Geographic Information Systems British Columbia Institute of Technology

Overview

A career in GIS can take you where you want to go. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is used to manage and utilize geographic data, and is widely recognized as an essential tool in such diverse fields as forest management, urban planning, engineering, municipal management, business, and environmental studies.

The potential uses of GIS technology are almost too numerous to list, and are found everywhere – from local government to the United Nations, from volunteer organizations to global corporations, in the public and private sectors.

The curriculum combines theory and practice and covers GIS principles, training in GIS software, technical issues, remote sensing, digital mapping and management issues. Students must also successfully complete a supervised work experience before graduation. This may be either an industry project or an industry practicum.

Whether you are a recent university or college graduate getting started in a career, or an experienced professional seeking new employment opportunities or career advancement, we invite you to study our web pages to learn more about the GIS program at BCIT. With over 20 years of experience in delivering advanced GIS technology programs and courses, the Geographic Information Systems program from British Columbia Institute of Technology has established an excellent reputation for producing highly skilled and sought-after graduates.

Career

When you graduate from the program, you will have completed one of the best educations in GIS technology available anywhere and be ready for the workforce.

A career in GIS can open a lot of doors. Opportunities exist in all parts of the private and public sectors, and in all sorts of application areas.

The majority of GIS graduates are working for either private industry (forestry, GIS vendors, natural resource exploration, computer systems) consulting companies (environmental, engineering, forestry, mapping, scanning, and software) or government agencies (municipal, provincial, federal). The graduates are developing GIS databases, using GIS to analyze data and predict the result of planned changes, managing GIS projects, planning the acquisition of GIS technology, developing GIS custom systems and training GIS users.

The BCIT student outcomes report presents summary findings from the annual survey of former students administered by BC Stats one to two years after graduation. These reports combine the last three years of available results for the 2020-2022 BCIT Outcomes Surveys of 2019-2021 graduates and for Degree 2017-2019 graduates. The reports are organized into three-page summaries containing information on graduates’ labour market experiences and opinions regarding their education. More detailed information can be accessed at the BC Student Outcomes website.