GIS Professional Programs at UW-Madison

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Creating a learning community for our in-person accelerated master's GIS students.

09/17/2026

We'd like to say a huge thank you to Lou Ginart, who helped kick off this year's Map Chat series in style. Lou shared insights from her career so far, stories about life-sized maps, and fantastic advice about cover letters and resumes.

Thank you, Lou!

Missed a Map Chat this year? Catch up via our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjJ93KgBn1KII6Wq7ygadPoPf6HCeiFWD

08/18/2026

Who let the dogs out? And where do the dogs tend to go when they’re loose?

Sonja Sebree, Geog 778 student in Spring 2026, considered those questions and created the Advanced Animal Locator Application (AALA). It’s a mobile-first geospatial system designed to analyze loose, stray, and abandoned animal incidents in South Texas. Using interactive web maps and dashboards alongside in-the-field reporting tools, users can report loose animals, see where loose animals are reported most often, and investigate areas where loose animals are most at risk (for example, close to a highway). It’s a pawsitively wonderful example of a geospatial framework enabling data-driven decision making that can help humans and our furry friends.

Great job, Sonja!

Learn more about Sonja’s project and Geog 778: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

08/11/2026

It touches four of the five Great Lakes. It’s home to 11,000 inland lakes and over 3,000 water trails. In Michigan, playing on the water—fishing, paddling, boating, and swimming—is just part of life.

But in recent years, PFAS contamination in Michigan waters has become more and more of a problem. Lindsey Samotis, student in Spring 2026, used her time in Geog 778 to create an interactive, narrative StoryMap that explains these “forever chemicals” and their impact. It weaves together information about how PFAS contamination happens with state sample data going back to 2001. If you’re planning to spend some time in the Michigan waters, this StoryMap will help you make an informed decision on where to do so safely.

Learn more about Lindsey’s project and Geog 778: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

08/04/2026

If you live in a neighborhood that gets 35 feet of snowfall annually, what do you want most of all? That’s right: a quick, easy way to tell when your road is plowed.

Addison Atkin, a Geog 778 student in Spring 2026, knew about existing commercial solutions—but he wanted to build something better at a lower cost. So he did. (That’s the kind of determination we admire in our students!) Using Teltonika FMM230 trackers, a Firebase database, Google BigQuery, a self-hosted Valhalla engine, an API, and a lightweight Mapbox GL JS frontend, Addison created the Live Snowplow Tracking Dashboard, which can be used for general vehicles as well as machinery. This interactive dashboard includes live tracking, historical route replays, color coding, and much more. No question about it: he’s ready for winter.

Learn more about Addison’s project and Geog 778: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

07/28/2026

Water utility assets (think giant tanks) are often inspected by a contractor—and the resulting reports aren’t always standardized. That can make interpreting data and understanding the true state of the infrastructure challenging.

That’s the problem Justin Sena addressed in his Geog 778 capstone project in Spring 2026. His web GIS application, Tank Health Headquarters, uses Google Gemini to extract engineering parameters and rehabilitation cost estimates from uploaded documents. Then, an engineer validates the AI-extracted data before it’s added to a GeoJSON spatial database. Turning unstructured reports into a dynamic cartographic and statistical dashboard, Tank Health Headquarters is a fantastic example of how humans can harness AI and GIS to create tools that make work more efficient.

Learn more about Justin’s project and Geog 778: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

07/21/2026

In our information age, access to broadband internet is critical—and federal broadband funding can make a big difference.

But how do state broadband planners, policymakers, and community organizations decide where to invest those funds? That’s the problem Ethan Kalchik looked at for his Geog 778 capstone project in spring 2026. The Illinois Broadband Gap Analysis Tool combines relevant U.S. Census Bureau data into a Broadband Need Index and then visually displays that information with real-time filtering, county-level drill-down, and more. Seeing the data for all 3,265 census tracts at a glance: now that’s a way to make decisions easier.

Learn more about Ethan’s project and Geog 778: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

07/13/2026

How do electric utilities plan for a future where more and more people are choosing and using clean energy—for example, solar panels and electric cars?

In Spring 2026, Geog 778 student Henry Stepanus took a look at this problem. His answer? The NOVEC Predictive Grid. Centered in the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative service area, it’s a web-based geospatial dashboard. Using this interactive app, planners and engineers can use visual spatial data to see exactly where clean energy is being adopted, observe where demand is emerging, and understand the infrastructure gaps that need to be addressed.

Learn more about Henry’s’s project and Geog 778: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

05/18/2026

Where good design, interesting data, and challenging programming meet, you’ll find us: that is, our in-person accelerated/non-thesis Master of Science in Cartography & GIS program.

This fall, we’ll start another school year packed with top-tier geospatial learning and projects designed to build a real, substantial portfolio of work. Plus, you’ll meet really great people who make really great maps.

Want to join us? Your application is due on June 1—go ahead, get working on it right now!

Not quite sure yet? Learn more about our program: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/accelerated-non-thesis-masters-in-cartography-gis/

05/08/2026

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04/07/2026

How can teachers help fourth graders understand the incredible glacial landscapes they walk through on the Ice Age Trail?

Lisa Siewert, a Geog 778 student in Fall 2025, wondered this and tasked herself with making an interactive experience that could help teachers feel confident when teaching geology and give students a richer connection to the places they explore.

The Educator Geologic Map of the Ice Age Trail succeeds at both. By combining state geologic datasets, custom symbology, and curated descriptions from the book Geology of the Ice Age Trail with intuitive navigation and age-appropriate language and activities, the app makes it easy to connect to the larger glacial history of Wisconsin.

As Lisa notes, “If a fourth grader can look at a hill or a kettle and understand the story behind it, then the map has done its job.”

Learn more about Lisa’s project and 778 here: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

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550 N Park Street
Madison, WI
53706

Website

https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/

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