GIS: tail wagging the dog?

Qualifying homage: I have the deepest respect for my colleagues who teach classes that rely heavily on or train students in geographic information systems and for professionals who rely on GIS as a research tool. In addition, at times I would be lost without their help in creating databases and making maps. These individuals, however, are experts in geography, geology, environmental science, archaeology, and/or other fields, contexts into which they embed their use of GIS. That said, please indulge my opinions.

Today GIS (geographic information systems) plays a central role in geography because it is a powerful database mapping tool. There is no doubt that GIS enhances the ability of the geographer to manage spatial information. Proficiency in the use of GIS requires years of education; it also requires ongoing training because capabilities continually expand. We offer a GIS certificate through our department. Despite these impressive qualities, faculty members in our department regularly discuss the role that GIS should play in a geography curriculum. In fact, the role that GIS plays can be negative. Too much focus on GIS is analogous to penmanship being mistaken for writing ability.

Faculty members agree that GIS is, first and foremost, an analytical tool. Yet, to be honest, the most popular classes in our program focus on training in GIS, from introductory to advanced topics. I regularly hear students profess that “getting their GIS certificate” is as important to them as “getting their degree.” Put aside the horrific notion of going to college to “get a degree” rather than to learn, and consider why GIS classes are so popular. Frankly, they are useful. Students gain a skill that is in demand. If they are well trained, they will get jobs when they graduate (or perhaps even if they do not graduate). There is no doubt that the world is in need of GIS technicians, for the time being. Demand is fickle.

As a Department of Geography, we know that we are missing the boat. Excellence in GIS should not replace an ability to think, write, and make decisions using geographic concepts and knowledge. Has it?! That such may be the case is transparent at the graduate level at which students are expected to write a thesis. If they have chosen GIS courses to the exclusion of other classes, they cannot do research. This is why curriculum design is very important; to obtain a degree in geography, students should be required to take a substantial number of core geography classes. In our department we have shied away from requiring more courses following the logic that it is unfair to restrict students and to make them take more, different classes. I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, it is our job to provide a structured program that requires students to be well rounded in our discipline and it is unfair to do otherwise. If students do not want to learn geography, then they should do something else.

Graduate student advising is also important. Students need guidance. Although course offerings may not be ideal, it is the role of the mentor to help the student make the best choices possible to meet her/his goals. Of course, this requires additional work because the student may not have specific goals when they arrive for their first semester. It is our responsibility to inquire about their interests, to challenge them to become focused, and to enlist them in a partnership that helps them achieve their goals through classes and research. Let me be clear, it is not our job to do this for each and every graduate student; it is the choice of the major professor as to whom he/she would like to work. Advising is a personal and professional journey. In my opinion, if none of the faculty members in a program can envision mentoring a particular applicant, the prospective student should not be admitted to the program.

So, what about GIS? What role should it play? Ideally students in our program should learn GIS in order to become better geographers, not to simply become good at GIS. The same can be said for statistics (unless one is majoring in statistics). Do we need a GIS major? Probably not. Will GIS diminish in popularity? Probably. We already see community college programs that provide excellent GIS training. Geography, on the other hand, will persist. The best academic programs in any field lay down requirements. The best students pick them up and run with them. We have made recent changes to our program to head in this direction because excellence requires providing the right opportunities and evaluating those who take them. To be clear, we do not offer "too many GIS courses;" in fact, we may offer too few. Nonetheless, we simply must bolster the context in which those classes take place; if we do not GIS will take precedence over Geography.