American Sentinel University, Online

American Sentinel University
Geographic Information Systems, Information Technology
Devon Cancilla Ph.D., Dean, Business and Information Technology
2260 S. Xanadu Way, Suite 310
Aurora, CO 80014
866-922-5690
Devon.Cancilla@americansentinel.edu
Bachelor of Science Geographic Information Systems

Description of Program

The online Bachelor of Science Geographic Information Systems degree program teaches students to develop and utilize geodatabases to store and manage spatial data and create solutions with GIS software. Students learn to interpret and visualize the data from abstract geographic information to uncover patterns, trends and relationships. Students also learn to use publicly available data for geospatial analysis to solve human-based problems and identify and analyze ethical issues surrounding the use of GIS data. Graduates will be able to integrate remote sensing and GPS techniques into the GIS process and demonstrate fundamental skills with SQL and mapping applications.

Students graduating with a B.S. Geographic Information Systems degree complete 39 credit hours of general education courses, 69 credit hours of courses in the major and 12 credit hours of elective courses.

Description of Courses

GIS120
Utilizing Google Earth and Google Maps for GIS
3 Credit hours
Lecture: Online
Google Earth and Google Maps are cutting-edge geospatial applications for GIS visualization. Each of these applications allows students to see the world without leaving a computer or mobile device. The course covers how to convert, integrate and display data for the world to see.

GIS300
Environmental Modeling
3 Credit hours
Lecture: Online
This course introduces students to environmental modeling and physical geography fields. It also incorporates the utilization of GIS as a tool within these fields. The course discusses GIS techniques that can be used to solve environmental modeling problems. The course teaches students how to use GIS to model real-world environmental phenomena.

GIS315
Remote Sensing of the Environment
3 Credit hours
Lecture: Online
This course introduces the principles and applications of remote sensing of terrestrial and aquatic environments. Begins with principles of electromagnetic radiation and moves into an overview of remote sensing data. Also covers methods for transforming and classifying spectral data, detection of environmental change and assessing the quality of remote sensing analyses.

GIS330
GPS Applied to GIS
3 Credit hours
Prerequisites: GIS211
Lecture: Online
This course focuses on integrating GPS data into a geographic information system. Course work covers the concepts, equipment and techniques required to accomplish this process.

GIS350
Data Acquisition
3 Credit hours
Prerequisites: GIS211
Lecture: Online
This course offers a comprehensive overview of the GIS data acquisition process, which starts with the decision of what type of data is the best for a specific project and continues with the identification of the data sources. The process culminates with the methodology for data acquisition based on several criteria.

Elective Courses

CS360
Java Programming
3 Credit hours
Prerequisites: CS130 or CS110
Lecture: Online
This course is for students with intermediate knowledge of C++. It covers all major areas of the Java language and introduces key components of the Java Foundation Class library.

WEB320
Server-Side Web Programming Using ASP.NET
3 Credit hours
Prerequisites: IS116 or WEB301
Lecture: Online
This course provides students with working knowledge of Active Server Pages (ASP) for creating dynamic, data-driven websites. Topics include ASP.NET development environment, web forms, server controls, data access issues, security, configuration and deployment. The course focuses on Visual Basic and ASP.NET, but techniques learned will be applicable to most server-side scripting environments.

WEB440
Database and Dynamic Web Design
3 Credit hours
Lecture: Online
This course introduces programming web applications using an open source SQL database and programming language. Topics include form processing, database access and object-oriented programming. Students explore basic functions of a popular markup language and write a small-scale web portal.