Geographic Information Systems - Applications Specialist

 

You've got to have a good plan in order to successfully complete a project. The Geographic Information Systems Application Specialist is the "wizard" who provides technical expertise to produce effective and useful plans and project reports through the applied use of technology. Specifically, a GIS Application Specialist will help various agencies and government do effective planning to manage all aspects of the environment and community life. For example, you might work on natural resources, agriculture, or community health projects. You'll be collecting information, and then distilling it to be put into a form that specialists and technicians can use.

 

Program Highlights

This post-graduate, intensive, three-semester GIS program will have you using current, high-end technology tools to collect, store, manipulate, analyze, interpret, and communicate geographic information within a variety of disciplines. Fleming's leadership in this field has been recognized by industry, government and business through their support in establishing the Geomatics Institute at Fleming. These outstanding partnerships offer students access to the latest computer hardware, software, data resources and field technology used in the industry today, as well as unprecedented learning and employment opportunities.

Of course, you'll have plenty of opportunities to practice your skills in a work-like setting, with a student to computer ratio of one-to-one. Not sure which of our two GIS Ontario College Graduate Certificate programs is right for you? The common first semester in the GIS Applications Specialist and GIS Cartographic Specialist programs gives you a good overview and understanding of the technologies and diverse skills particular to careers in these fields. You will have the opportunity to explore the right fit for you, and decide which area of specialized study you will pursue in semester two. In addition to acquiring a hands-on, firm foundation using GIS technology tools, you will have many opportunities to build on your teamwork, team building, project management, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Since employers are seeking these broad-based transferrable skills, this experience working in technology teams will give you an edge in the workplace.

 

Why Choose Fleming?

Quite simply, our track record and our constant evolution to provide the latest in technology and quality teaching are two very good reasons to consider Fleming's Geographical Information Systems Application Specialist program. Fleming was the first college to offer GIS training in Ontario, and has been doing so for 20 years - all other college GIS programs have only been established in the last few years. We're constantly upgrading and changing our program to suit the current and future demands of the field. For instance, we've recently revised the curriculum to add new courses in remote sensing, web applications and Global Positioning System (GPS) for spatial data. As well, graduates of this program now receive an Ontario College Graduate Certificate - a credential that recognizes the comprehensive and advanced level of study required in this program.

 

Work Experience

You'll spend a significant part of your time in the program doing experiential work - putting theory into practice. A co-operative GIS project in the final semester involves cross-disciplinary teams from the GIS Applications Specialist and Cartographic Specialist programs working together on a project for a business, government, or industry client. GIS Applications Specialist graduates can also participate in an optional, post-graduation internship, allowing them to work for host companies, while earning an additional credit. You can either apply for a posted position or obtain your own internship. The internship program enables you to gain valuable work experience, explore potential careers in geomatics, and establish professional contacts while bridging your way to new employment opportunities.

 

What it Takes to Succeed

Knowing your way around a computer, hardware and software, is definitely high on the list of skills you need to succeed in this field. You should also possess the following:

• interest in ongoing education and upgrading
• creativity
• perseverance (there are many challenges)
• willingness to work hard (a 40 - 60 hour work week in the program)
• energy and persistence
• analytical skills
• problem solving ability

Students would benefit by having basic computer skills including e-mail, word processing, file management and internet web browsing.

 

Career Opportunities

Expect to be in demand. There's a consistently high placement rate of over 90 percent within six to 12 months of graduating, with an average starting salary in the $35,000.00-$45,000.00 range. On graduation, when combined with your previous education/work experience, you could work in positions as diverse as GIS programmer/analyst, applications specialist/consultant, ecosystem IT manager, utilities manager, database manager, GIS systems operator, and land information manager. The options for career change are wonderful. You can go back to your previous profession and apply your GIS studies there, or make a move into a new career.

 

Minimum Admission Requirements

A university degree or college diploma, or equivalent education or work experience. On rare occasions, substantive work experience in the field of Geomatics will be considered as equivalent to a degree or diploma, and these cases will be reviewed on an individual basis.

