Geographic Information Systems Certificate Program
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GIS Certificate Overview
Convenient Location
Certificate Requirements
Course Descriptions
Admission
Instructors
Evaluation Comment
GIS Certificate Overview
The George Mason University Non-Credit Certificate Programs offer an opportunity for working professionals to increase their technical knowledge of GIS. Students entering our programs come from a multitude of backgrounds and professions. Individual courses may be taken without pursuing the entire certificate though in some cases prerequisites must be met. The required courses focus on exposing students to different facets of incorporating GIS to solve geographic problems within their area of study. All programs start with introduction to GIS applications and an introduction to a prominent GIS software package. From there, depending on your area of interest, it is required that the appropriate core courses and two electives are completed.
Both the Geographic Information Systems and the Mapping for Public Safety & Homeland Security Certificates require a total of eight courses to be taken. Please note: If you are taking the Geographic Information Systems program and have chosen a concentration, your elective courses are prescribed.
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Convenient Location
Classes are intense three consecutive day sessions. Classes are offered at the George Mason University Prince William Campus in Manassas, Virginia, which is equipped with a state of the art lab and large individual workstations for each student. Companies/agencies interested in bringing the program in-house or in hosting classes should contact the Office of Continuing Professional Education at 703-993-8337.
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Certificate Requirements
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| Registration |
Click here to download the registration form
and schedule. |
| Courses |
Click on a course link to see the schedule.
GIS Core Courses
GIS Elective Courses
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| On-Site Opportunity |
This course is also available on a contract basis and can be tailored to suit your organization's needs. Please contact us to discuss your on-site opportunity. |
| Contact Info. |
Prince William Campus
Online contact form
Address:
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George Mason University
Office of Continuing Professional Education |
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10900 University Blvd. |
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Manassas, VA 20110 |
Telephone: 703-993-8335
Fax: 703-993-8336 |
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- Eight courses (six core, two electives)
- Any waived course must be approved prior to commencing the program and replaced with another elective.
Our Professional Certificates are awarded to those who complete the requirements within their specific certificate of study. Geographic Information Systems and Mapping for Public Safety & Homeland Security require one software class, five core classes, and two electives. Please note: If you are taking the Geographic Information Systems program and have chosen a concentration, your elective courses will be prescribed. The certificate must be completed within 36 months of the date the student begins the first class. The student must attend all sessions of each class for successful completion.
Certificate and non-certificate students are awarded 1 CEU (Continuing Education Unit) per ten hours of successful classroom participation in this program.
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Course Descriptions
Click on a course link to see the description.
GIS Core Courses
GIS Elective Courses
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Admission
Courses taken elsewhere may be evaluated toward acceptance for GMU certificate. Students normally have an undergraduate degree and professional experience before entering the certificate program. Students working toward the certificate must take GIS 100 and a software class (GIS 0110), unless waived. The software class must be taken prior to all classes except GIS 0100.
Students may request to waive GIS 0100 and/or GIS 0110, although most students benefit from taking these courses. Requests are to be arranged through the Program Office, and must be accomplished before taking any courses in the program. If either of these courses is waived, an elective must be taken in the place of each waived course. A total of eight courses must be taken in order to achieve the certificate.
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Instructors
The instructors in the program come from government, private industry, and academia. They have extensive experience in working with spatial data and GIS. Each instructor brings a unique perspective to the program. The classes are kept small (18 is the maximum number) to allow the instructors to teach in a seminar environment.
Matthew Bechdol, MS
Matthew Bechdol has a BS in public affairs and environmental science from Indiana University; a certificate in public affairs from
the Rijksuniversiteit, Leiden - The Netherlands; and a MS in geographic and cartographic science from George Mason University.
Matthew Bechdol is a federal account manager at the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) in Washington, D.C. As an
account manager for the US Department of Agriculture, he assists in the integration of software, hardware, data, and personnel
to solve agricultural problems ranging from precision farming to global crop forecasting. Mr. Bechdol provided GIS and remote
sensing support as a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Subcontractor, where he investigated hyperspectral imaging and GIS
technologies for Precision Agriculture. He also worked on teams devoted to developing mobile/wireless GIS and remote sensing
field data and imagery classification technologies via parallel processing systems. Mr. Bechdol teaches Introduction to GIS,
Advanced Map Design & Cartography, and Business Applications of GIS.
