Skip to main content
School of Earth, Society & Environment Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science

Course Catalog

GGIS 100 - Introduction to Meteorology

Same as ATMS 100. See ATMS 100.

GGIS 101 - Global Development & Environment

Introduces geographical perspectives on environment and development studies with case studies drawn from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Investigates the origins of the global South in relation to the global North, especially the historical and contemporary processes driving environmental, economic, and cultural change.

GGIS 106 - Geographies of Globalization

A survey of major world regions by systematically considering five themes: environment, population and settlement patterns, cultural coherence and diversity, geopolitical fragmentation and unity, and economic and social development. While examining the persistence of unique regions, the course will both scale up to global linkages and scale down to place-specific impacts of globalization processes. Same as ESE 106.

GGIS 204 - Cities of the World

In-depth exploration of global urbanization. Using a comparative regional approach, discuss the recent history of global urbanization, dissect its problems, and offer possible solutions. Approximately ten major regions of the world will be examined, exploring the significant urban patterns and processes, built and natural environments, and social, economic, and cultural landscapes of each.

GGIS 210 - Social & Environmental Issues

Introduction to the complex relationship between people and the natural environment from a social science perspective. Explores different approaches to environmental issues, and examines the role of population change, political economy, technologies, environmental policymaking, and social institutions in causing and resolving contemporary social and environmental global issues. Same as ESE 210.

GGIS 220 - Landscapes, Ecosystems and Environmental Change

Addresses the fundamental question of how science can guide sustainable management of landscapes and the associated ecosystems in the era of rapid global environmental change. To achieve this goal, we will integrate basic concepts and methods from a range of disciplines, including earth sciences, ecology, environmental management, and environmental studies.

GGIS 222 - Big Rivers of the World

An interdisciplinary approach to the study of big rivers, encompassing geomorphology, engineering, ecology, risk assessment and planning. Commencing with an assessment of the nature of big rivers; their hydrology and geomorphic setting; hazards associated with large rivers, and issues of river impoundment and management, then proceed to examine the geography, geomorphology, and ecology and management of a range of the World's greatest rivers, focusing on how a geomorphological understanding of such large rivers can aid study of riverine ecohabitats and inform decisions regarding water usage and engineering management. If the weather permits, a one day field-trip will be organized in the second half of the course to view aspects of a local river in Illinois/Indiana. Same as ESE 222.

GGIS 224 - Environmental Data Science

Systematic analysis of the environmental and human processes shaping rural and urban Illinois through a data science lens.

GGIS 254 - People, Places, and Environments of the US

Students will broaden their understanding of how the United States' physical and human geography interact to produce unique cultural landscapes. Covers multiple regions of the U.S., exploring the significant spatial patterns and processes, built and natural environments, and social, economic, and cultural landscapes of each. Focuses on the experiences of minority cultures in the U.S. through specific themes that vary by semester, including environmental justice, memory and memorials, music, and food. Same as ESE 254.

GGIS 280 - Intro to Social Statistics

Same as SOC 280. See SOC 280.

GGIS 287 - Environment and Society

Same as Same as ESE 287, NRES 287, and PS 273. See NRES 287.

GGIS 350 - Sustainability and the City

Examination of the tools, techniques, strategies, and rationales that can be used by urbanists to produce and sustain a productive, fair, and equitable city. Emphasis is placed on diagnosing, implementing, and sustaining an ideal U.S. city as a complex whole that embeds an array of interconnecting parts (neighborhoods, retail districts, downtowns, city economies). Lectures and discussion cover the broad background of theories, concepts, and principles that will be essential for imagining and implementing these ideals, strategies and plans. Same as ESE 350.

GGIS 370 - Water Planet, Water Crisis

Same as ESE 320 and GEOL 370. See ESE 320.

GGIS 379 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Investigates the fundamentals of geographic information science as well as the basic skills in the execution of that theoretical knowledge with industry standard software packages. Student will learn the basics of projections and coordinate systems, how geographic information is stored and manipulated, and the theory and practice behind the production of thematic maps. Includes lecture and hands-on laboratory components. Same as ESE 379.

GGIS 380 - Geographic Information Systems II

Study of the analytical capabilities of geographic information systems with an emphasis on learning to solve spatial problems in both the vector and raster data formats. Students will develop the skills necessary to answer questions or solve problems in their areas of interest, with particular emphasis on problems and questions that require multiple steps to resolve. Students will learn the fundamental theory behind spatial problem solving, but also learn to execute these procedures with industry-standard software packages. Thus, this class contains both lecture/discussion elements and hands-on laboratory work. Same as ESE 380. Prerequisite: GGIS 379/ESE 379.

GGIS 390 - Independent Study

Supervised independent study of special topics or regions. May be repeated once. Prerequisite: Junior standing; at least one formal course in the topic or region of interest; consent of instructor.

GGIS 391 - Honors Independent Study

Independent study and research projects for students who are working toward the degree with distinction in geography. Prerequisite: Junior standing; consent of honors adviser.

GGIS 392 - Geography & GIS Internship

Supervised, off-campus experience in a field directly pertaining to Geography and/or GIS. A written report is required at the end of the internship relating work accomplishments to the student's program of study. Approved for Letter and S/U grading. May be repeated in separate terms up to 6 hours. Prerequisite: Consent of faculty sponsor and Director of Undergraduate Studies; at least two courses taken within Geography & GIS.

