The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) has granted accreditation to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the fully-online graduate certificate and master’s degree programs in CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science. A total of 23 colleges and universities (including Illinois) offer USGIF-accredited programs and over 1,600 students have received a USGIF-recognized certificate.
Students interested in our Online MS and Certificate programs can learn more and apply at gis.illinois.edu.
“There is a critical need for a robust talent pipeline in the geospatial intelligence field,” said USGIF CEO Ronda Schrenk. “Accreditation elevates the programs training future GEOINT talent. We are proud of our academic partners and delighted to work with the University of Illinois.”
USGIF’s accreditation program provides colleges and universities with an independent, expert assessment of its geospatial curricula. This recognition helps students determine which schools provide a high-quality geospatial intelligence education and helps future employers develop their talent pipeline. Each program is awarded accreditation for a full term of five years. For more information on USGIF accredited schools, visit: usgif.org/education
“We are excited to be accredited by the USGIF for our online Master’s degree in CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science,” said Dr. Julie Cidell, Professor and Head of the Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science at Illinois. “Students can acquire the skills they need in visualization, AI, data processing, and data-intensive computation and know that their work will be recognized by the geointelligence community.”
Faculty adviser for the online CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science programs Dr. Anand Padmanabhan works with students who wish to receive the USGIF designation. He shares that “for the USGIF recognized certificate, students must complete 12 credit hours of coursework and a 4-credit capstone. All master’s degree students receive the USGIF certification automatically by completing the 32-credits and requirements for the degree which includes a capstone.”