Geospatial Methods for Policy Analysis

This course introduces graduate students to the science of location, examining policy analysis through a spatial perspective. Over this course, students build a complete geospatial toolkit: GIS fundamentals, desktop analysis in ArcGIS Pro (geoprocessing, geocoding, 3D mapping, remote sensing), spatial statistics, visualization,web GIS and dashboards, GIS programming with Python and arcpy, and emerging topics including GeoAI. The course is intensive and technique-oriented: each session pairs concise instruction with a live demo and an extended hands-on lab, so every method is practiced immediately on real data. By the end, students can collect, visualize, and analyze geospatial data and integrate spatial methods into evidence-based decision-making across a wide range of policy domains, such as public health, health care, education, veteran affairs, national defense, urban planning, transportation, and environment.