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The Department of Global Studies and Geography Announces New BS Major in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Joint Minor in Computer Science and GIS

Our Department is very pleased to announce that our new BS major in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) will enroll our first students in the Fall. The new major will join our popular existing BA major in Geography (GIS) in offering students a comprehensive education in GIS.

Professor Grant Saff, Chair of the Department notes, “in the past, BS students were unable to major in our existing BA in GIS and so this new major allows students in the Natural Sciences and Computer Science/Engineering, to add GIS as a double major and thus add a skill set that is increasingly sought by employers in multiple industries as well as public and nonprofit agencies.”  Professor Craig Dalton, our Director of GIS programs, adds that “GIS combines maps and digital databases and is the geotechnology behind everything from public policy analyses to environmental planning to Google Maps on your phone.   With GIS being one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S., we wanted to give students the opportunity to obtain a degree in this highly relevant field of study.”

In collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, we have also introduced a new joint minor in Computer Science and GIS.  The skill sets learned will provide students with a foundation in computational systems and the ability to apply that knowledge to efficiently visualize, manage, and analyze geographic data.

Also new this fall is a Remote Sensing course, which involves satellite and aerial photography.  Students will be introduced to the basics of geospatial remote sensing, characteristics of remote sensors, and remote sensing analyses for research, government, and industrial applications.  They will get hands-on training in image acquisition, data evaluation, data management, and geographic analyses while practicing the use of GIS and related methods and tools.

As Professor Saff notes, “the addition of these new programs means that students in multiple majors can add one of our GIS programs as either a stand-alone major or minor or as a second major or minor. Knowledge of GIS is a valuable additional skill for majors in disciplines as diverse as journalism, history, geology, political science, marketing, computer science and engineering. These new programs and course offerings in GIS should prove attractive to existing students and provides an additional reason for prospective students to choose Hofstra University as their destination for college.”

With the addition of these new programs, our Department now offers a major in Global Studies (BA), general Geography or Geography in GIS (BA), the BS in GIS, or minors in those fields as well as Computer Science and GIS.  Visit our website to learn more about all of our degree offerings.

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