Lee De Cola, PhD
Lee De Cola has a BA in mathematics and a Master of city planning, both from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in
geography from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is a research scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey studying the landscape
epidemiology of vector-borne diseases and multiscale space/time technologies for distributing public health information over the
internet. As a consultant or researcher he has published on spatial demand for health services, world urbanization, feature
extraction from imagery, map generalization, multiscale spatial analysis, knowledge management, and health risk forecasting. Lee
has taught the Universities of Boston, West Virginia, Ibadan, Southern California, and Vermont, and he is currently an adjunct
professor at George Mason University. Dr. De Cola is qualified to teach Public Health Administration and Analysis and Spatial
Statistics & Geostatistical Analysis.
Mary Garrand
Mary Garrand supervises the Crime Analysis Unit for the Alexandria, VA Police Department. Her duties include overseeing the
tactical analysis of crime series and trends as well as the strategic analysis of crime within Alexandria's community oriented
policing (COP) areas. As an analyst with Alexandria Police Department, Ms. Garrand has implemented new tactical and intelligence
software. She has worked on several long term mapping projects within Community Support areas as well as on criminal
investigations. Ms. Garrand was also instrumental in implementing a mobile crime analysis intranet page for officers
to use in the field. By using mobile data browser technology, she was able to work with staff to implement this new method of
distributing crime analysis information.
Ms. Garrand serves as the training representative for the Virginia Crime Analysis Network (VCAN) and is an instructor for
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center's (NLECTC) Crime Mapping and Analysis Program (CMAP). Prior to
joining the Alexandria Police Department, she was a research associate for the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA)
as well as a crime analyst with the Fairfax County, VA Police Department. She holds a master of science in justice, law and
society from American University and a bachelor of arts from Fordham University. Ms. Garrand teaches Human Mapping & Analysis
as well as Crime Mapping Case Studies.
Barry Haack, PhD
Barry Haack has a PhD in geography from the University of Michigan, an MA in geography from San Diego State University, and a
BS, also in geography, from the University of Wisconsin. He is professor of geographic and cartographic sciences at George Mason
University where his primary teaching responsibilities and research activities are in aerial photo interpretation, remote sensing,
and GIS. Among his primary research interest and experience has been the application of remote sensing technologies and geographic
information systems in developing countries. He has conducted extensive basic and applied remote sensing research, including manual
and computer analysis of data from conventional aircraft platforms and satellites and the integration of that data into a GIS. Dr.
Haack teaches Integration of Remote Sensing and GIS.
Kevin Henry
Kevin Henry has a BSc in geography, and masters degrees in history and geography. He is currently finishing his PhD in geography at
McGill University (Montreal, Canada) and has been working for the last year as a post-doctoral fellow in bioinformatics and
epidemiology at the McGill University Health Center, Montreal. His current work includes an epidemiological study of the
spatial distribution of a drug resistant strain of tuberculosis in Quebec, Canada, and DNA/RNA microarray analysis where
he is using spatial statistics to examine the benefit of incorporating the expression results for neighboring genes in the
assessment of the expression value for individual genes. Mr. Henry is also involved in a number of epidemiological studies of
infectious disease in Montreal. His research specialties include the design and implementation of spatial-temporal objected-oriented
databases and the use of GIS, spatial and multivariate statistics for examining relationships, interactions and clustering in
biological, demographic and health data. Before moving to Montreal, Mr. Henry worked as a GIS specialist at the Center for
Geographical Information Sciences at Towson University, where he gained experience training staff and students on using GIS
software, establishing methods for contracts/grants, and providing quality assurance/quality control procedures. Mr. Henry teaches
Introduction to Database Issues & Integration.
Kenneth F. Holbert, Jr.
Kenneth F. Holbert, Jr. is the management analyst for the Town of Herndon, VA where he manages and supports GIS related projects.
He holds a BA in geography specializing in GIS, from the University of Washington in Seattle. An authorized ESRI ArcGIS instructor,
Mr. Holbert occasionally teaches Introduction to ArcGIS 9.1 at George Mason University. He has nearly two decades of GIS experience
in both the public and private sector organizations including ADC Maps, WSSC, ESRI, US Navy, and Fairfax County. He has worked on
GIS projects ranging from utility mapping, cadastral automation, environmental analysis, Internet map publishing, and asset
management. Mr. Holbert has been the president of the ESRI Mid Atlantic Users Group and is a member of the NOVA GIS Managers
group and MWCOG GIS Committee. He is a competent toastmaster and has spoken several times at GIS conferences.
