: Java (5 units) (CIS27A)

Introduction to Visual Basic (5 units) (CIS12A)

Focus Area Courses (6 units)

Each student should select a focus area in which he/she will specalize in the applications of GIS. Six (6) units of course work in this area are required. Students may petition to have a Focus Area not listed below. Each focus area below links to Focus Area courses offered at Foothill.

Agriculture/Ornamental Horticulture, Anthropology, Biology, Business, Economics, Geography, Geology, History, Political Science, Psychology, Real Estate, Sociology, Travel Careers.

For more information on Geographic Information Systems or the Foothill GIS program, please contact Allison Lenkeit Meezan by email or phone (650-949-7166).

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