undergradly.
Major · Social Sciences

Mapping the world with code, sensors, and spatial reasoning

Geographic Information Science and Cartography teaches you to model space — turning satellite imagery, parcel records, sensor feeds, and Census tables into maps and analyses that drive real decisions. The bachelor’s is direct-to-work for entry GIS Analyst and Cartographer roles, but the field runs on a stack of certifications layered onto the degree.

Schools offering
125
Annual completions
796
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$60k

About this major

Geographic Information Science and Cartography (CIP 45.0702) sits at the intersection of geography, computer science, and applied math. The curriculum covers cartographic theory and map projection, computer-assisted cartography, geographic information systems, spatial analysis, photogrammetry, remote sensing, geodesy, and air-photo interpretation. Coursework typically pairs theory with hands-on labs in ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, Python with GeoPandas, SQL with PostGIS, and increasingly cloud platforms like AWS Location Service or Google Earth Engine. Capstone projects often tackle real spatial problems: routing optimization, land-use change detection, election geography, environmental monitoring, urban heat-island analysis, or supply-chain logistics.

The major fits students who like the analytical side of geography — patterns in space, statistics, datasets — but want a more applied and technical degree than plain Geography offers. A working GIS practitioner spends the day in ArcGIS Pro, writing Python scripts, querying PostGIS databases, building dashboards, and producing maps for decision-makers. Strong candidates enjoy debugging code, can hold a mental model of coordinate systems and projections, and are comfortable splitting time between visual design (the cartography half) and technical engineering (the GIScience half).

Scale-wise, the major is small but stable: roughly 796 bachelor’s completions a year across 125 institutions, with University of Washington-Seattle (103 completions), UC Santa Barbara (45), and the United States Military Academy (39) leading. The discipline is also taught under broader Geography programs (45.0701, 2,222 completions) at many schools, so true headcount is larger than the CIP suggests. Top destinations include Cartographers and photogrammetrists ($78,380 median, 6.4% growth) and Geographers ($97,200 median), though most graduates carry titles like GIS Analyst rather than the formal SOC labels.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Managers, all other $137k +4.5% Bachelor's degree
Surveying and mapping technicians $52k +4.5% High school diploma or equivalent
Cartographers and photogrammetrists $78k +6.4% Bachelor's degree
Geography teachers, postsecondary $87k +3.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Geographers $97k -3.1% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$60k

Who this major is for

Strong fit if you enjoy thinking spatially and analytically, get satisfaction from finding patterns in data, like writing small Python scripts to wrangle messy datasets, and can balance the design discipline of map-making with the engineering discipline of pipelines and queries. Federal-agency work — USGS, NGA, NOAA, BLM, EPA, the Census Bureau — pulls strongly from this major, so an interest in public-sector or mission-driven employers helps. The bachelor’s alone clears the door at $55-75K nationally, with higher entry wages in DC, San Francisco, Seattle, and other federal or tech hubs. Pair the degree with two or three Esri Technical Certifications and a public portfolio of geospatial work and the credential becomes substantially stronger; without that stack, the diploma alone underperforms.

Worth a hard second look if you want the academic, qualitative side of geography — human geography, regional studies, cultural geography — because plain Geography (45.0701) is the better fit. Reconsider if you dislike coding or working with databases; modern GIS is closer to data engineering than to traditional map-making, and you cannot opt out of Python and SQL. The Cartographer SOC code shows 6.4% growth but the formal Geographer code is contracting at -3.1%, so the headline numbers can mislead — most hiring happens under titles like GIS Analyst that BLS spreads across other categories. Also reconsider if you want senior research, academic, or GS-12+ federal roles without graduate school; an MS-GIS or doctoral degree is the standard gate for those tiers.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Geographic Information Science and Cartography

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 103 103
University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 0 45 45
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 0 39 39
Texas A&M University-College Station College Station, TX 0 36 36
Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 0 35 35
University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 0 30 30
University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD 0 24 24
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 0 22 22
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL 0 21 21
Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA 0 21 21
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Geography

2,222 completions/yr

Geography and Environmental Studies

608 completions/yr

Surveying Technology/Surveying

544 completions/yr

Library and Information Science

123 completions/yr

Geospatial Intelligence

33 completions/yr

Geography, Other

32 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

Is a GIS bachelor’s enough to get hired, or do I need a master’s?
A bachelor’s is enough for entry-level roles like GIS Analyst, GIS Technician, and Cartographer at federal agencies, state DOTs, AEC consulting firms, and utilities. Cartographers and photogrammetrists in the packet show a $78,380 median wage with bachelor’s as the typical entry credential, and Geographers at $97,200 also list bachelor’s as typical. A master’s (MS-GIS, MS-Geography) becomes important for senior research-scientist work, federal GS-12+ pipelines, and academic tracks. Doctoral degrees are required only for postsecondary teaching ($86,730 median).
Does the diploma get me hired, or do I need extra certifications?
Both. The honest pattern in this field: a bachelor’s without portfolio or certifications underperforms in the job market, while a bachelor’s plus Esri Technical Certifications (ArcGIS Pro, Spatial Analyst, Image Analyst) and a public GitHub of geospatial work spikes employability. The GISP (GIS Professional) credential from GISCI is the senior-level marker, typically pursued 4-6 years into a career. Open-source competence in QGIS, PostGIS, and GeoPandas, plus Python and SQL, is now standard rather than bonus.
What kinds of jobs do GIS graduates actually take?
Federal agencies are a top destination — USGS, NGA, NOAA, BLM, EPA, and the Census Bureau all hire entry-level GIS staff, with the NGA pipeline pulling heavily from this major. State DOTs, AEC consulting firms (AECOM, HDR, Stantec), utilities, real-estate analytics shops (CoStar, Esri itself), urban-tech firms, and defense or intelligence contractors round out the rest. The packet shows Cartographers and photogrammetrists ($78,380, 6.4% growth) and Geographers ($97,200, -3.1% growth) as the on-paper destinations, but most graduates carry the title GIS Analyst, Geospatial Analyst, or Spatial Data Engineer rather than 'Geographer.'
How does this major compare to Geography or Computer Science?
GIS sits between them. Plain Geography (CIP 45.0701, 2,222 completions) is broader and less applied — more human geography, regional studies, and qualitative work, with weaker direct-to-work signal. Computer Science (CIP 11.0701) gives you deeper engineering chops but no domain — you would build the GIS tools rather than use them to answer spatial questions. City and Urban Planning (CIP 04.0301) tilts toward planning and policy. Geospatial Engineering (CIP 14.4001) is rare and engineering-heavy. GIS-and-Cartography is the option that pairs spatial reasoning with applied technical training.
Why is the Geographer job-growth rate negative if GIS is everywhere?
The BLS occupation 'Geographers' (SOC 19-3092) is a small, narrow federal job category — a few thousand positions — and that specific title is contracting at -3.1%. The actual demand is in titles like GIS Analyst, Spatial Data Scientist, and Geospatial Engineer, which BLS scatters across other SOC codes. Cartographers and photogrammetrists, also a packet destination, show 6.4% growth. So the headline number understates the field. The hiring is real; it is just spread across many job titles.
What is a common next step after a GIS bachelor’s?
Three common paths. First, direct-to-work: take an entry GIS Analyst role, layer on two or three Esri Technical Certifications in your first two years, then target a senior or specialty role (remote sensing, web GIS, geospatial data engineering). Second, master’s for advancement: an MS-GIS or applied geography master’s opens federal GS-12+ pipelines and senior consulting. Third, lateral pivot: GIS skills transfer cleanly into data science, urban planning, environmental consulting, and defense or intelligence analysis with the right certifications.