New Program in Geosciences Triples Enrollment

Oct 1, 2015

In just one short year, enrollment has increased by 170% in a popular new geotechnology program. 

Brian Thomas, a junior from Ennis, Texas, is the 100th student to enroll in the new degree program in Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST).

Thomas began his college career majoring in geography before joining the Air Force where he spent three years in the desert, assigned to intelligence operations and satellite communications. 

“My experience in the Air Force showed me how much GIS technology permeates all segments of society. This field, I believe, holds untold potential. And I am fascinated anyway by the tools and application,” Thomas said.

Students in the program, which began in fall 2014 with an enroolment of 37, earn a B.S. degree in one of three tracks: computation, design and analysis, Earth systems and analysis, and human systems and society. GIST is administered through the Department of Geography.