GGIS 403 - Geographic Information Science and Systems

Introduces the conceptual and technical fundamentals of geographic information science as a gateway to advanced study in geographic information science, and cover geographic information science as an interdisciplinary scientific field and geographic information systems as a tool in many application domains. Students will be introduced to unique characteristics of geospatial data in the capture, processing, storage, analysis, communication, and interpretation of geospatial information, which will prepare them to utilize information science techniques and critical spatial-thinking skills to address geospatially-related challenges. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: There are no prerequisites for this course, although familiarity with basic descriptive and inferential statistics as well as some experience with at least one computer scripting/programming language will be helpful.

GGIS 407 - Foundations of CyberGIS & Geospatial Data Science

Intended to introduce students to CyberGIS – Geospatial Information Science and Systems (GIS) based on advanced cyberinfrastructure as well as the state of the art in high-performance computing, big data, and cloud computing in the context of geospatial data science. Students will use CyberGISX, which is an innovative cyberGIS framework for conducting data-intensive, reproducible, and scalable geospatial analytics with Jupyter Notebook as its primary user environment. Students are expected to learn how to develop Jupyter notebooks to analyze and visualize geospatial data using leading-edge cyberGIS software and python libraries. Emphasis is placed on learning the cutting-edge advances of cyberGIS and its underlying geospatial data science principles. Same as GEOL 407. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

GGIS 459 - Ecohydraulics

Same as CEE 459. See CEE 459.

GGIS 466 - Environmental Policy

Examination of the geographical and political aspects of human-environmental relations; focusing on how environmental problems are defined, negotiated, and addressed through policy formulation. Specific approaches to environmental policy will be considered at different geographical scales. Same as ESE 466. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in Geography or Political Science or consent of instructor.

GGIS 477 - Introduction to Remote Sensing

Fundamentals of energy-matter interaction mechanisms, and the manifestation of reflected and emitted radiation on photographs and images; introduces characteristics of aerial films and filters, electro-optical scanners, and digital processing; and emphasizes applications in environmental problems. Same as NRES 477. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: GGIS 280 or STAT 100 or equivalent, or consent of instructor.

GGIS 478 - Techniques of Remote Sensing

Introduce remote sensing techniques to identify features and phenomena at the surface of Earth with aircraft and satellite platforms. The covered topics include remotely sensed data and major sensor systems, optical, thermal, LiDAR, and hyperspectral remote sensing, techniques for image enhancement and image classification, and applications of remote sensing in various domain fields. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: GGIS 477 or equivalent.

GGIS 480 - Principles of Geographic Information Science

Focuses on Geographic Information Science (GIScience) principles that underlie the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and its intelligent use. Helps students adapt to rapidly changing geospatial technologies. Knowledge gained in this course will be general and, thus, not be limited to any specific software product that may be revised in the future. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor approval.

GGIS 483 - Urban Geography

Broad background of theories, concepts, and methods of research for understanding how and why our cities have reached their current status. Focus on examining the internal structure of the North American city, including analysis of the commercial, industrial, and residential sectors of the urban environment. Particular emphasis is placed on the range of urban theories developed to explain both urban structure and contemporary urban ills. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours.

GGIS 489 - Programming for GIS

Introduction to programming to customize and extend the capabilities of geographic information systems. Topics include the principles of programming, advanced function and tools coding, visualization, fundamental spatial data structures, and spatial algorithms. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: GGIS/ESE 379 or equivalent, or consent of instructor.

GGIS 491 - Research in Geography

Detailed examination and discussion of the methods of initiating and executing research projects in human or physical geography (taught in separate sections); requires students to write a research proposal of a quality suitable for a graduate thesis. 2 undergraduate hours. 2 graduate hours. Prerequisite: GGIS 471; either graduate standing in geography or senior standing as a geography major and consent of department.

GGIS 517 - Geospatial Visualization & Visual Analytics

Intended to introduce students to geospatial visualization and visual analytics as well as the state-of-the-art of cartographic mapping and visualization technologies in the context of cyberGIS (cyber geospatial information science and systems) and geospatial data science. Students will learn open source mapping and visualization libraries such as Leaflet, D3 and Plotly and how to mash up these libraries to create interactive and dynamic visualization tools and GIS applications. Students are expected to learn how to visualize not only geospatial data but also results of spatial analysis. Emphasis is placed on learning the cutting-edge advances of geospatial visualization and visual analytics and practical skills to create geospatial applications based on such advances.

GGIS 570 - Advanced Spatial Analysis

Advanced techniques of spatial analysis, including spatial autocorrelation, trend surface analysis, grouping and regionalization procedures, and point pattern analysis.

GGIS 590 - Graduate Independent Study

Independent research project or thesis topic development to be supervised by Geography & GIS faculty advisor. May be repeated in separate semesters. After passing the Preliminary Exam, PhD candidates should register for GGIS 599: Thesis Research instead of this course.

GGIS 593 - Geography & GIS Colloquium

Weekly research presentations by invited speakers and Geography & GIS PhD students on a wide range of topics. Required for all GGIS graduate (excluding PSM) students. 0 graduate hours. 0 professional hours. Approved for S/U grading only. May be repeated in separate terms.

GGIS 595 - Graduate Seminar

Graduate-level exploration of a topic in Geography & GIS that is not covered by an existing course. Topics and instructors vary by semester. Approved for Letter and S/U grading. May be repeated if topics vary.

GGIS 598 - Graduate Capstone Project

Major individual project that demonstrates the student's ability to solve an advanced geospatial problem or develop a GIS-based application. Student will work closely with a faculty capstone advisor to determine the project focus and expected outcome(s).

GGIS 599 - Thesis Research

Individual research under supervision of members of the faculty in their respective fields. Approved for S/U grading only. May be repeated.

School of Earth, Society & Environment Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science

Natural History Building, Second Floor

1301 W. Green St., MC-150

Urbana, IL 61801

(217) 333-1880

Email: geography@illinois.edu

Login