Geospatial Intelligence Certificate Program

The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) (VA, USA) has launched the Geospatial Intelligence Certificate Program to support the professional education needs of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft.

Colleges and universities are encouraged to apply to accredit their geospatial intelligence certificate program based on the criteria developed by USGIF. Applications can be found online at http://www.usgif.org/About_Committees_Academic.aspx. Applications must be submitted by 31st October for evaluation starting in November or by February 2008 for evaluation in May 2008.

"The Foundation's vision for this Geospatial Intelligence Certificate Program is to uphold an accredited institution to support the professional education needs of the geospatial intelligence tradecraft," said USGIF President and Chairman Stu Shea, "thereby assuring a continuance of qualified geospatial intelligence professional to support a critical part of our national security."

The USGIF Geospatial Intelligence Certificate Program will assure that students at accredited colleges and universities are familiarised with a broad set of technical and critical thinking skills, as well as provided with knowledge relevant to entering and fostering a career in the geospatial intelligence profession. The Certificate Program, offered by accredited institutions of higher education, will complement a college degree, support career development and provide professional recognition. USGIF will present students with a geospatial intelligence certificate upon successful completion.

The accreditation panel for the USGIF Academy spent more than a year working to create the program. The USGIF Academy Panel comprised representatives from academia, industry and government to establish curriculum guidelines, accreditation standards and processes for geospatial intelligence academic courses and certificate programs.

"This is an exciting new program in the geospatial intelligence community," said Aimee Correnti, USGIF vice president of operations. "USGIF is not only contributing to the workforce needs of the future, as expressed by the Labor Department study on the top ‘high growth' technology areas, but also is ready to further support our nation's critical national security mission."

In 2005, USGIF formed under its USGIF Academy an accreditation panel of leading experts in academia, government and industry. Over an 18-month period, this panel established, published, and verified standards for learning objectives critical to supporting the tradecraft. Following a thorough review and public comment phase, the colleges and universities are now eligible to apply to accredit their courses and programs. Students who successfully complete accredited programs will receive a Geospatial Intelligence Certificate from the Foundation.

The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation is a Virginia-based nonstock, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. The foundation is dedicated to promoting the geospatial intelligence tradecraft and developing a stronger community of interest between government, industry, academia, professional organizations and individuals who share a mission focus around the development and application of geospatial intelligence data and geo-processing resources to address national security objectives.