At the very beginning, I wanted to set the tone for the course. In this way, by better understanding this course’s goals, characteristics, and formats, you can have a clearer understanding of whether to take this course and how you should take it.
First of all, this course is all about solving spatial-oriented questions. It’s not a design course, although you must follow some general cartography rules.
It consists of two parts: some essential concepts and hands-on practice. You may spend a disproportionate time doing the lab session and think what we talk about during the lecture is less critical. But I assure you they are equally important. Also, if you plan to do more advanced spatial analysis in the future, these concepts will be the cornerstone. Therefore, please pay attention to lectures if you are presented, and don’t overlook those confusing concepts. You are welcome to ask me to clarify questions during lectures and during my office hours.
Although this course is called Introduction to GIS for Planners, its application can be applied to various fields, including environmental studies, atmosphere, economy, and industrial and labor relationships. In the past, the field is quite diverse.
This course was newly developed last semester with new topics and structures. Although it is open for undergraduate students, all the topics you learn here are the same as our graduate-level course in GIS. The only difference would be that we emphasize the research design for your final project less. It is a senior-level course with a heavy workload. If you are entirely new to this area, you might need to spend an average of 12-14 hours, including our course time.
There are scenarios I advise you not to take this course: first if you plan to audit this course. It is meanless if you try to audit this course without doing all the assignments and work. I don’t accept auditing only if you are a Ph.D. student. Second, if you only intend to finish a required course, get the credits and try to muddle through. If so, you will probably be miserable, and your grade won’t be great. This course fits better with self-motivated people who put in genuine work. And I guarantee all the efforts will be worth it by the end of this class.