Applicants without a degree or diploma should consider beginning their Geomatics career with the Geomatics Technician Program. Successful graduates of the Geomatics Technician program receive an exemption from the first semester of either the GIS Applications Specialist or GIS Cartographic Specialist programs.

Although traditionally GIS training accompanied a degree or diploma in natural resources, with exponential growth in the field of GIS sciences, applicable backgrounds now range from forestry to marketing, from resource extraction to municipal planning, from health care to law enforcement.

Recommended:

Since GIS is a field of study that makes extensive use of computer hardware and software technology, students entering the GIS-Applications Specialist program must be familiar with computers. Students without computer skills can complete COMP062 and COMP056. Due to the analytic nature of the program, successful candidates should also be comfortable with mathematics. While not required, other advantageous skills include advanced mathematics, introductory level statistics or finite mathematics, and computer programming experience.

 

Selection Process

 

Related Programs

Trent University

You can obtain a Trent University Honours Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts Degree in either Geography or Environmental Science/Studies and a Geographical Information Systems Ontario College Graduate Certificate in four years, with the third year spent studying at Fleming College. In other words, get both qualifications in four years - instead of five. For details, see Trent/Fleming Joint Degree, Geographical Information Systems Special Emphasis.

School of Military Mapping, Mapping & Charting Establishment of the Canadian Armed Forces

If you are a graduate of the Geomatics Technician program from the School of Military Mapping, Mapping & Charting Establishment of the Canadian Armed Forces, at the QL5 Level, you are eligible to apply for advance standing into the second semester of the three-semester Geographic Information Systems - Applications Specialist or Geographic Information Systems - Cartographic Specialist graduate certificate programs. For complete details see Transfer Credit Articulation Agreement.

Other computer related programs that might be of interest to you include GIS - Cartographic Specialist and Geomatics Technician. 

 

Additional Costs

Plan on spending $1000 for books and supplies.

 

University Transfer Agreements

Trent University

Course	Credits
Semester 1
Cartographic Concepts	4.00
GIS Database Principles	3.00
Principles of GIS	3.00
Problem Solving and Programming	4.00
Remote Sensing and Image Analysis	3.00
Surveying and Mapping	4.00
Visualization and Presentation	3.00
Semester 2
Customization of GIS Applications	4.00
Database Design and Development	3.00
Project Planning and Management	3.00
Spatial Analysis and Applications	4.00
Spatial Statistics	3.00
Technical Issues in GIS	4.00
Web Programming	3.00
Semester 3
Advanced Remote Sensing	4.00
Advanced Topics in Geomatics	3.00
GIS Co-operative Project	9.00
Spatial Database Applications	4.00
Web GIS Development	3.00
Please Note: Optional Course: APST 34 Internship

Semester 1

Cartographic Concepts

Course Number: GEOM064

This course will engage students in the exploration of the cartographic communication process and the need for positional accuracy using various geo-spatial referencing techniques. By introducing concepts and processes that are central to cartography, the course will enable the student to build a broad cartographic foundation for subsequent studies. Additionally, the student will understand how positional data is collected, and will be able to accurately construct a flat map representing portions of the earth. Through a series of lectures, seminars, exercises, and reports the students will compute and maintain geographic accuracy while encoding real world phenomena using specific cartographic communication concepts.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

GIS Database Principles

Course Number: GEOM065

This course presents principles of database processing in a GIS environment. Lab exercises and project work provide opportunities for students to develop skills in implementing and managing databases. Students will use Microsoft Access to create database tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros to satisfy specific requirements. Structured Query Language will be used to build databases and manipulate data using industry standard language in preparation for future work in data processing and GIS analysis.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Principles of GIS

Course Number: GEOM063

This course will enable students to explore the principles and fundamental concepts and types of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and apply them in simple projects. Students will be introduced to the five main technical components of a GIS, namely, input, storage, pre-processing, analysis and output using both the raster and vector spatial data models. Hands-on experience, using current software applications is provided through a series of laboratory exercises.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Problem Solving and Programming

