Academic Programs
> Undergraduate > Geographic Information Systems (GIS) & Cartography
Purpose: The goal of this specialization is to provide students with basic cartographic skills and to prepare them for vocational activities in mapping establishments. It also serves as a basis for students to enter graduate studies in Cartography, Computer Cartography, and Geographic Information Systems. This specialization requires an in-depth training in those particular fields in which mapping plays an important role (e.g. physical and human geography, geology, regional planning, and economics)
Cartography is a field that has many applications in the public and private sectors. Geography majors who complete the course requirements for this cluster will be awarded a Departmental Certificate. This certificate program is designed to acknowledge professional training and competence in the field. The requirements are designed to include courses that correspond as well as possible with the current requirements for eligibility as GS-5 grade Cartographer with the Federal Government.
Participants in the Cartography cluster are required to take a sequence of courses both within and outside the Geography Department. Students wishing to specialize in Geographic Information Systems and Cartography must contact a Geography faculty member associated with this area of study prior to being accepted into the program. The advising faculty member will work out an appropriate course sequence with you.
Entry Requirements: To become an undergraduate in the Geography department a student should have completed TWO Geography coursed with a QPA of 2.0 or better and must have an overall (UB) QPA of 2.0 or better. Applicants with an overall UB average of less that 2.0 will not be considered.
Grades: It is required that all Geography courses be taken for a letter grade. The only exception is GEO440, Geography Internship, which must be taken as Pass/Fail (P/F) grading. In addition, all non-departmental courses needed to complete the certificate program must be taken for a letter grade. New majors who have previously taken any required course for S/U grades must petition for restoration of the letter grade to their transcript.
Transfer Credit: Students who wish to transfer credit for a course taken at another institution must provide a transcript AND a course description or outline of the course. This should be presented to the Director of Undergraduate Studies or a Geographic Information Systems and Cartography advisor for consideration and possible approval.
For more information, contact Dr. Sean Bennett, Director of Undergraduate Studies at 645-0490, or an advisor from the list below. Office hours will be posted the first week of each semester.
Advisors 645-2722
| Dr. Jared Aldstadt | 117 Wilkeson | 645-0481 | geojared@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. Ling Bian | 120 Wilkeson | 645-0484 | lbian@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. Irene Casas | 125 Wilkeson | 645-0489 | icasas@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. D. Scott Mackay | 113 Wilkeson | 645-0477 | dsmackay@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. David Mark | 301F Wilkeson | 645-0505 | dmark@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. Chris Renschler | 116 Wilkeson | 645-0480 | rensch@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. Narushige Shiode | 111 Wilkeson | 645-0475 | nshiode@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. Leo Wang | 110 Wilkeson | 645-0474 | lewang@buffalo.edu |
| Dr. Enki Yoo | 112 Wilkeson | 645-0476 | eunhye@buffalo.edu |
Required Courses for Specialization in Geoegraphi Information Systems:
GEO 101 - Earth Systems Science I
GEO 102 - Intro. to Human Geography OR GEO 103* - Geography of Economic Systems
GEO 120 - Maps and Mapping
GEO 381 - Cartography
GEO 410 - Univariate Statistics in Geography (or approved equivalent**)
GEO 411 - Multivariate Statistics in Geography***
GEO 481 - Geographic Information Systems
GEO 485 - Cartography and Geographic Visualization
CSE 113 - Intro to Computer Science I
CSE 114 - Intro to Computer Science II
Two additional electives:
GEO 389 - Business Geographics
GEO 420 - Transportation/Spatial Info
GEO 450-453 - Special Topics
GEO 462 - Network & Location Analysis
GEO 464 - Mobility & Flows
GEO 479 - GIS & Environmental Modeling
GEO 483 - Remote Sensing
GEO 488 - GIS Design
GEO 489 - GIS Algorithm and Data Structures
One Earth Systems Science Geography Course:
GEO 345 - Water Resources
GEO 347 - Climatic Geomorphology
GEO 348 - Landform Development
GEO 350 - Landform Field and Lab Techniques
GEO 352 - Introduction to Soils
GEO 356 - Forest Ecology
GEO 435 - Conservation Biogeography
GEO 444 - Advanced Earth Systems Science
GEO 445 - Restoration Ecology
GEO 449 - Fluvial Geomorphology
GEO 454 - Soils Laboratory Methods
GEO 470 - Landscape Environment Management
GEO 475 - Landscape Modeling
GEO 479 - GIS & Environmental Modeling
GEO 483 - Remote Sensing
One Int'l Business and World Trade Course:
GEO 330 - Dynamics of International Business
GEO 333 - Bases of World Commerce
GEO 334 - Int'l Environments/Commercial Problems
GEO 419 – Transportation
One Urban/Regional Geography course:
GEO 366 - Urban Geography
GEO 367 - Urban-Social Geography
GEO 412 - Geography of Health
GEO 418 - Population Geography
GEO 419 - Transportation and Society
GEO 460 - Geography of Development
One 2-Course Math Sequence
MTH 121 - Survey of Calculus I AND MTH 122 - Survey of Calculus & Applications II
OR
MTH 141 - College Calculus I AND MTH 142 - College Calculus II
Important: Completion of courses listed on more than one list fulfills only ONE requirement.
* Students should note that Geo 103 is mandatory for the 5-yr. BA/MA program
**Approved subs for GEO410: PSC408, PSY207, SOC294, STA119, ECO480, EAS308.
*** Geo 411 is offered in the Spring only. Students should take this course after they have taken Geo 410.