GEOG 471/671 Syllabus

Course Goal: This course is designed to advance student's knowledge in the relatively new and rapidly developing field of Geographic Information Science and Systems (GIS). GIS provides a means of integrating information in ways that help us understand and address pressing problems facing us today, such as tropical deforestation, rapid urbanization, spread of diseases, and impacts of climate change. Important principles and concepts of GIS are expanded beyond those introduced in GEOG 372 Introduction to GIS course with hands-on experience in one or more specific GIS software packages. Emphasis will be placed on concepts and spatial reasoning of the analysis techniques, rather than simply providing skills training in the use of GIS software. By the end of the course, students are expected to have a thorough understanding of GIS development, functionality, methodology for implementing the technology, and its potential usefulness in geographic and environmental studies.

Prerequisites: Students should have completed GEOG 250 Computer Methods and GEOG 372 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems. If you lack these prerequisites, please talk with Instructor before enrolling.

Class Meetings: Class is scheduled from 1:25 to 2:25pm on Mondays and Wednesdays in the GIS Teaching Classroom located in Penny Hall room 005. Lectures, demonstrations, and exercises will be conducted during these 2 one-hour lecture time periods. An additional two-hour lab is required on Wednesdays from 2:30 to 4:30pm for graduate students and Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30pm for undergraduate students.

Longley, Paul A., Michael F. Goodchild, David J. Maguire, David W. Rhind. 2001. Geographic Information Systems and Science. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 454pp. Required
Reading assignments beyond the text will be announced as the semester progresses and found outside the Instructor's office on top of the file cabinets.

Computer exercises: In-class and out-of-class GIS exercises will be completed on a weekly basis. These exercises are designed to provide hands-on experience with GIS technology and a methodology for implementing a GIS project. The Instructor suggests each student keep a Lab Notebook to record the GIS techniques completed, problems and solutions associated with each technique, thoughts and comments, and other helpful hints discussed in class. The back section may be useful to create a reference of GIS commands and tools, as well as terminology.

Projects: A project is to be completed using the GIS techniques learned throughout the semester to address a particular problem of interest to the student(s). Undergraduate students are permitted to work in groups of 2 to 4 students, and graduate students are asked to work independently in their area of expertise. Student(s) should select a research problem and project area, collect data, and perform GIS analysis to obtain a solution to the research question. The Instructor will suggest several research topics. A poster is to be completed along with a project report that defines the problem, explains why GIS is an appropriate tool to achieve a solution, and discuss the data layers, method of analysis and summary of results. Project presentations will be given during the last class of the semester on Wednesday, May 18th or during the Final Exam time slot.

Grading: Grades will be based upon total points accumulated by the end of the semester.

Class Policies: Out of class assignments and exercises will be accepted late, however, a deduction of 1 point will be applied for each day the assignment is late excluding the weekends. A maximum of 50% may be deduced and exercises may be turned in on or before Friday, May13th. Exams may be rescheduled only if Instructor is given prior notice and an additional time is arranged before the exam date. The makeup exam may be essay.

Assignments	Total Points
2 Exams (100 points each)	200
6-8 Exercises (25 points each)	200
3-5 Inclass Exercises (10 points each)	75
Undergraduate Group Project/Graduate Individual Project	150
Class and Lab Attendance	25