Program Mission: The professional workforce in the environmental sciences expects a certain amount of training in the geographic information sciences (GISci) to allow for the collection, processing and interpretation of spatial data. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job placement in the environmental life sciences will be highest for those with graduate work and GIS training (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010‐11, available at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos311.htm). Eastern Illinois University has been a leader in interdisciplinary GISci and has the expertise to provide this training. The mission of the GISci Certificate Program is to provide individuals who hold a Bachelors degree in the environmental life sciences with the requisite knowledgebase to be proficient in GISci. Specifically, the certificate will allow individuals to be competitive in both the job market as well as in admission to higher‐level
degree programs.

Admission Requirements: To be eligible for admission to the GISci Certificate Program, applicants must meet
all of the requirements for admission to the Graduate School (see “Admission to Graduate Degree and Certificate Programs”) and the Department of Biological Sciences Graduate Program (http://castle.eiu.edu/bioscigr/).

Degree Audit:
A Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences or closely related field.