The Online Geospatial Certificate Program at Cal Poly Humboldt provides foundational concepts and methods in GIS, Remote Sensing, and Cartography that are transferable and relevant across disciplines and industries.

Whether you're considering a career change or looking to advance or augment your current career, the Online Geospatial Certificate Program will give you the tools to stay current in an exciting and expanding field. Find out more here!

The accelerated program has a flexible course sequence and is devised to meet your career interests. Courses are 100% online — ideal for working people who want to advance in their current career, break into a new field, gain points towards a license, or advance their organizations. Courses are offered in fast-paced 8-week compressed terms, designed to be completed in 11-14 months. The course sequence is flexible — most classes can be taken in any order. Need a break? Have a big work deadline coming up? Take off for a term, and pick it back up when you're ready.  (Note: changing sequence or skipping terms will extend time to completion. See the course schedule below.)

The courses consist of interactive online forums, instructional videos, readings from leading industry texts and websites, and weekly modules and assignments with fixed due dates to keep you on track. You can expect to spend 18-20 hours per week on coursework (per course). Courses are fully asynchronous (but not self-paced), meaning you can complete this coursework at any time of day — there is no requirement to be online at a specific time. You will interact with your professors and fellow students via online forums and email. Each course has dedicated teaching assistants to provide assignment and technical support. The certificate program can be completed remotely or on campus.

For the upcoming cohort in 2023-24, students will begin with GSP 101 in summer 2023, followed by GSP 270 and GSP 370 in fall 2023. They will conclude the certificate with GSP 216 and GSP 316 in spring 2024.

Students who have some GSP experience can start in the fall without taking GSP 101!