Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Program

The mission of the Washington College Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Program is to provide Washington students with experiential learning opportunities and professional working experience to complement their Liberal Arts education.

Centrally located near the waters of one of the world’s greatest estuaries, the Chesapeake Bay, CES engages with local and international communities to provide the tools, training, and information to create scalable solutions that balance environment, people, and culture. As complex as the system it operates within, CES is a platform of opportunity which connects area resources to true possibilities in partnerships that bridge disciplines, political boundaries, and ideas. Our connections are driven by a desire to understand, to engage, to analyze critically, and to share with the world.

The GIS program is a geospatial technologies hub providing experiential learning through professional internships, academic courses, and support for research. In partnership with external organizations, we pair students with projects to solve real-world problems.

Since its creation in 2003 by John Seidel — director emeritus of the Center for Environment and Society— and Wayne Bell, the GIS Program practices a growth model based in training undergraduate interns as professionals who can tackle the technology service needs of their communities. By involving student interns in funded projects with partners and clients all throughout the United States, the GIS Program teaches data analysis, functional mapping, and the use of geospatial technology through experience.

Environmental analysis and mapping
Crime prevention and traffic analysis
Cultural, historic, and resource mapping
Economic planning and development
Professional workforce development
K-12 STEM education

gis group photo esri 2020

What We Do:

We provide our students with work that expands their critical thinking and analytic skills by pushing them to network and respond to the demands our paying clients and partners.

We support faculty in their research and provide core classes on geospatial technologies.

Why It Matters:

The GIS Program’s projects provide a valuable framework that organizations can use to improve their decision-making capabilities.

Our partners and clients depend on us for timely and accurate analysis that they can use to make better-informed decisions that impact the health and safety of Maryland citizens.

Mapping Their Future

Through the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College, the Geographic Information Systems Program provides students with professional training for their future careers, and for the improvement of their local and global communities.