Bachelor of Science in Geographic Information Science (STEM)

at Kaplan Group - University of Connecticut - Storrs Campus USA

This degree is jointly sponsored by the Computer Science and Engineering Department and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. The Computer Engineering degree is designed to meet the rapidly expanding demand for engineers with strong design skills in this field. The program emphasizes the design and fabrication of computing devices, the inclusion of computers in real-time systems, and the underlying computer technology involved in computer and communication networks.

The first two years of study are the same as for the Computer Science and Engineering degree and the Electrical and Computer Engineering degree. It includes core coursework in mathematics, science, and computer and electrical engineering. It also includes most of the general education requirements. The junior and senior years comprise a balanced curriculum in computer science augmented with courses in digital systems. Focus areas during the upper division include real-time computing systems, communication and computing networks, and VLSI design/fabrication.

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program is a flexible interdisciplinary academic program devoted to pursuit of knowledge concerning women and the critical analysis of the production of gender and sexuality within transnational and cross-cultural contexts. Combining the methods and insights of traditional academic disciplines with the special insights of feminist studies, gender studies, and sexuality studies, our courses focus on understanding the origins of and changes in diverse cultural and social arrangements. The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major is broad as well as flexible.

The Program is committed to a vision of people of diverse sexualities and genders that is truly transnational and cross-cultural and that recognizes the diversity of sexual and gender desires, practices, and identifications, as well as racial, ethnic, class and religious differences.

The Program prepares students to employ critical learning in their private lives, in their public roles as citizens and as members of the work force, and enhances their ability to advocate for gender and sexual justice. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies fosters interdisciplinary breadth and critical thinking and thus opens the way to a wide variety of career choices and graduate programs. Our students are flourishing in social service agencies, business, law, education, and journalism, and employers appreciate the broad interdisciplinary perspective of a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies education.

Geoscience emerged from the historic core discipline of geology, which focused on the rocks, fossils, and mineral resources of the solid earth, and of the past.  Within the last half-century, extraordinary technological advances have shifted the spatial scale to the whole of the planet, and the time scale to include the present Anthropocene Epoch and future we must prepare for.

The UConn School of Business Center for Real Estate is a top program for real estate research and is regularly ranked among the top 10 real estate programs in the U.S. Its impressive academic credentials are matched by a strong emphasis on real-world problem solving, and our activities embrace many disciplines including finance, statistics, economics and geography. The Center for Real Estate offers scholarship opportunities, resume book and job opportunities, and industry and student networking through the Real Estate Society field trips. The Center functions as an academic partner to the real estate industry. Many UConn Real Estate students begin their professional careers as interns, placed with the Center's assistance. Real estate professionals and alumni support the Center by sponsoring events and providing scholarships. Firms recruit graduating students for positions in real estate acquisitions, analysis, appraisal, development, dispositions, investment, research, and valuation.

Geographic Information Science (GIScience) is the scientific discipline that conducts spatial analysis to examine economic, environmental, physical, and social phenomena. The study of spatial data structures and computational techniques to capture, represent, process, and analyze geographic information are essential to GIScience. GIScience overlaps with and draws from many research fields such as computer science, statistics, mathematics, and psychology, and contributes to progress in those fields. GIScience also supports research in many academic disciplines such as natural resource management, environmental science and engineering, geosciences, agriculture, marine sciences, sociology, history, public health, business, and anthropology.

Courses in GIScience enable students to develop capability in spatial thinking and gather in-depth knowledge in geospatial technology. Geospatial technology is a term used to describe the range of modern tools contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and human societies, e.g. geographic information systems (GISystems), remote sensing, the global positioning system (GPS), spatial statistics, web mapping and navigation technologies.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, graduates with skills in geospatial technology are in extremely high demand and are one of the highest growth areas in the federal government. Students have employment opportunities in many corporate and government entities. Students with an undergraduate degree in GIScience are also prepared to move on to graduate school to pursue M.A, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in many fields that enable them to pursue academic jobs or to secure higher ranking positions in the public and private sectors.

The Department offers both Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Mathematics, Applied Mathematical Sciences, Mathematics-Statistics, and Mathematics-Actuarial Science, and Mathematics-Actuarial Science-Finance, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics-Physics. The Bachelor of Science program provides in-depth training in Mathematics as preparation for graduate study or for participation in scientific and engineering teams in government, industry, or research laboratories. The Bachelor of Arts degree is designed to provide training in contemporary mathematics without the depth and concentrated specialization required for the Bachelor of Science program. To satisfy the writing in the major and information literacy competencies in the Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics

Majoring in Applied and Resource Economics will prepare you to think analytically about solving problems in the production and marketing of products and the management of natural resources and the environment. The program awards a B.S degree in Applied and Resource Economics, has a highly flexible curriculum, and caters to individualized interests while helping you develop highly marketable skills and pursue interests from the major areas of study and concentrations.

The Department of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Classical Languages (Ancient Greek, Latin, and Biblical Hebrew) and selected critical languages. Students may major in Chinese Studies, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, French and Francophone Studies, German Studies, Italian Literary and Cultural Studies, Judaic Studies, and Spanish Studies. A student may double major in two of the above majors. Students will gain knowledge of the Literature, Culture, and applied Language skills that are required for teaching, business, diplomatic or governmental work, and research in graduate or undergraduate study of the culture and literature that is associated with these languages.

Education Abroad is required (or strongly encouraged, please see descriptions) for the majors in modern languages for at least one semester or approved equivalents. The department sponsors University of Connecticut programs in France; Italy; Spain; Germany; and Tianjin, China. Many other programs are available in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe through Education Abroad. Such coursework is normally most valuable during the junior year, but qualified sophomores and seniors are also eligible Students interested in Education Abroad should consult with their advisors.

Physics, a fundamental and quantitative science, involves the study of matter and energy, and interactions between them. The subject is generally divided into mechanics, electricity and magnetism, statistical and thermal physics, and quantum physics. These form the foundation for present-day research areas, which include astrophysics, atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and the physics of particles and fields. In addition to a knowledge of physics, students gain a rigorous training in logical thinking and quantitative problem solving. An education in physics can also provide an entry into many other fields such as biophysics, geophysics, medical physics, and engineering, as well as into less technical fields such as secondary education, technical sales, and science writing. Many students have also found that physics is an excellent preparation for the study of medicine, dentistry, or law.

A student majoring in economics should acquire a thorough grounding in basic principles and methods of analysis, plus a working competence in several of the specialized and applied fields. Examples of such fields are industrial organization, law and economics, money and banking, international trade and finance, public finance, labor economics, health economics, urban and regional economics, and economic development. The major in economics can lead to either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree.

Course work in economics serves a wide variety of vocational objectives. An economics major (supplemented by a rigorous calculus and statistics course sequence) is excellent preparation for graduate work in economics, which qualifies a person for academic, business, or government employment. Majors and others with strong economics training are attractive prospects for business firms and government agencies, and for professional graduate study in business or public policy. An economics background is especially desirable for the study and practice of law. The economics B.S. is recommended for students interested in professions that call for quantitative skills. The B.S. is especially recommended for Honors students and students considering graduate school in economics or other quantitative areas.