THE GIS CERTIFICATE: A NEED FOR AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO GIS EDUCATION
William E. Huxhold
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
There are two categories of students who desire an education in geographic
information systems: those who plan to use it in their chosen profession,
and those who plan to enter a career as a "GIS Professional". For the first
group, there are over 800 university departments internationally who offer,
plan to offer, or are believed to offer at least one course in GIS (Morgan,
Fleury, and Becker, 1996). For the second group, few academic institutions
offer a concentrated emphasis in the technology that can prepare the student
for a GIS career; and of those who do, formal recognition in the form of a
degree or certificate is rare. This paper argues that most universities
currently offering GIS courses also offer related courses in other
departments that can provide the student with basic concepts and skills
needed to complement GIS coursework for the preparation of a "GIS
Professional" to enter the workforce. It calls for a comprehensive survey
of agencies who hire GIS professionals (modelled after Wikle, 1994) to
determine which subject areas besides GIS students should be educated about.
Comparing these results to what the university currently offers across its
disciplines can provide a recipe that forms the basis of a concentrated
program for GIS students. The example of the GIS Certificate Program at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee provides a point of discussion for the
issue.
William E. Huxhold
Chair and Associate Professor
Department of Urban Planning
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201
tel: 414-229-5372
fax: 414-229-6976
email: hux@csd.uwm.edu