Environmental Engineering Applications of Geographic Information Systems OpenCourseWare: A Free Graduate Level Course by MIT

Published Jan 09, 2009

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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to record and analyze huge amounts of varied and often seemingly unrelated information. For example, a scientist concerned with hydrology could use GIS to layer rainfall, wetland locations, elevation, geology and human population for a given area and look at possible interactions. MIT offers 'Environmental Engineering Applications of Geographic Information Systems,' a free OpenCourseWare aimed at students in a graduate Environmental Engineering degree program.

Engineering Applications of Geographic Information Systems: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Graduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
Yes Yes No

Environmental Engineering Applications of Geographic Information Systems: Course Description

Professor Daniel Sheehan teaches this course at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. OpenCourseWare students must have access to ArcGIS, an industry standard software suite used by GIS professionals. The course begins with an introduction to GIS and data types. There is a lab associated with each lecture, which makes use of different functionalities in ArcGIS. Students study how to use spatial data and make maps with GIS, as well as how to plan field work and mobile GIS systems. Students will learn about raster data and processing, DEMs and spatial and vector analysis. After studying hydrologic functions and cost path modeling, students will work to complete a final comprehensive project covering all that they have learned.

Notes from six lectures, instructions for 12 lab sessions and project ideas are included, as well as links to GIS data sources. If you're interested in this course, visit the environmental engineering applications of geographic information systems course page.

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