Maps

Maps have many different uses.  A map can tell you directions to get from one place to another such as a road map.  There are thematic maps which allows one particular subject to be shown on the map, such as locations of car accidents in the past twelve months,  a 5, 10, and 15 mile radius around all the state parks and state historic sites in Missouri, or a map showing all of the Kansas City area high schools like the one I made and added to this post. A choropleth map can be used to show percentages of where people live who are in poverty.  This is done by using different grades of shading or different colors by the increasing amount of people who are in poverty from using US Census data.  A map is just a picture with different symbols and lines if there is no description of what the map is trying to show.  A good map will have a title, a legend, a directional arrow, a scale bar, and a source description to describe where the mapping data came from.  Keep these attributes of a good map in mind when you make your maps for the final project.

College GIS Programs

There are many college level GIS programs in Missouri.  The University of Missouri in Columbia offers a GIS certificate program through the Department of Geography.  The University of Missouri-Kansas City offers an Advanced GIS Certificate Program through their Geosciences, Urban Planning and Design, Criminal Justice and Criminology, and Computing and Engineering Departments.  Northwest Missouri State University offers an online Master of Science degree in Geographic Information Science, where a student can also earn a GIS Certificate.  Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, University of Central Missouri and Missouri State University also offer GIS certificates.  There are many options to study GIS in all parts of Missouri.  The above map is one I made to locate Stewart Hall at the University of Missouri, which is where the Department of Geography is located.

MSDIS

Missouri Spatial Data Information Service or MSDIS, is Missouri's spatial or geographic data clearinghouse.  It is a website that contains different mapping data from imagery to road files.  It is maintained by the Geographic Resources Center in the Department of Geography at the University of Missouri in Columbia.  It is a great place to keep up to date on GIS related news in Missouri, look at Missouri GIS job postings, and to download a US Census record file.

ESRI

Environmental Systems Research Institute or ESRI, is the leading GIS software company in the world.  It was the software I used to make my maps.  The company has different types of software depending on what type of mapping needs to be done.  The types of software range from a free software which has limiting mapping capabilities, to their high-end Arc/INFO which uses command line to change, add, or manipulate geographic data.  Check out their website, as it has lots of information about GIS including maps and a mapping service.