GIS: Research Project

Quarters
Summer Signature
Location
Olympia

The final course of the Evergreen GIS Certificate is an opportunity for students to integrate their GIS skills and knowledge to design and execute a field study utilizing geospatial analysis. The final product will be the creation of a culminating portfolio map and StoryMap. Having a portfolio can help students who seek future opportunities in GIS employment, or research, or community mapping engagement with non-profit organizations.

During this course students will design and create a mapping project based on either a class directed study or a topic of personal interest to them. There will be a collaborative option for the class project focusing on a local restoration project. For both the class directed or personal topic, the project will be focused on answering the spatial questions of "What was there?", "What is there?", and "What should be there?" Faculty will engage with students early in the quarter to help develop project goals, suggest field methods and locations, and discuss appropriate GIS analysis approach and presentation possibilities. Collaboration between students and peer review of proposed analytical methods will be a significant portion of the course work.

The final project development will rely on the skills learned in previous courses, in desktop mapping (ArcGIS Pro software), using field surveys (Survey123), Excel (for data management), and integrating remote sensing data (such as satellite imagery, drone imagery, or lidar data). Student data layers will be shared into ArcGIS Online where students will create a host of web apps to be integrated into a final StoryMap. This StoryMap will serve as a comprehensive GIS portfolio that can be used by the student to showcase their geospatial analysis education and skill. 

Fieldwork will be required, to conduct field investigations and collect data appropriate to the student project topic.

This is the final course of the undergraduate GIS certificate. Students must have completed and earned full credit in the six courses that comprise the GIS Certificate.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

4 - GIS: Research Project

Registration

This is the culminating course of the GIS Certificate. Students must complete and earn full credit in the following courses before enrolling in this course:

- GIS: Introduction and Principles

- GIS: Mapping with ArcGIS Pro

- GIS with Remote Sensing Imagery

- GIS Mapping in Excel

- GIS Publishing Story Maps and Apps

- GIS for Field Data Collection

Signature Required

Students must have completed and earned full credit in the following classes to enroll in this course:

GIS: Introduction and Principles, GIS: Analysis with ArcGIS Pro, GIS: Remote Sensing, GIS: Mapping in Excel, GIS: StoryMaps and Apps, GIS: Field Data Collection

Academic Details

This offering is connected to the undergraduate Geographic Information Systems Certificate at Evergreen. For more information visit: https://www.evergreen.edu/certificates/geographic-information-systems

Geographic information systems, geography, meteorology, forestry, city planning, cartography, conservation ecology

4
25

Schedule

Summer
2026
Signature
In Person (Su)

See definition of Hybrid, Remote, and In-Person instruction

Evening and Weekend
Schedule Details
Olympia