Interested in GIS? Here are two courses you might consider for the fall semester.

Geography 414: Spatial Databases and Data Management deals with finding, fixing (in some cases), using, and managing of spatial data. This is a very “hands-on” course that will help you develop the skills that many employers and organizations look for when hiring people in GIS.  Topics include major sources of spatial data, including government and social media sources, legal aspects of using data from third parties, working with stream networks (including the famous Brown Water Rafting on the Tennessee River—a tube race from the sewage treatment plant to Farragut) , importing CAD data, and editing in a multiuser environment.  In addition to the standard commercial software (ESRI andSQLServer), the class covers free and open source alternatives including QGIS, PostGIS and PostgreSQL.  In the past few years several students have gotten GIS jobs based in part on their knowledge of the topics listed above. In addition, the instructor usually hires at least one student to work on database management in the spring semester.  The course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The course meets MWF at 9:05.

Geography 510: Geographic Software Design focuses on methods for serving and developing web and mobile GIS applications.  Topics include sources of map services, how to set up your own spatial server, and overview of major mapping Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) including those from Google, ESRI, OpenLayers, and Leaflet. The course also covers the differences between mobile web applications and mobile apps.  Recent developments in these topics make it possible to develop web applications for mobile and desktop that require little to no programming.  We will cover some JavaScript programming, but no prior programming experience is required.  ESRI recruiter and UT graduate Ian Feathers stated that they (ESRI) are always looking for people with types of skills.  The course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

The course meets TR from 11:10-12:25.