& Student Handbook - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Master Degree Programs 141
Elective GIS Courses: 5-6 cr.
RA570 Advanced GIS .........................................................................3 cr.
RA506 GIS Customization ..................................................................3 cr.
RA--- Directed Studies-Explorations ...................................................1 cr.
GIS Certificate Program
The person desiring a thorough background in GIS theory and use, but
not seeking a degree, may choose to take the GIS Certificate program.
This consists of any 18 credits of technology courses. These courses
can be taken as regular graduate credit or on a pass/no credit basis. If
taken as regular graduate credit, these courses can be taken
concurrently with the master’s degree. If taken as pass/no credit courses,
they may not be applied to a graduate degree, but will count towards a
certificate. Credits earned from credit for previous experience and
learning may not be applied towards a GIS certificate.
Resource Fundamentals Concentrations
The Master of Science in Geographic Information Science program on the
Twin Cities campus offers supporting content concentrations in Homeland
Security/Emergency Management and Project Management with flexible
concentration course programming.
Homeland Security/Emergency Management
Natural disasters, smart population growth, world resources
management, epidemic disease management, traffic control, and
terrorism control all depend on questions of geography. GIS is ideally
suited to assist in decision-making in these areas and many more.
Whether a student works, or wishes to work in government, emergency
services, public safety, crime control and management, public health,
land use planning and/or resource allocation, this disciplinary
concentration can help one to better understand the landscape of the
field of security and emergency services. Coupled with GIS expertise,
students can model spatial ‘what if’ scenarios, create predictive
models, and learn how to integrate data from varying sources for the
public good.
Project Management
This disciplinary area is designed for individuals seeking assistance and
knowledge for leading complex projects in a variety of work settings.
Courses provide the knowledge of business practices. The process of
managing a project, including definition, implementation, and evaluation,
is presented along with varying aspects of project planning and
estimation plus issues of fiscal management. This study option provides
wonderful background for anyone in any sector of employment, ranging
from privately owned business to corporate management, from local
government and to natural resource planning and management.
Successful project management is core to the success of any project of
magnitude including those involving elements of spatial relationships,
dependencies and predictions.
Credit for Previous Experience and Learning
For the extraordinarily prepared student, up to seven credits of required
coursework may be satisfied by a demonstration of professional
expertise and/or transfer of graduate credit. Validation of learning can
come in various forms ranging from prior recent university coursework
and/or professional life experiences. In all cases, it is expected that
documentation be substantive and compelling, including transcripts,
course descriptions, and details of professional accomplishments. Up
to six credits of appropriately related recent graduate-level coursework
can be transferred. However the total of credit for previous experience
and learning and/or transfer credit may not exceed seven. Credit for
previous experience and learning is only granted for ‘required’ courses
in the Master of Science in Geographic Information Science degree
program.
GIS Technology
The Department of Resource Analysis offers extensive “hands-on”
experience with the entire collection of GIS software from Environmental
Systems Research Institute (ESRI). Included in this is in-depth training
with ArcGIS, ArcIMS, ArcServer, and ArcSDE. Other specialty software
is used as needed in other courses such as mobile GPS applications
using ArcPad and other software systems. The importance of mastery of
the technology is balanced with an emphasis on a comprehensive
understanding of data management concepts. Coursework in software
programming and user interface customization is also a key part of the
curriculum. Hardware and software resources within the department are
constantly being reviewed and upgraded to provide students experience
with the latest GIS tools.
Faculty
The faculty members for the Master of Science in Geographic Information
Science program have earned doctorate or master's degrees. Faculty
members are selected for their educational and professional experience and
expertise.
Required GIS Course Descriptions
RA508
Internet Mapping Services (3 cr.)
Prerequisites: RA554 and RA660
This course introduces students to effective use of the Internet as a
medium to publish map data. It examines the basic implementation
details associated with serving spatial data over the Internet. Students
are introduced to Internet mapping software as well as the particulars of
designing and operating an effective map publishing/customization
environment.
RA519
Statistical Analysis (3 cr.)
This course introduces basic and fundamental numerical statistics with
emphasis on the more sophisticated tests and analysis common to all
spatial analyes. Substantial attention is given to correlation and
regression analysis as well as experimental design.
RA632
Programming Languages (3 cr.)
This course covers foundational programming skills in applications
programming with Visual Basic using Microsoft VB.Net. Examples of topics
covered include form controls and their properties, altering and enhancing
properties at run time, variables, decision-making, looping and data and
control programming and connecting Visual Basic applications to Microsoft
Access databases. Course emphasis will be on working with Visual
Basic.Net with introductions to C#.Net.