It's an exciting time for cartography; while maps have long been an essential means by which we understand and navigate the world, the increasing visibility of web-based interactive mapping has changed the game. Digital maps are becoming big business and there is growing demand in both the private and the public sectors. The ubiquity of spatial big data has created a need for cartographers who are also web developers, designers who are also data scientists, and geographers with a taste for code. We've developed our Digital Mapping program to meet (and exceed) those needs: this is online mapping education for a new era of maps.

Our graduate certificate in digital mapping is designed with all levels of experience in mind. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced GIS user, you will benefit from a truly unparalleled online learning experience developed by internationally-renowned faculty in a top-ranked geography department. You will develop the technical skills and design fluency you need to make highly sophisticated web maps that are also elegant and impactful. Perhaps even more importantly, you will learn to think critically about the social dimensions of the maps you make and the data from which you make them. Maps, after all, are powerful things: they shape what we see and what we don't, with serious implications for how we come to know the world.

Welcome to Digital Mapping at the University of Kentucky; we're excited to be offering what we think is a profoundly new take on what mapping education can be. We hope you'll choose to join us and take a leading role in making new maps that meaningfully frame, communicate, and address today's incredibly complex social and environmental challenges.

Regards,

Matt Wilson

Chair and Professor of Geography