Master of Science in Geographic Information Science and Technology Georgia Institute of Technology

Geographic Information Science (GIS) is an emerging field of study centered on the acquisition, management, analysis, and dissemination of information that is spatially-referenced to locations on, above, and below the surface of the earth. This field is highly trans-disciplinary with substantial and growing importance in a number of traditional academic disciplines and related professions including city and regional planning, architecture, civil and environmental engineering, earth and atmospheric sciences, environmental science, demography, logistics, management, public policy and sustainability studies.

Students can complete the 34 credit-hour curriculum for the Master of Science in Geographic Information Science and Technology (MS-GIST) in one calendar year including two semesters of full-time coursework and a capstone project course offered during the summer. Part-time students may complete the program in two or three academic years plus one summer session for the capstone project course.

The MS/GIST degree provides students with a common core of required knowledge, a strong foundation of technology skills, and the flexibility to apply those skills to a broad range of professional and academic fields. Many of the GIST graduates will continue to view themselves as members of traditional professions such as engineering, environmental science, or architecture, but many others will place themselves within the newly-emerging professions directly related to geospatial technologies.

The core of the MS-GIST program will be delivered through a body of courses offered by the School of City and Regional Planning. These include courses on quantitative methods, advanced geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, transportation GIS, environmental GIS, and socioeconomic GIS. Additional coursework to supplement the core will be drawn from existing courses in city and regional planning, architecture, public policy, computing, and civil and environmental engineering.