General Information
This program offers advanced training in GIS and related technologies such as remote sensing to individuals who either do not wish to pursue a Master of Arts degree or want to test the waters with a shorter program. It is a non-degree program and students who apply to Hunter College only to get the GIS Certificate are nonmatriculated students. As such, they are not eligible for financial aid and they cannot apply for a student visa under current USCIS guidelines. However, a student may be enrolled concurrently in a degree-granting program and therefore meet these requirements. Certified students may be eligible to apply all their courses taken to a subsequent Master of Arts in Geography degree program.

The GIS Certificate is a 15-credit post-baccalaureate program. Students are required to take five graduate-level GIS classes: GTEC 732 (Advanced GIS), a minimum of two core courses, and zero to two elective courses. The core courses provide basic and advanced training in GIS programming, cartography and spatial analysis. Students who are interested in GIS development will be encouraged to take the two programming-oriented core classes (GTEC 731 and GTEC 733); while students planning a career in GIS applications will be encouraged to take the core courses in cartography and spatial data analysis (GTEC 705 and GTEC 722). It is also possible to concentrate in remote sensing and take the sequence of GTEC 711, GTEC 712, and GTEC 713 courses. Students must register for all courses through Hunter College including those cross-listed with other CUNY campuses.

Admissions Requirements
All applicants who are currently matriculated and in good standing in a graduate degree program at Hunter College and have satisfied the course prerequisites will automatically be admitted to the program. All other applicants must meet the following minimum requirements in order to be considered:

1. The student must hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, comparable in standard and content to a bachelor's degree from Hunter College.
2. The student must demonstrate the ability to pursue graduate work successfully. In general, the minimum requirements for consideration are a B-minus average in the undergraduate record as a whole and a B average in the major.
3. The student must satisfy the course prerequisites for the certificate program: Introduction to GIS (GTEC 710) or equivalent, an introductory computer programming course (or other proof of programming experience), and basic statistics (hypothesis testing and simple statistical modeling techniques).

Application Deadline
For Fall Semester: April 1 (February 1 for international students)
For Spring Semester: November 1 (September 1 for international students)

Requirements for the Certificate
Completion of the post-baccalaureate certificate program in GIS requires a minimum of 15 credits, which include:

Required Course (3 credits)

GTEC 732 Advanced GIS (3 cr)

Core Courses (a minimum of two courses chosen from the following)

GTEC 705 Spatial Data Analysis (3 cr)
GTEC 711 Earth From Above (3 cr)
GTEC 722 Automated Cartography (3 cr)
GTEC 731 Computer Programming for Geographic Applications (4 cr)
GTEC 733 GIS Modeling and Problem Solving (3 cr)

Electives

GTEC 702 Quantitative Methods in Geography (3 cr)
GTEC 705 Spatial Data Analysis (3 cr)
GTEC 711 Earth From Above (3 cr)
GTEC 712 Remote Sensing of the Environment (3 cr)
GTEC 713 Digital Image Processing (4 cr)
GTEC 721 Advanced Cartography (4 cr)
GTEC 722 Automated Cartography (3 cr)
GTEC 731 Computer Programming for Geographic Applications (4 cr)
GTEC 733 GIS: Modeling and Problem Solving (3 cr)
GTEC 785.xx GIS Applications (3 cr)

We offer a variety of GIS applications courses ever semester. Examples include social, urban, critical, transportation, public health, etc.

Minimum GPA Requirement
3.0 average or better on all core and elective courses. Additional elective courses may be added to this list or may be used as substitutes with the approval of the certificate adviser.