Course Number: GEOM067

Geomatics software systems include programming capabilities to enable technical users to build specialised applications to process data and automate repetitive tasks. Using these facilities, a few well placed lines of code can save days of tedium or can accomplish tasks that would otherwise not be feasible. In this course students will prepare to utilise these capabilities by: (1) developing problem solving and algorithm design skills, (2) implementing solutions in a high-level programming language, and (3) working with spatial data. This course also serves as the foundation to the other programming and technical courses in the GIS specialist programs.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Remote Sensing and Image Analysis

Course Number: GEOM066

This course provides an introduction to the basic interpretation and measurement of physical, biological, and cultural features on remotely sensed imagery. Basic photogrammetry concepts will be examined and practiced in scale determination, height, and measurement. Students will acquire an understanding of basic remote sensing techniques and their application in natural resource disciplines. In lab and field work students will gather control points, register the image to the ground, and compile data from industry standard software. Lab software: PCI Geomatica.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Surveying and Mapping

Course Number: SURV020

This course emphasises geomatics principles as they apply to spatial databases. Building on the skill sets associated with measuring for maps and land type surveys, students will develop expertise in the use of equipment such as: total stations, GPS receivers, and data loggers to locate features and attach the attribute information. Through project work in the lab and field, students will gain practical experience in equipment use, maintenance and troubleshooting. Once collected, features will be placed in a GIS / Land Information System and appended to existing digital maps and plans. The resulting maps and GIS databases will be used to solve spatial queries related to land parcels.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Visualization and Presentation

Course Number: GEOM069

The communicative effectiveness of a geographical display is dependent upon the decisions involved in its design. This course aims to educate and enlighten the student with respect to the applications of foundational graphic design principles, colour, symbology, and typography in map making. Industry standard graphic design software is used in the creation of various paper products and screen images.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Semester 2

Customization of GIS Applications

Course Number: GEOM073

As GIS software packages become more sophisticated, there is a greater need for GIS specialists who not only perform GIS analyses, but also are highly skilled in customizing GIS applications, thereby facilitating the use of GIS applications to end-users. Customization may be done within the application itself, or by developing standalone programs that integrate GIS capabilities. This course introduces students to the basics of designing graphic user interfaces in objected-oriented and event-driven environments. Students will also learn how to develop customized GIS applications to meet specific user needs and how to link these applications to other programs.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Database Design and Development

Course Number: GEOM070

This course builds on GIS Database Principles to introduce advanced relational database topics that are increasingly important for GIS and mapping professionals. Through application of the basic principles of relational database design, students will learn how to design a model of the users' view of their data and express it as an entity-relationship model. Core concepts of database development will also be explored, including normalizing tables, establishing appropriate relationships between data, establishing metadata, determining domains, and capturing business rules. The course includes topics in data processing with SQL and procedural extensions in industry-standard client-server environments.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Project Planning and Management

Course Number: GEOM068

The skills developed in this course will help students select, design, build, and implement a complex GIS application in response to an industry defined problem, using a business project management model. The course will assist students in negotiating the complexities of project management unique to this sector, as well as issues such as client relations, time management and scheduling, costing and budgeting, data acquisition, negotiating intellectual property rights and copyrights and managing team work and interactions. Project design principles and cartographic standards, together with guest lectures, will provide a foundation for the iterative process of planning, establishing schedules, and writing, a GIS project proposal. Project Planning and Management precedes the GIS Cooperative Project in the final semester, and develops a skill set critical to its success.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Spatial Analysis and Applications

Course Number: GEOM072

This course will provide the conceptual background to more advanced GIS analysis applications. The course is designed to provide an understanding of spatial analysis techniques available within a GIS environment, and within the context of a variety of application areas. In addition, this course will apply methods for determining appropriate use of GIS within organizations. Conceptual material presented in lectures will be placed in an applied context through laboratory exercises designed to strengthen practical understanding and awareness of GIS methodology.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Spatial Statistics

Course Number: MATH024

Following a review of basic statistics, this course introduces the student to the fundamentals of statistical methods relevant to geographic data and spatial analysis. The course begins with a review of descriptive and inferential statistics and their application to geographic data and processes. Other course topics include: Spatial Distribution of Points, Trend Analysis, Measures of Spatial Dependence and Error Estimation of Geographic Data.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Technical Issues in GIS

