Full-time/Part-time/Distance & Online Learning Bachelor of Technology 8310btech

Overview

Announcement: the GIS Bachelor of Technology program is now available online.

Geospatial technology use is growing at a rapid pace around the world and exciting opportunities for well educated and trained people are increasing. 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, BCIT's Bachelor of Technology in GIS degree provides excellent opportunities for career enhancement and professional growth. This program will appeal to graduates from many areas — for example: Environmental Management. Public Health. Land Use Planning. Engineering. Natural Resource Management. Transportation. Real Estate. Utilities. Business and Marketing. Mineral Exploration — who wish to learn how to integrate GIS technology in their profession.

NOTE: The GIS Department has compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you decide which BCIT GIS option is best for you.

Program Entry

Entrance requirements

GIS is a multidisciplinary field and has applications in a wide variety of professions and industries. The GIS department welcomes applicants from most academic areas. The Bachelor of Technology in GIS offers the equivalent of two years of upper-level coursework and, like others of its kind at BCIT, is a degree-completion program.

  • English 12 (C) and English language proficiency
  • Applicants are required to complete one of the following prior to admission:
    1. A Diploma of Technology
    2. A University degree
    3. An Associate degree from a recognized BC institution -OR- the equivalent through two or more years of university study. See the BCCAT website for information on Associate Degrees.

Applicants who completed post-secondary studies outside of Canada, United States or England will require a comprehensive evaluation of their credentials by the International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES).

Additional Requirements

  • GIS Departmental Assessment (BTech) [PDF]
  • Transcripts
  • Resume
  • Letter of intent explaining why you want to take the GIS program and how you will be preparing for the program.
  • Good communication, teamwork and technical problem-solving skills.
  • Fundamental computer literacy and computer programming skills.
  • All participants will be required to meet with the program head to review the initial application for acceptance.
  • Students must complete a minimum of six months relevant work experience (approved by the program head) to graduate from this program.

Admissions/Registration

Students do not need to apply for the GIS Bachelor of Technology program to take part-time studies GIS courses. Anyone may take these courses provided they meet the individual course prerequisites. Students who decide to complete the GIS Bachelor of Technology through part-time studies should apply to the part-time program after taking two courses. Part-time courses are subject to enrolment.

BC provincial exams

Provincial exam marks are required for English 12, Communications 12, and Technical and Professional Communications 12. BCIT does not require provincial exams for Grade 12 Math and Science courses.

Apply to program

Submit an application: online or by mail [PDF].

You can check the status of your application online at any time using the Student Information System.

Scheduled intakes

Part-time: January, April and September

Accelerated: September each year

Application processing

Part-time: Ongoing throughout the year.

Accelerated: November 15* of the previous year until the program fills.

Applications are considered for a specific intake.

*Or next business day

myCommunication

Within 2 to 3 weeks of applying to a program, you will be sent a letter in the mail confirming receipt of your application. The letter will identify your student number, BCIT e-mail address and instructions on how to login to your myBCIT account.

All official BCIT correspondence will be sent to your myBCIT account. Check myCommunication often during the application process and throughout your studies at BCIT.

You can expect to receive communication concerning the status of your application within 2 to 8 weeks.

Costs & Supplies

Tuition fees

Please see the Fees, Payments and Refunds section of the website for more information on full-time tuition fees.

Part-time students are responsible for registration and payment for each course. Fees are paid on a per course basis but students accepted into the accelerated mode are registered as a block and fees have a set ceiling per term or academic year.

BCIT tuition is based on a per credit calculation to a maximum or cap tuition amount. Students registered in a full-time program who are not taking a full course load or who have received course exemption may not receive a refund as a result of the per credit calculation amount exceeding the maximum tuition.

Financial assistance

Financial assistance may be available for this program. For more information, please contact Student Financial Aid and Awards.

