Educating Geographers with GIS Skills for the Real World: Some Feedback from Geography Graduates at Southwest Texas State University

Abstract

Results of a survey to find out whether the GIS program in the Department of Geography at Southwest Texas Stare University (SWT) has served its graduates well are presented. In recent years, a considerable amount of effort has been given to the development of strategies for expanding the existing horizon of GIS education, integrating existing programs, and improving the ways in which GIS education is delivered. This study takes a different approach and seeks to get input from geography graduates who have secured a job in the real world for improving a university GIS program. Based on 26 responses to the survey, employment categories of SWT geography graduates are examined first. Then, geography courses that are considered most helpful in career development by the survey participants are identified. Third, useful GIS courses and essential skills required by the marketplace in the real world as suggested by the survey participants are discussed. It is clear from the results of the survey that the geography program at SWT in general has served its graduates well. Results from the survey also clearly indicate that GIS skills are useful in the career development of most geography graduates, particularly for those who have a concentration area in either GIS/Cartography, Resource and Environmental Studies, or Urban and Regional Planning.