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- 2023 Archives
- Scientists dig deep and find a way to accurately predict snowmelt after droughts
- Cracking the Case of Missing Snowmelt After Drought
- 2023 Esri Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Daniel Murphy
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Kyle Kusack
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Matthew Taylor
- Anke Baker Wins Staff Achievement Award
- Spring 2023 Virtual Geospeaker Event with Ginger Gosnell-Myers
- CAG Paper Presentation Award - Congratulations to Alysha van Duynhoven!
- Informing & Engaging Urban Youth on Public Hearings: GEOG 363 Final Showcase
- Research Talk: Modeling Urban Wetland Complexities
- Highlight Paper: Quantifying land carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions
- Bright Addae winner of the 2023 SFU ECCE GIS Scholarship Award
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Jonny Cripps
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Diandra Oliver
- 2023 Geospeaker Presentation with Dr. Pauline McGuirk
- Congratulations to Our Graduates - October 2023
- Evaluating the impact of educational goals at SFU
- The Belongings of Precariously Housed People - A Report
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Takuma Mihara
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Adrienne Arbor
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Claire Shapton
- 2023 Distinguished Speaker Presentation with Dr. Deb Cowen
- Cheers to Paul Degrace and his well-earned retirement!
- 2024 Archives
- Professor Nicholas Blomley Honored with the Community-Engaged Research Achievement Award
- Graduate Students Claire Shapton and Marina Chavez Honored with the Community-Engaged Graduate Scholar Award
- Applications now open: 2024 ESRI Canada GIS Scholarship for SFU
- Associate Professor Rosemary Collard achieves 13th place on SFU Altmetric List
- The PEAK feature: GSU hosts inaugural RANGE conference
- Gabrielle Wong wins First Prize in 2023 Student Learning Commons Writing Contest
- Gabrielle Wong receives Warren Gill Memorial Award
- Professor Nick Blomley receives Warren Gill Memorial Award for Community Impact
- Geography Student Union recipient of the FENV 2024 Changemaker Awards
- Senior Lecturer Tara Holland reveals the secret sauce of great teaching
- Senior Lecturer Tara Holland Receives SFU 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award
- Thesis Defence - Congratulations to Bright Addae
- Hallway Screens Slides
- 2023 Archives
- Alumni
Why Study GIS?
Interested in learning how spatial data can be used to support emergency planning, help design transportation systems, or track the progress of diseases?
Geographic Information Science (GIS) is a collection of scientific techniques and methodologies used to manage, analyze, interpret and communicate spatial data. GIS professionals use geographical, statistical and computational techniques to:
- extract spatial information from a variety of datasets (including field, clinical, satellite or remotely-sensed data)
- analyze complex spatial data to make it more easily understandable
- create interactive maps and models that are accessible to a wide audience
- identify problems and propose new solutions
- contribute to public policy and decision-making
Some examples of GIS in action can be found here, here and here.
GIS Minor
Combining foundational courses in human and physical geography with specialized electives in geovisualization, remote sensing, spatial analysis and modeling, the GIS minor provides the conceptual and technical skills needed to work in GIS-related positions. GIS is used across a wide range of fields, making it a valuable and broadly applicable skill set. Some of the fields in which GIS are commonly used include urban and land-use planning, real estate and housing, marketing, healthcare, transportation planning, resource management, forestry, ecology, environmental conservation, geotechnical work, mining, assessment of future climate impacts, coastal management, public safety and risk assessment.
As a student in the GIS minor you will gain experience in:
- spatial data acquisition
- remote sensing
- spatial data analysis
- geostatistical techniques
- space-time modeling
- spatial simulation
- data visualization
- multimedia cartography
- spatial data privacy
- geovisual analytics
- CAD-GIS integration
- spatial interface technologies
- spatial computing in VR, MR and XR
Want to learn more about the work GIS professionals do?
Check out the co-op profiles for students Nathan Zemp, Akansha Vaish and Isaac Cave.
Program Structure:
The GIS minor requires 25 units in specific GEOG courses and can be completed in combination with a major in any area (registration for Geography majors is restricted to those in the BA degree).
Interested in joining the program?
Contact a Geography Advisor for more information.