Courses

Program delivery

Accelerated
Students completing the accelerated program are registered into the majority of required courses in the program matrix as a block. Additional credits in Management and Liberal Studies are taken through part-time studies to complete the program.

Many students are able to receive exemption for courses completed through BCIT part-time studies or at other institutions. Students can apply for credit/exemption once they have started the full-time program in September.

Part-time
The part-time format is delivered as conventional night school courses, seminars and workshops, and by distance education. This allows individuals to maintain full-time employment while working towards degree completion.

Technology degree courses may be taken for professional development purposes or applied towards completion of the degree.

Program matrix

1. Technical Courses: (45.0 credits) Credits
  GIST 7010 GIS Programming 1 3.0
  GIST 7100 Fundamentals of GIS 3.0
  GIST 7108 Fundamentals of Mapping
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 7109 Mapping Using Microstation 3.0
  GIST 7128 ArcGIS 1: Introduction 3.0
  GIST 7130 GIS Computing and the Internet
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 7132 GIS Database Systems 1
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 8010 GIS Programming 2
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 8100 Technical Issues in GIS
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 8106 Spatial Analysis 3.0
  GIST 8117 Cartography and GeoVisualization 3.0
  GIST 8118 GIS Remote Sensing
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 8128 ArcGIS 2: Data Management and Analysis
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 8132 GIS Database Systems 2
course outlinenot currently available
3.0
  GIST 8138 ArcGIS 3: Customization and Modelling 3.0
 
2. Applied Management Electives (9.0 credits) Credits
Mandatory course:
  BUSA 7250 Management Skills and Applications 3.0
Complete a minimum of 6.0 credits from the list of electives:
  GIST 8109 Geospatial Systems Management
course outlinenot currently available
2.0
  GIST 8110 Management Issues in GIS 3.0
  BLAW 3100 Business Law 4.0
  ECON 1150 Economic Issues 3.0
  TMGT 7101 Engineering, Technology and Management
course outlinenot currently available
1.0
  TMGT 7122 Accounting for Technologists 1.0
  TMGT 7133 Law for Intelligence-based Business
course outlinenot currently available
1.0
  TMGT 7144 Human Resource Planning and Control 1.0

Additional elective courses:
Additional credits of applied management courses can be taken from other Bachelor of Technology programs including Management, Construction Management, Environmental Engineering Technology and Technology Management. Pre-approval of course selection is required from your Program Head.
 
3. Industry Project (12.0 credits) Credits
All students seeking to graduate from the program must successfully complete an industry-sponsored project. The objective of the project is to allow students to apply specialty knowledge in a real-life situation, study or applied research activity in conjunction with an industry sponsor and an academic mentor. The project assignment should contain elements that are considered innovative, experimental or exploratory in nature. The participant will be responsible for securing an industry sponsor with expertise in the project area.
  GIST 7122 GIS Project/Practicum Proposal
course outlinenot currently available
1.0
  GIST 8125 GIS Project
course outlinenot currently available
9.0
  TMGT 7102 Project Management/Resource Utilization 1.0
  TMGT 7142 Technology Management Communication 1.0

Note: Completion of GIST 7120 in the full- time GIS program may be applied towards exemption of GIST 7122, TMGT 7102 and TMGT 7142.

 
4. Liberal Studies Component (12.0 credits required) Credits
Mandatory Courses: (6.0 credits)
  LIBS 7001 Critical Reading and Writing 3.0
  LIBS 7002 Applied Ethics 3.0

Elective Courses: (6.0 credits)
All students will be required to achieve these credits in accordance with the BCIT policy on Liberal Studies course requirements. Information regarding topic areas and/or eligibility for transfer credits may be obtained from the Advanced Placement and Degree Programs office at 604-432-8230.
 
Total Credits: 78.0

Check current availability of courses for this program.

Note: In addition to the course work outlined above, students must complete a minimum of six months relevant and verifiable GIS work experience to graduate from this program. Students must submit an up to date resume detailing their GIS work. Letters and/or contact information for employers in support of the resume must be provided. Once the work experience has been verified, the program head will grant approval.