Susan Jampoler, MS
Susan Jampoler has an MS in geographic and cartographic sciences from George Mason University and graduate level training in
business at the University of North Florida and San Jose State University, a cartography certificate from George Mason, and a
BA in history from the University of Maryland. She is president of GeoKnowledge, Inc., an educational services company
specializing in technical geographic education. Ms. Jampoler is also the executive director of the University Consortium for
Geographic Information Science (UCGIS).
Steven Kremer
Steven Kremer is a geospatial analyst and master instructor for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing at the Defense
Mapping School division of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency. He has a BA in geography and a certificate in cartography
with specialties in remote sensing and GIS from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Mr. Kremer spent three years
with Geosystems Global Corporation (now MapQuest.com) where he specialized in digital cartography. He has been an instructor
at the Defense Mapping School since 1998 where he has focused on military and defense applications of GIS, crime mapping,
and lending technical support to U.S. and allied soldiers around the world. Mr. Kremer teaches Defense and Intelligence
Applications of GIS.
Justin Louis
Mr. Louis has undergraduate degrees in geography and history from Miami University and a masters of science from George
Mason University in geographic and cartographic sciences. For the past 15 years he has worked for the federal government
promoting the use and application of geography, geographic information systems, and geographic data to issues of national
security, diplomacy, and intelligence across government agencies. Mr. Louis has been an instructor with the George Mason
University GIS Certificate Program since 2005. He is one of the instructors for the Defense & Intelligence Applications class.
Stephen Malys, MS
Stephen Malys is a senior geodesist in the Research and Technology Office of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency. He holds a
BS from The Pennsylvania State University and an MS in geodetic science from The Ohio State University. For the last 15 years, he
has contributed to advancements in the geodetic exploitation of satellite systems, including the Navy's TRANSIT system and the
Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS). He has played leading roles in the implementation of refinements to the global coordinate
system known as the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) and improvements to the GPS Precise Positioning Service. He is an active
member of the Institute of Navigation (ION) and has been elected as land representative on the ION council (96-98) and secretary
of the satellite division (98-99). He has authored or co-authored more than 19 technical papers dealing with accuracy analysis of
GPS and geodetic applications of TRANSIT and GPS. Mr. Malys teaches Introduction to GPS and Photogrammetry.
Paul Salamonowicz, PhD
Paul Salamonowicz is a senior staff scientist in the Research and Technology Office of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency
(NIMA). He holds a BSc in engineering from Cornell University, an M.Eng. In geodetic engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic
Institute, a MSc in mathematics from George Mason University, and a PhD in computational mathematics, also from George Mason
University. He has over 24 years of experience in the mapping and geodesy fields, principally involving the mathematical modeling
and analysis of data from airborne and spaceborne sensor systems. He worked from 1976-85 in the research office of the National
Mapping Division of the U.S. Geological Survey where his work involved the modeling of electro-optical and radar sensors. From
1985-96 he worked in various offices of the Defense Mapping Agency, including the Geodesy & Surveys and the Digital Products
Departments of the Hydrographic/Topographic Center, and later the Advanced Sensors Division of the Systems Center, where he
specialized in sensor and product accuracy assessments. Since 1996 he has been at NIMA and is currently the lead for investigating
mathematical applications in support of the agency's mission. He played a leading role in the development of the shuttle radar
topography mission, a recently completed joint effort of NASA/JPL and NIMA to map 80% of the Earth's surface using an
interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) system onboard the space shuttle endeavour. He is a member of the American
Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, the Photogrammetric Society (Great Britain), the Mathematical Association of
America, and the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications. He has published several papers on metric analysis of airborne
and satellite imagery, modeling of sensor systems, and geodetic applications of SEASAT altimetry. He has also authored or
co-authored numerous technical reports dealing with topics such as accuracy analysis of photogrammetric and radar systems,
including the photogrammetric analysis for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations. He was the
recipient of the 1975 Bausch & Lomb Photogrammetry Award and the 1992 DMA Benjamin Lane Award for Technological Achievement.
Dr. Salamonowicz teaches Introduction to GPS and Photogrammetry.
