Employ geospatial analysis to transform information into intelligence, support situational awareness, and help save lives.
Program Overview
The Intelligence and Geospatial Analysis Option within the intercollege Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Homeland Security is designed to increase your analytical skills and knowledge in order to produce accurate intelligence to help save lives, improve government, and assist businesses. Through a combination of courses at the intersection of geospatial analysis and homeland security, and a mentored capstone learning experience, graduates of this program will be able to apply advanced spatial techniques and tools to inform a myriad of intelligence applications.
Combine intelligence analysis with geospatial science and technology to provide situational awareness essential for preventing and responding to homeland security threats.
Everything happens somewhere. Analyze spatial data to produce geospatial intelligence for applications in national security, international relief work, and disaster management.
Gain hands-on experience using GIS to produce proactive and anticipatory geospatial intelligence to inform complex, time-sensitive problems.
Leverage advanced spatial analytic methods to produce accurate and ethical geospatial intelligence reports and tools.
Prepared for the Future
Graduates of this program will be able to apply strategic space-time thinking to produce geospatial intelligence that informs complex real-world problems in disciplines such as public safety, law enforcement, emergency management, and national defense.
Curriculum
The Master of Professional Studies in Homeland Security, Intelligence and Geospatial Analysis Option is a 33-credit degree program. Courses taken in this option can also be counted toward a certificate in Geospatial Intelligence Analytics. The degree program consists of a combination of required and prescribed courses (21 credits), elective courses (9 credits), and a capstone project (3 credits). Students with little or no experience in Geography or Geographic Information Systems may need to use elective credits to prepare for more advanced courses. Students must complete a minimum of 6 credits of 500-level courses.
The typical student course load is expected to be three to five courses per year. It is recommended that students take only one course at a time. At the rate of four three-credit courses each year, most students will complete the degree in about three years of part-time study.
COURSE NUMBER | TITLE | NEXT OFFERING | TECHNOLOGY |
---|---|---|---|
GEOG 479 | Spatial Data Science for Cyber and Human Social Networks | Spring 2, 2025 | NodeXL |
GEOG 483 | Problem Solving with GIS | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Story Maps |
GEOG 882 | Geographic Foundations of Geospatial Intelligence | Spring 1, 2025 | |
GEOG 885 | Analytical Methods and GEOAI in Geospatial Intelligence | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Story Maps |
The following required courses are not offered by the Geography department but are offered every spring, summer, and fall semester by the School of Public Affairs, Penn State Harrisburg. Exact dates can be found in LionPATH. To learn more about these courses, see the course list for the Master of Professional Studies in Homeland Security.
COURSE NUMBER | TITLE | NEXT OFFERING | TECHNOLOGY |
---|---|---|---|
GEOG 481 | Topographic Mapping with Lidar | Spring 2, 2025 | ArcGIS Pro, GeoCue LP360 |
GEOG 482 | Making Maps that Matter with GIS | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Story Maps, Python |
GEOG 484 | GIS Database Development | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Pro, ModelBuilder |
GEOG 485 | GIS Programming and Software Development | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Pro, Python |
GEOG 486 | Cartography and Visualization | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Pro, Mapbox, Mapbox Studio, Tableau |
GEOG 487 | GEOG 487: Environmental Challenges in Spatial Data Science | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Story Maps, Prezi |
GEOG 489 | Advanced Python Programming for GIS | Spring 2, 2025 | Anaconda, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, GDAL, Github, Jupyter, OGR, OpenStreetMap, Python, QGIS, R |
GEOG 571 | Intelligence Analysis, Cultural Geography, and Homeland Security | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Story Maps, Google MyMaps, Portal for ArcGIS |
GEOG 581 | Spatial Data Science Ethics | Summer 2025 | |
GEOG 583 | Geospatial System Analysis and Design | Spring 1, 2025 | Varies |
GEOG 585 | Open Web Mapping | Spring 2, 2025 | CSS, GDAL, GeoServer, HTML, Javascript, Leaflet, OGR, OpenLayers, OpenStreetMap, QGIS, TileMill |
GEOG 586 | Geographic Information Analysis | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS Pro, GeoDa, R |
GEOG 589 | Emerging Trends in Remote Sensing | Spring 2, 2025 | ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, Google Earth Engine, Javascript, Python |
GEOG 591 | GIS for Analysis of Health | N/A | ArcGIS, GeoDa, R |
GEOG 596I | Independent Study in Geospatial Intelligence | N/A | Varies |
GEOG 850 | Location Intelligence for Business | N/A | ArcGIS Online, Claritas PRIZM, Esri Business Analyst Online (BAO), US Census Bureau |
GEOG 858 | Spatial Data Science for Emergency Management | N/A | ArcGIS Pro |
GEOG 861 | The Earth is Round and Maps are Flat: Spatial Reference Systems in GIS | N/A | ArcGIS Pro, Geocart |
GEOG 863 | Web Application Development for the Geospatial Professional | Spring 1, 2025 | ArcGIS API for Javascript, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Web AppBuilder, CodePen, CSS, HTML, Javascript, Portal for ArcGIS |
GEOG 865 | Cloud and Server GIS | Summer 2025 | Amazon Web Services, ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Server, CARTO, HTML, Javascript, Mapbox, Portal for ArcGIS |
GEOG 868 | Spatial Database Management | Spring 2, 2025 | Amazon Web Services, ArcGIS Pro, ArcSDE/Multiuser Geodatabases, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, QGIS, SQL |
GEOG 871 | Geospatial Technology Project Management | Spring 1, 2025 | Microsoft Project, Project Libre |
GEOG 883 | Remote Sensing Image Analysis and Applications | Spring 1, 2025 | Amazon Web Services, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, eCognition Developer |
GEOG 884 | Spatial Data Science and Intelligence Analysis | Spring 2, 2025 | ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, CARTO, GeoDa, QGIS |
GEOG 892 | Unmanned Aerial Systems | Spring 1, 2025 | Pix4D |
The following courses are not offered by the Geography Department but may be used as electives. See the Graduate Bulletin for details.
- AGBIO 520: Agricultural Biosecurity: Protecting a Key Infrastructure
- CAS 553: Disaster Communication
- GEOSC 402Y: Natural Disasters
- IST 564: Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management
- IST 815: Foundations of Information Security and Assurance
- IST 885: Introduction to Multisensor Data Infusion
- PHP 527: Public Health Evaluation of Disasters and Bioterrorism
- PLSC 439: The Politics of Terrorism
With mentorship from a faculty advisor, students complete a hands-on project using GIS and/or remote sensing tools and techniques to demonstrate analytic skills, high-level writing competency, and the ability to identify and investigate a real-world problem from a geospatial intelligence perspective.
COURSE NUMBER | TITLE | NEXT OFFERING | TECHNOLOGY |
---|---|---|---|
GEOG 594A (3 credits offered during a 16-week semester)* | Culminating Experiences in Geospatial Intelligence | Spring 1, 2025 | Varies |
*GEOG 594A is a 3-credit course offered over a 16-week semester. Please check the Course Calendar for specific registration and semester start and end dates.
Leverage intelligence analysis and geospatial science and technology to help save lives, improve government, and assist businesses.