Transfer credit

Do you have credits from another BC/Yukon post-secondary school? Do you want to know if they transfer to courses here at BCIT? Check out BCIT's Transfer Equivalency Database to find out.

Program Details

Program length

Accelerated
The accelerated mode of study allows participants to complete the majority of courses in one academic year (35 weeks of full-time instruction) with the balance of studies completed through part-time studies.

Part-time
The rate of progress through the part-time program varies. Although most individuals take three to five years to complete their studies, students have up to seven years to complete the program requirements.

Program location

Accelerated:

Burnaby Campus
3700 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, BC

Part-time:

Burnaby Campus
3700 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, BC

Downtown Campus
555 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

Available online starting September 2012.

Program structure


Technical/Management Component
  Technical Courses 45.0
  Management Courses 9.0
  Industry Project 12.0
Liberal Studies Component 12.0
Total credits: 78.0

Graduating & Jobs

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.

Job Opportunities

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.


Apply for graduation

Upon successful completion of all program requirements, complete an Application for BCIT Credential [PDF] and submit to Student Information and Enrolment Services.

Allow approximately six to eight weeks for processing.

All financial obligations to the Institute must be met prior to issuance of any credential.

Faculty, Advisors & Staff

GIS Faculty are dedicated, energetic and knowledgeable, and have both GIS industry experience and formal schooling. The Department also utilizes instructors from the BCIT Geomatics Department, as well as sessional instructors from industry.

The Geographic Information Systems program benefits from the combined expertise of educational and industry professionals who form our program Advisory Committee. Their valued input and liaison with BCIT have helped ensure the relevance and currency of the program. We would like to acknowledge their continuous support for the success of the program.

GIS Faculty

Jonathan Candy, Instructor/Part-time Studies Coordinator
BSc, DiplT(SIS), MSc(Geog/GIS)
Tel. 604-432-8378
Loc. SW3-2091

Sheila Churchill, Program Head/Instructor
BSc(Geology), DiplT(GIS), PGeo,  MSc(GIS)
Tel. 604-432-8737
Loc. SW3-2090

Carmen Heaver, Instructor
BSc, DiplT(GIS),  MSc(GISc)
Tel. 604-412-7421
Loc. SW3-2079

Rob Hewlett, Instructor
BSc, DiplT(GIS), MSc(CIS)
Tel. 604-432-8746
Loc. SW3-2079

Karl Kliparchuk, Instructor
BSc, MSc (Geog), GISP
Tel. 604-451-6897
Loc. SW3-2079

GIS Staff

Hao Wang, Program Assistant
Tel. 604-451-7001
Loc. SW2-214

Jack Read, Systems Analyst
DiplT


Advisory committee

  • P. Bates, District of West Vancouver
  • J. Clarke, Spatial Vision Group Inc.
  • M. Doherty, ESRI Canada Ltd.
  • K. Hayne, Emergency Management BC
  • W. Johnstone, Spatial Vision Group Inc.
  • L. Kaivanto, Ministry of Advanced Education
  • B. Klinkenberg, UBC, Department of Geography
  • H. Lee, RCMP
  • R. Lilley, GE Energy
  • C. Lim, Bureau of Intelligent Transportation Systems & Freight Security - Engineering, UBC
  • P. Lippe, Weyerhaeuser
  • S. Mak, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
  • K. MacLachlan, the Oppenheimer Group
  • D. Murray, TransLink
  • J. Paillard, Stornoway Diamond Corp.
  • S. Simpson, City of Surrey
  • D. Stewart, Consultant
  • M. Stoakes, Safe Software
  • R. Taylor, Kerr Wood Leidal

Contact Us

Sheila Churchill, Program Head
604-432-8737

Jonathan Candy, Part-time Studies Coordinator
604-432-8378

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