FutureLearn

Maps and the Geospatial Revolution (FutureLearn)

Offered by University of Pennsylvania,
Maps and the Geospatial Revolution (FutureLearn)

Learn to make maps and analyze geographic patterns using the latest geographic information systems (GIS) and cartographic tools.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

The past decade has seen an explosion of new ways to understand and use location information in widely-accessible technologies. This Geospatial Revolution has created new consumer GPS tools, interactive web maps and location-aware mobile devices. These advances make it possible for everyone to use, collect, and understand spatial information.
This online course brings together core concepts in cartography, geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial thinking, and uses real-world examples, to give you the fundamental skills to engage with geography beyond the surface-level.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the Geospatial Revolution and its impact on the science of geography
  • Practice thinking spatially to solve geographic problems in environmental, social, and technical domains
  • Understand how spatial data is created
  • Apply spatial analysis techniques using interactive web maps
  • Explain the key elements of effective cartographic design

-Practice the art and science of mapmaking using interactive web maps.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Introduction aux Systèmes d’Information Géographique - Partie 1 (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Introduction aux Systèmes d’Information Géographique - Partie 1 (Coursera)

Engineering Sci: Environment

Organisé en deux parties, ce cours présente les bases théoriques et pratiques des systèmes d’information géographique. - Il propose une introduction aux systèmes d’information géographique qui ne requiert pas de connaissances préalables en informatique - Il donne la possibilité d’acquérir rapidement les notions de base qui vous permettent de créer des bases de données spatiales et de fabriquer des cartes géographiques - Il s’agit d’un cours pratique qui repose sur l’utilisation de logiciels libres, notamment QGIS.

Jun 29th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Maps Geographic Information Systems GIS
Details
Spatial Data Science and Applications (Coursera) Coursera
Yonsei University

Spatial Data Science and Applications (Coursera)

Statistics & Data Analysis Data Science

Spatial (map) is considered as a core infrastructure of modern IT world, which is substantiated by business transactions of major IT companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, and Uber, and even motor companies such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. Consequently, they are bound to hire more and more spatial data scientists. Based on such business trend, this course is designed to present a firm understanding of spatial data science to the learners, who would have a basic knowledge of data science and data analysis, and eventually to make their expertise differentiated from other nominal data scientists and data analysts.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Hadoop Geographic Information Systems GIS
Details
GIS Image Analysis in ArcGIS Pro (edX) EdX
University of Alaska Fairbanks,AlaskaX

GIS Image Analysis in ArcGIS Pro (edX)

Engineering Statistics & Data Analysis

Learn fundamentals of remote sensing, image analysis, image processing and its application on real-world problems such as vegetation health, wildfire severity, and flooding. Image analysis is extraction of meaningful information from an image to accomplish a simple task like understanding the landscape or to solve a complex problem like face recognition.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Geographic Information Systems GIS Image Processing
Details
Geohealth: Improving Public Health through Geographic Information (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Twente

Geohealth: Improving Public Health through Geographic Information (FutureLearn)

Health & Society CS: Information & Technology

Explore how spatial data and geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to understand and improve public health. The environment in which we live and work can have a profound effect on our health – an effect that is explored by the emerging field of geohealth. This free online course will introduce you to new developments in geohealth, looking at the latest thinking and methods for using spatial data and geographic information systems (GIS) in health settings.

No sessions available
4 Weeks
Public Health Geographic Information Systems GIS
Details
GIS, Mapping, and Spatial Analysis Capstone (Coursera) Coursera
University of Toronto

GIS, Mapping, and Spatial Analysis Capstone (Coursera)

Engineering Sci: Physics

In this capstone course, you will apply everything you have learned by designing and then completing your own GIS project. You will plan out your project by writing a brief proposal that explains what you plan to do and why. You will then find data for a topic and location of your choice, and perform analysis and create maps that allow you to try out different tools and data sets. The results of your work will be assembled into an Esri story map, which is a web site with maps, images, text, and video. The goal is for you to have a finished product that you can share, and that demonstrates what you have learned.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Sustainability Cartography Geographic Information Systems
Details
GIS Data Formats, Design and Quality (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Davis

GIS Data Formats, Design and Quality (Coursera)

CS: Information & Technology Sci: Physical & Earth Sciences

In this course, the second in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialization. What you will learn: design data tables and use separating and joining data in a relational database; write query strings to subset data; create and work with raster data; create web maps.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Data Management Analytics Geographic Information Systems
Details
3D GIS (edX) EdX
University of Alaska Fairbanks,AlaskaX

3D GIS (edX)

Engineering Sci: Energy & Earth Sciences

Take your maps into the third dimension: Learn GIS concepts and tools to visualize, analyze, and interpret spatial data in 3D. Reveal patterns that can lead to better decision making. Maps are graphic representations of reality and help us understand and navigate the world around us. Maps can incorporate third dimension through contours, hillshading (3D modeling), and profile views.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Geographic Information Systems GIS ArcGIS
Details
Visualizing Data with Python (edX) EdX
IBM

Visualizing Data with Python (edX)

Statistics & Data Analysis CS: Programming

Data visualization is the graphical representation of data in order to interactively and efficiently convey insights to clients, customers, and stakeholders in general. "A picture is worth a thousand words." We are all familiar with this expression. It especially applies when trying to explain the insights obtained from the analysis of increasingly large datasets. Data visualization plays an essential role in the representation of both small and large-scale data. One of the key skills of a data scientist is the ability to tell a compelling story, visualizing data and findings in an approachable and stimulating way.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Python Maps Charts
Details
Quality Improvement for Population Health (Coursera) Coursera
Imperial College London

Quality Improvement for Population Health (Coursera)

Health & Society

Quality improvement methods were first deployed in healthcare in e hospital settings. However, over the past decade particularly, there has been increasing focus on the application of these methods in improving population and public health. In this course, you will apply a combination of both approaches to population health improvement. You will also learn how to study and evaluate large improvement initiatives to capture learning effectively.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks
Health Healthcare Geographic Information Systems
Details