University of Colorado Denver University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Program Planning

Working Toward A GIS Commons

Geo-technology resources enable faculty and students to collaborate across departments and colleges/schools and to link with the Colorado and international communities. Leveraging existing visibility in this area, we are developing ways to expand our successes with geospatial technologies. The overarching purpose of a Geospatial Signature Area is to promote spatial thinking and to build geospatial capacity across disciplines in CLAS through the creation of a GIS Commons so that this college can lead the university in broader signature area endeavors.

Goals

  • Continue and expand quality undergraduate and graduate teaching in cutting edge
    geographic analysis
  • Make even stronger connections between geospatial research and teaching, leveraging interdisciplinary connections for grants and contracts, as well as teaching
  • Expand relationships between departments and colleges in order to promote
    interdisciplinary collaborations for examining geographic relationships
  • Enhance UCD’s visibility in the Colorado community through GIS projects and
    Research
  • Increase international academic collaborations incorporating application of geospatial
    Technologies

Focus Areas

While many opportunities clearly exist and any faculty/student interest should be supported, focus areas naturally emerge in CLAS because of existing faculty specialties and budding collaborations.  An advisory committee would ultimately identify themes and certainly over time they could shift.  However, as an initial listing, those represented by the planning group include:

  • sustainability (place-based human-environmental modeling);
  • health sciences (environmental and social considerations for mortality and morbidity outcomes);
  • P-20 education (as a tool for inquiry social and physical sciences, as well as mapping child/youth perspectives), and;
  • community-based, participatory work.

Excitingly, few universities nationally have specialization in health applications of geo-technologies (a natural fit with consolidation) or integration with inquiry-based education and so the potential for gaining national prominence truly exists if we choose to take a lead in these areas.

Degree Program models

In terms of degree programs, there are two models nationally, although not necessarily
mutually exclusive.  In one model, degrees are explicitly offered in Geographic Information Sciences (GIScience), focusing on the disciplinary nature of geo-technologies. The other model integrates GIS into existing degree programs as an application tool and an important methodological approach drawing on theory from a particular discipline. For example, at UCD, GIS has frequently been utilized in dissertation research in the Health and Behavioral Sciences Program.  In fact, through student research this department has become a leader regionally in health GIS applications.  At UCD the second model has taken hold and this would be an opportunity to strengthen concentrations in undergraduate and graduate programs by adding options, electives, or classes where appropriate.   

It may also make sense to consider a masters or PhD program drawing on the first model, but whether this is appropriate for this campus should be determined by an advisory committee comprised of industry and government representatives along side of faculty. At the very least, no matter how efforts unfold, CLAS will form the core of GIS education, offering degree options in this field.

Related Signature Areas

The geospatial effort connects directly to future vision statements in the Academic Master Planning (AMP) Process at the UCD Downtown campus in several ways, including the interdisciplinary nature of geospatial technologies, the creation of links to the community (both within and outside of the university), the potential for securing of external funding, the integration of research and teaching, and the expansion of collaborations with Health Sciences Center.

In addition, this effort explicitly links to three of the currently identified university-wide signature areas for prominence and distinction:

  1. P-20 Education
  2. Health and Bioscience
  3. Imagine Colorado 2030

Integrating GIS into other disiciplines

Existing Coursework

The core of geo-technologies is geography and this department at UCD has built a strong program over the last six years, creating an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate students throughout CLAS. GIS application-oriented and technical classes have been developed, including:

  • GEOG 5060/4060 Remote Sensing I: Intro to Environmental Remote Sensing
  • GEOG 5070/4070 Remote Sensing II: Advanced Remote Sensing
  • GEOG 5235/4235 GIS Applications in Health Sciences
  • GEOG 5230/4230 Hazard Mitigation and Vulnerability
  • GEOG 5095/4095 Deploying GIS Functionality on the Web
  • GEOG 5085/4085 GIS Applications
  • GEOG 5080/4080 Intro to GIS
  • GEOG 5090/4090 Environmental Modeling with GIS

The GIS Certificate Program

Further, the GIS Certificate program, begun over four years ago, gives undergraduates (in any major), graduate students, and non-degree seeking students an additional mechanism for demonstrating geo-technical skills gained through a concentration in GIS.  Moving beyond the core of geography and formalizing relationships with other disciplines is clearly the next step to creating a signature area of distinction.

Furthering the Interdiscipinary Connections

In addition to creating supplementary coursework to serve an increasingly interdisciplinary audience, several other efforts will be the focus of further educational opportunities. Geography has started the process of incorporating GIS modules into non-technology classes, and individuals have also worked to create modules for non-geography classes. What's need now is to identify professional development opportunities for faculty interested in learning how these technologies might supplement coursework, or how they could be utilized within a research context.  Along with developing modules for incorporation into appropriate courses across the disciplines in the college, creating workshops for students and faculty will also support expanded utilization.  Extended studies opportunities and on-line options to provide flexible course delivery options are also part of the evolving plan.