GIScience Education at Virginia Tech
The table below details all of the current for-credit courses available in the GIScience area along with the current enrollment and pertinent department. Besides these classes, a graduate certificate program in Geospatial Information Technology is currently being developed.
| Courses at Virginia Tech | Average Enrollment | Frequency Taught |
|---|---|---|
| Geog 2314: Maps and Mapping | 55 | Once a year |
| Geog 3314: Cartography | 25 | Every other year |
| Geog 4084: Introduction to GIS | 120 | Once a year |
| Geog 4314: Spatial Analysis in GIS | 30 | Every other year |
| Geog 4324: Algorithms in GIS | 30 | Every other year |
| Geog 4354: Remote Sensing | 55 | Once a year |
| Geog 4384: The Arc/Info GIS | 30 | Every other year |
| Geog 5104: Seminar in GIS and remote sensing | 20 | Once a year |
| Geog 5124: Aerial Photo Interpretation | 20 | Once a year |
| Geog 5314: Advanced Spatial Analysis in GIS | 30 | Every other year |
| BSE 4344: Geographic Information Systems for Engineers | 20 | Once a year |
| CEE 5204: GIS Applications in Civil and Environmental Engineering | 20 | Once a year |
| FOR 4114: Information Technologies for Natural Resource Management | 20 | Once a year |
| UAP 5114: Computer Applications in Urban Planning & Management | 20 | Once a year |
| BSE 5244 (CEE 5244): Advanced GIS Applications in Hydrologic Analysis | 20 | Once a year |
| CEE 5224: Advanced GIS Applications in Civil and Environmental Engineering | 20 | Once a year |
| CSES 4844 (ENSC 4844) (GEOG 4844): Soil Interpretation Using GIS and DSS | 10 | Once a year |
| CSES 5244 (GEOG 5244): Advanced Soil Interpretation Using GIS and DSS | 10 | Once a year |
| FOR 5264: GIS Applications in Natural Resource Management | 20 | Once a year |
| FOR 4214: Forest Photogrammetry & Spatial Data Processing | 20 | Once a year |
| FOR 5254: Remote Sensing of Natural Resources | 20 | Once a year |
| LAR 3044: Land Analysis | 20 | Once a year |
| CS 5814: Digital Picture Processing | 20 | Once a year |
| STAT 5544: Spatial Statistics | 20 | Once a year |
| ECE 5524: Pattern Recognition | 20 | Once a year |
The
University Libraries at Virginia Tech
A search of the library
catalog indicates upwards of 550 publications on GIS including periodicals in
the areas of geography, forestry, agriculture, soils and engineering. The
collection includes over 135,000 maps and 20,000 aerial photographs. As a 70%
Selective depository of US federal documents (http://www.lib.vt.edu/dsp/index.php?subject=102)
the Libraries receives materials from agencies such as the Bureau of the Census,
US Geological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Natural
Resource and Conservation Service, and National Park Service some of which
include cartographic data and statistical information. Datasets available
through the VT-GIS Data Center (http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/subjects/maps/gis.html)
in the library include digital topographic maps, orthophotography, Census Tiger
files, Landsat 7 imagery and local government information from Alexandria, ,
Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Falls Church, Richmond, Fairfax County, Henrico
County and Montgomery County, Virginia. The University Libraries are also a
member of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
(ICPSR) providing access to the world's largest archive of computer-based
research and instructional data for the social sciences (http://www.lib.vt.edu/find/icpsr/).
The data archive includes a broad range of disciplines, including political
science, sociology, demography, economics, history, education, gerontology,
criminal justice, public health, foreign policy, and law.
Outreach:
Quite a few VT faculty and staff have offered
short courses on different aspects of geospatial technologies over the past few
years, including an in-house Faculty Development Initiative (FDI) program to
train VT teaching and research faculty about the basics of GIS, GPS, and remote
sensing. Both the Center for Geospatial Information Technology
(CGIT) and the
Conservation Management Institute (CMI) also offer outreach courses
on these topics to interested clients. The Virginia Geospatial Extension
Program (VGEP) has a core
mission of outreach for geospatial technology and have started the Virginia Geospatial Academy as a
repository of information on workshops and instructors.