GEO 325: Geographic Information Systems Fall 2025
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GEO 325: Geographic Information Systems
Fall 2025: Sylabus and Schedule
Course Description:
This course will introduce you to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). You will learn the structure of a GIS, how spatial analysis is performed using GIS, and the many applications of GIS in diverse academic and professional fields.
With the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
● Describe the spatial components of a problem, and how spatial analysis performed using a GIS can help to solve that problem.
● Understand the components of a GIS program.
● Know how to apply various GIS analysis tools to different analytical situations.
● Obtain geographic/spatial data from outside sources.
● Create a G IS project and perform spatial analysis to solve a geographic problem.
Course Requirements and Recommendations:
Required
● Textbook:
。 NONE.
● Technological:
○ Computer – A PC or Mac can be used to access D2L for lesson and lab material. Many online labs will be conducted on your personal computer, though a few may require access to our remote server.
○ Web browser to accessD2L: Preferably Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Safari. Use of other browsers may lead to D2L malfunctions.
● General:
○ You are required to complete each lesson and are responsible for all of its associated components (for example, links, lesson questions, text readings, assignments, labs, review-quizzes, and so on).
○ You are also required to take the exams and submit your responses to exercises ON TIME, no excuses.
○ It is recommended that you spend the same amount of t ime on this course as you would on a traditional lecture course; this includes both classroom time and study hours. According to the University, as a general rule, students should spend between 12 and 15 hours attending and working on a 3-credit course each week (Grades & Graduation and Studying).
Highly recommended
● HIGH-SPEED internet connection - We highly recommend that you have a high-speed internet connection to take this course. Students attempting to take this course with a dial-up connection will have difficulty dealing with the large files associated with our lessons and, more importantly, lab exercises.
● Textbook:
○ Geographic Information Systems and Science, 4th Edition by Paul A. Longley, Mike Goodchild, David J. Maguire, and David W. R hind, 2016. Wiley. (ISBN: 978-1-118-67695-0)
。 A DIGITAL copy of this text is on reserve, made available from the MSU libraries website. Do a search for "Geo 325 ".
。 You are welcome to rent or buy an e book version of the text via VitalSource or rent or buy an e-book or print version via Wiley.
PLEASE NOTE:
All course emails will be sent to your Michigan State (mail.msu.edu) account only via the D2L system. You will need to check your MSU account at least once a day for emails from your Instructor and Online Geography staff. If you need to, please set your MSU account to forward your emails to an account that you do check frequently.
Course Netiquette:
An entirely online course is quite different from the traditional courses you have taken at Michigan State University. In an online course, the only contact you are likely to have with your Instructor or with others in the class is through email, discussion boards, et cetera. In general, this system works very well and many students prefer it to a traditional (lecture) class because they can ask questions freely without feeling intimidated. We have also discovered, however, that this same feeling of freedom can be a negative thing, particularly because some students feel they can be rude. We ask that you make a special effort to be respectful in all of your correspondences during this course.
Students who make rude comments will be warned the first time by email. REMEMBER: THE ONLY BASIS YOUR INSTRUCTOR HAS FOR GRADING AND DISCUSSIONS IS THROUGH YOUR WORDS ON A COMPUTER SCREEN. Your Instructor has no other context in which to understand your thinking. Therefore, it is important to be concise, informative, and polite while ‘talking’ with your Instructor and other students in the class.
Course Organization:
While a team of faculty and staff manages the course, an Instructor teaches each section. Moreover, this course is delivered through a series of online lessons and textbook readings. Course assessments are accomplished through online quizzes (based on online lessons and textbook readings) and online labs (based on concepts covered in recent online lessons). Self-assessments are provided for you after many lessons so you can test your understanding of the lesson material.
2025-09-20