Course Number: GEOM074

In this case-based course, students will examine GIS operations and algorithms, data structure and advanced computational topics and their applications in the work place. Students will learn to compare and contrast different coordinate systems, projections and spatial interpolation methods, and use several methods of geo-referencing. Through the completion of lab assignments, students will manage complex GIS projects, and assess the storage needs of various spatial objects and data types and the merits of different operating systems. Case studies will help students to plan, implement and troubleshoot the installation of computer hardware and GIS software in a given context.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Web Programming

Course Number: GEOM071

The course builds on Problem Solving and Programming in the previous semester to extend programming to the Internet and web-based applications. Various technologies for building dynamic web sites in a client-server environment will be introduced, including client-side and server-side programming languages. Web programming and design will be explored through lectures and lab exercises. This course prepares students for the creation and customization of web GIS sites in the Web GIS Development course in semester 3.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

Semester 3

Advanced Remote Sensing

Course Number: GEOM075

The goals of this advanced course are three-fold. First, today's professional airborne digital mapping systems will be reviewed. In so doing, students will be able to use current imaging and GIS software to compile a 3-D map. Second, a thorough analysis of the applications of synthetic aperture radar (SAR - both airborne and from space) will be completed. In understanding that process students will be involved in measuring ground subsidence by means of GPS data densification achieved through SAR imagery and interferometry. Third, the ever increasing utility of the data from the MODIS and ASTER space-borne sensors will be reviewed, and in parallel, students will perform advanced fully-automated, (as well as semi-automated), data extraction.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Advanced Topics in Geomatics

Course Number: GEOM078

Advanced Topics in Geomatics is designed to ensure that students are exposed to emerging issues and trends in the field as well as the most current technologies. Course topics will be selected through the input of advisory committee members, departmental faculty and students as well as through assessment of the professional literature and publications. Activities will include guest lectures, demonstrations of new technologies, applications and software, workshops, student presentations, field trips and, where possible, attendance at an external conference or workshop. The course is an important transition for students as they move from program graduates to entry level practitioners, helping them to begin professional networking, develop a career path and explore avenues for future professional development and areas of specialisation.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00

GIS Co-operative Project

Course Number: APST062

This course provides the student with an opportunity to finalize the design, development and implementation of a GIS project initiated in the Project Planning and Management course. This team based project will address a variety of GIS issues and use mapping techniques to promote the research, development, testing, and analyzing of real world information in a 'real world' environment. Students will be challenged to assign responsibilities, create and maintain satisfactory working relationships with the client, accept feedback, meet project deadlines, manage the production of deliverables to industry standard, and formally present their findings. Team members will be drawn from both GIS-specialist programs in order to better simulate industry working conditions.

Units: 9.00
Hours: 135.00

Spatial Database Applications

Course Number: GEOM077

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is characterized by the creation of objects closely related to their real world counterparts by encapsulating their properties and behaviours. With OOP, objects can also inherit characteristics and behaviours from other objects. These two characteristics have led designers of database systems to consider the object paradigm as a better way of building and managing databases. At the same time, the relational data model has shown strengths in many aspects of database design, such as the simplicity of its data organization and conceptual model. To take advantage of the benefits of both models, database management system designers have come up with the Object-Relational model whereby relational database tables can be built using objects. This course will teach participants how to take advantage of this new database development model in the design and management of spatial databases. The course will be based on Oracle Spatial and ESRI Geodatabase Object-Relational models. Integration between Oracle Spatial and ArcGIS through ArcSDE will also be introduced.

Units: 4.00
Hours: 60.00

Web GIS Development

Course Number: GEOM099

This course introduces GIS students to the broad possibilities of the single greatest impetus for change in the GIS industry - the Internet. Building on Web Programming in the previous semester, Web GIS Development provides an overview and develops a conceptual understanding of, existing Web-based applications for GIS and the innovations that will affect the shape of the industry's future. Students will create web GIS sites using the built-in capabilities of several of the leading commercial web GIS applications, and will later customize these sites using scripts and programming. Planning and development stages for a GIS website will also be covered, with practical work in accessing, displaying, querying, and analyzing GIS data over the Internet.

Units: 3.00
Hours: 45.00