UNIGIS USA – University of Southern California

About the UNIGIS Institution:

Since its founding in 1880, the University of Southern California has become a top-tier private research university, ranked #15 nationally in the inaugural 2016 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education and #23 in the 2016 U.S. News and World Report national universities rankings. In particular, USC is a leader in international education, with the largest number of international students of any university in the United States, approximately 15% of the total student population.

Founded by Dr. John P. Wilson in 2010, the USC Spatial Sciences Institute (SSI) housed in Dornsife College is the hub of spatially related academic programs and research initiatives at USC, recognized for using the power of spatial thinking and literacy – the ability to connect place and space – to help address global challenges, including those of environmental sustainability and human well-being.

The Spatial Sciences Institute is unique in offering interdisciplinary courses and degrees at every higher educational level – undergraduate, masters, and doctoral. Through these innovative academic programs, the Spatial Sciences Institute educates and trains today’s leaders capable of deploying the “science of where” in every possible discipline and industry.  Members of our internationally-recognized faculty contribute to the rapidly-evolving body of geospatial knowledge.  Our faculty and student research initiatives are similarly cross-cutting across all sciences and the humanities to inform decision makers and citizens and link knowledge with action. We collaborate with faculty colleagues throughout the University of Southern California and with other prestigious institutions around the world on funded research with actionable impact.  With businesses, non-profits, NGOs, and other entities, SSI researchers empower decision makers with the analysis, modeling, and visualization of location-based data.

USC as represented by its Spatial Sciences Institute is a founding member of the UNIGIS International Association (UNIGIS), a network of nine universities around the world established in 1990 that leads and shares in the development of online geographic information science (GIS) education programs.

The USC Spatial Sciences Institute offers a suite of online Graduate Programs in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST):

• The Graduate Certificate in GISTprovides the foundation for professional advancement utilizing geographic information science principles and the latest GIS, GPS and remote sensing platforms and applications.
• Students in the USC online Master of Public Health program geohealth trackcan become spatially-enabled health professionals with the abilities to explore how geographical contexts shape health outcomes, trends and inequalities.
• In the M.S. in GIST degree program, students tailor their coursework and thesis project to position themselves for long-term professional growth in increasingly diverse occupations and disciplines.
• Accredited by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, our Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Intelligencedevelops career readiness to work in areas such as disaster management, human security, international relief, and many other fields.

Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).