GIS Professional Certificate

Overview

The School of Professional & Continuing Studies offers the Geographic Information System (GIS) Professional Certificate, a six-month program offered entirely online that positions graduates to sit for the Esri ArcGIS Pro Foundation certification exam.

GIS technology has broad applications in business, natural and social sciences, environmental studies, engineering and management. The use of geospatial technologies continues to rapidly grow and values a certified workforce. Esri, the global GIS market leader, notes that because organizations increasingly rely on location intelligence to make better decisions, careers in GIS are in demand more than ever. Esri points to a number of careers that rely on, or can incorporate, GIS skills.

The GIS Professional Certificate consists of two blocks of instruction — GIS Fundamentals and GIS Spatial Analysis & Statistics — split into special topics modules and two main deliverable projects. Graduates will leave the GIS Professional Certificate program with knowledge of the newest GIS software and best practices for utilizing it in your field.

Student Experience

Classes will focus on creating new features, editing, georeferencing, and basic knowledge of web mapping, advanced GIS concepts along with hands-on experience in specialty topics. Specialty topics will provide a deep dive into a particular subject matter such as web mapping, field collection, and cartography. The curriculum is divided into two core blocks supported by 10 modules.

Unlike other GIS certificate programs, the University of Richmond GIS Professional Certificate focuses on how desktop GIS software transitions to web-facing applications and the role web GIS plays in today’s organizations.

Earn the GIS Professional Badge

GIS Professional badge

In addition to earning a Professional Certificate from the University of Richmond, students who complete this program successfully will earn the GIS Professional badge. Once earned, you can share this badge on your website, digital resume and social media profiles to demonstrate to employers and colleagues that you’ve completed the program’s outcomes.

Introduction to GIS using ArcGIS Pro

If you’re not quite ready to work on our GIS Professional Certificate, you might benefit from our short course, Introduction to GIS using ArcGIS Pro. This course is designed to introduce you to the fundamental concepts and techniques of GIS using ArcGIS Pro software. In this course, you will learn how to use ArcGIS Pro to manage, analyze, and display geographic data.