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After centuries of ground surveying and paper maps, it took just a few decades for global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), mapping and spatial analysis with geographic information systems (GIS), and earth observation with satellite and airborne remote sensing to completely revolutionize how we explore the geography of places, cultures, environments and processes. Geographic mapping and analysis now underlies a wide range of professional and everyday decision making. Be it the prediction of climate change or forest fires, planning a city or modeling its growth, monitoring diffusion of information or disease vectors, tracking terrorists or salmon migration, mapping landscapes or hazardous storms – these innovations continually reshape how we understand complex geographic processes and make data-driven decisions about our environment, infrastructure, and society.

The emergence of Spatial Data Science and GeoAI (Geospatial Artificial Intelligence) further amplifies and accelerates the geographic revolution by expanding the scope of traditional GIS and remote sensing technologies. GeoAI leverages the latest AI techniques for automated extraction of actionable information from extremely large geospatial databases that contain remote sensing imagery, socioeconomic and public health records, multimedia, movement trajectories, and other large spatiotemporal datasets. Spatial Data Science focuses on computational and statistical analysis of geographic data. Geographic Information Science (GIScience) provides the common philosophical and theoretical grounding for GeoAI, spatial data science, GIS, cartography, and remote sensing. GIScience also is the study of the trends, limitations and gaps in current practices of geospatial knowledge production.

Specializing in Earth observation and Geographic Information Science is the ideal choice if you are attracted to the computational aspects of mapping and geographic analysis. Our faculty offer a suite of complementary courses in geospatial science that will make you proficient in the theoretical and ethical analysis of geographic information and application of geospatial technologies for geospatial data collection, analysis and communication. The Geography Department offers multiple pathways to such proficiency: an undergraduate major, an undergraduate certificate, and a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Science.