David J. Simms, GISP
David J. Simms is a technical program analyst with the Department of Fire and Rescue Prince William County Va., incorporating
public safety applications of GIS to improve EMS , fire, and emergency management operations and services to the community. He
spent the last 10 years integrating GIS and other technology to analyze system performance, and to support the development of a
station location study and apparatus deployment model. Mr. Simms manages the County's Planning and Intelligence Group, Situation
Unit during EOC (Emergency Operations Center) activations, and has established procedures using GIS during emergency or disaster
events. He also has worked as head of GIS Development and Maintenance with Prince William County in 1988 and was instrumental in
the initial development of the County's GIS, completing the 3½ year effort of parcel automation. Mr. Simms authored a technical
paper entitled "Optimizing Fire and Rescue Services using GIS" published on the ESRI web site, four maps; "Unit Travel Time Zones,"
published in the "1998 ESRI Map Book" and "The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis, Volume 1, 1999;" "Epidemiology and GIS," published in
the "ESRI 2001 Map Book," and "Station Location Analysis," published in the ESRI 2003 Map Book. Mr. Simms has contributed to the
completion of many foreign cartographic projects, and worked as manager of production and quality control for topographic products
in 1983 during his 8 years in the US Army which started at the Defense Mapping School in 1977. He holds a certificate as a
certified GIS professional from the GIS Certification Institute, and has more than 27 years of GIS and cartographic experience
in the private sector, local and federal government. Mr. Simms teaches Mapping for Fire and EMS.
Rebecca Somers, MA
Rebecca Somers has a BA and MA, specializing in GIS, from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and post-graduate work in
business management at the University of Calgary and University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is president of Somers-St. Claire, GIS
Management in Fairfax, Virginia. Ms. Somers is a leading geographic information systems consultant, specializing in GIS management
and education. She has over 25 years experience in both the public and private sectors, and has served as a consultant to many
local governments, state and federal agencies, and utilities and other companies. She is a columnist with Geo Info Systems and
an editor of the URISA Journal. Ms. Somers teaches GIS Implementation and GIS Management.
Erwin Villiger, PhD
Dr. Erwin Villiger is the president and CEO of Global View Inc., a GIS and remote sensing consulting firm. He spent 10 years with
the Central Intelligence Agency as an imagery analyst and remote sensing scientist before leaving to pursue a PhD in environmental
science at George Mason University. While studying at George Mason, he ran the GIS and remote sensing computer labs for the
Department of Geography and Earth System Science. He has a BA and MS in geography, with specialties in remote sensing and
geographic information systems. Dr. Villiger has taught geography and GIS courses for Johns Hopkins University and George
Mason University, has developed a number of GIS education programs for professionals, and is the director of a master's
program in GIS with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is an ESRI authorized instructor for ArcGIS and manages
desktop software training for the Professional Certificate Program in Geographic Information Systems at George Mason. He teaches
a number of certificate courses including: Introduction to ArcGIS, Components of GIS, Raster Analysis & 3D Modeling, and
Environmental Applications of GIS.
Paul Young, MA
Paul M. Young graduated from the University of Akron with a bachelor of science degree in geography/cartography in 1986. In 1990
he graduated from the University of Maryland with a master of arts degree in geography. The American Congress on Surveying and
Mapping and the National Geographic Society awarded him scholarships. While in college, he worked at the U.S. Bureau of the
Census Geography Division where he compiled and digitized maps. Since 1986, he has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS). His early career at USGS included compiling topographic and geologic maps. He then worked for several years developing
new computer systems used for map digitizing, image analysis, and geographic information systems (GIS). He served as the director
of the USGS Cartographic Technology Laboratory and then supervised the applications research section where employees worked on a
wide variety of natural resource and environmental applications and GIS projects. He served for 6 years in the USGS Office of the
Director, where he held a number of senior positions. For the next 3 years, Paul served as the program officer in the Office of
Eastern Region Geography where he led long term planning including integrated science activities. He currently serves as the
regional geographer for the USGS Eastern Region where he coordinates integrated science projects and USGS regional science
with National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management. The Department of the Interior
awarded him its Superior Service Award in 1995. He wrote a chapter titled "Spatial Database Revision" for Basic Cartography
Volume 3, published by the International Cartographic Association in 1996. Paul is a member of the Association of American
Geographers and the Cartography and Geographic Information Society (a member organization of the American Congress on
Surveying and Mapping) where he served for 6 years as the secretary-treasurer. He has taught continuing education and
graduate level GIS courses at Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University since 1997.
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Evaluation Comment
“Mason’s GIS program set me up for success by teaching the latest in GIS technology and how to apply it to my daily work...”
Robert J. Alberts
Imagery Analyst, Booz Allen Hamilton
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