Professional GIS Certification

Professional certification is important to the GIS field as it helps establish GIS as a rigorous technical profession, ensures those who produce geographic information have competency in a core set of knowledge and skills, encourages long-term professional development, and promotes ethical behavior by members of the profession.

 

Important Terms

GIS practitioners should understand the difference between programs and organizations offering certificates, certification, licensure, and accreditation (from the GIS Certification Institute):

• Certificate - an individual award recognizing completion of an academic or training program that increases career competitiveness. For example, K-State offers two GIS certificate programs including the Undergraduate Certificate in GIS and Graduate Certificate in GIScience.
• Professional Certification - a process, often voluntary, by which individuals who have demonstrated a level of expertise (and often time on the job) in the profession are recognized and identified to the public by a non-academic third party.
• Licensure - the granting of a license to practice a profession; often regulated by states and indoctrinated in legislation and designed to guard against incompetence.
• Accreditation - the process of evaluating the academic qualifications or standards of an institution or program of study in accordance with pre-established criteria.

Major Professional GIS Certification Programs

Currently, there are three major avenues for obtaining professional GIS certification and each is unique. Differences among them are summarized below. Note that both the GIS/LIS and GISCI certifications below also have a professional experience requirement that requires time on the job after graduation.

• ASPRS Certification Program - An exam-based program sponsored by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. GIS/LIS Certification is possible at the "Mapping Scientist" and "Technologist" levels.
• Esri Technical Certification - Another exam-based certification offered at both the Associate and Professional levels that reflects competency using Esri technology.
• GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) - An exam and portfolio-based certification from an independent institute supported by representatives from national and international GIS professional organizations.