Intro to Geospatial Data

Austin Community College

This open online course introduces students to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the data types used to model, create, and analyze geographic features. This is a self-learning course provided at no cost for no credit with no instructional, tutor, or staff support. Students can expect to spend 60-72 hours to complete all 4 competencies and 12 topics in this Introduction to Geospatial Data course. ESRI's ArcGIS Pro Desktop GIS software is required to complete demonstrations, quizzes, and projects.

ACC GIS Program

GISC 1479 Introduction to Geospatial Data is 1 of 11 GIS courses, two GIS certificates and an Associate of Applied Science degree offered by the Austin Community College (ACC) GIS program. Our GISC 1479 Introduction to Geospatial Data and GISC 2420 Intermediate GIS credit courses are also offered as free open online self-learning courses. Visit austincc.edu/gis to learn more about the ACC GIS program and how to become a GIS professional!

Learn GIS

Take our GISC 1411 Introduction to GIS course, GISC 1479 Introduction to Geospatial Data, and GISC 2420 Intermediate GIS course to master basic geospatial concepts and analyses using ESRI’s ArcGIS Desktop software. Apply credit from these courses toward a GIS Certificate or Degree. Our GISC 1479 Introduction to Geospatial Data and GISC 2420 Intermediate GIS course are also offered as self-learning courses.

GIS Level I Certificate

Complete our 1-year workforce certificate designed for:

New students seeking skills they need for an entry-level GIS Tech job; or
Existing GIS professionals seeking to update or expand their skills

GIS Level I Courses:

GISC 1411 Intro to GIS
GISC 1479 Intro to Geospatial Data
GISC 1491 Intro to Map Design and Use
GISC 2420 Intermediate GIS
GISC 2401 Data Acquisition and Analysis
GISC 2164 Capstone

GIS Level II Certificate

Complete our 2-year workforce certificate designed for:

New students seeking skills they need for an entry-level GIS Analyst job; or
Existing GIS professionals seeking to update or expand their skills

All GIS Level I Courses, plus these GIS Level II Courses:

GISC 2250 Scripting for GIS
GISC 2231 Advanced Problems in GIS
GISC 1421 Intro to Raster-Based GIS
GISC 2435 Programming for GIS
GISC 2459 Web-Served GIS
Elective

Associate of Applied Science

Complete our 2-year workforce degree designed for:

New students seeking skills they need for an entry-level GIS job; and
Students wanting to transfer 30% of their course credit to a 4-year public college or university in Texas

All GIS Level I and Level II Courses, plus these Core Curriculum Courses:

ENGL 1301 English Composition I
GEOG 1301 Introduction to Physical Geography
ENGL 2311 Technical and Business Writing
PHIL 2306 Ethics
MATH 1342 Elementary Statistics
SPCH 1311 Introduction to Speech Communication

ACC GISC 1479 © 2026 by Sean Moran, GISP is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. You are free to share (i.e. copy and redistribute) the material in any medium or format with attribution to Sean Moran, GISP and Austin Community College.

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