GEOG 571 explores the relationships between culture and civil security and the process of geographically analyzing social, political, economic, and demographic information to understand human history, institutions, and behaviors. It is an elective course in the Geospatial Intelligence Certificate, the Intercollege Master of Professional Studies (iMPS-HLS), and the Master of Geographic Information Systems degree program that is offered exclusively through Penn State's World Campus. It is also one of the optional capstone courses that leads to Penn State's Postbaccalaureate Certificate in GIS. The course consists of projects, associated readings, and exams.

Our planet is becoming hot. In fact, Earth may be warming faster than ever before. This warming will challenge society throughout the 21st century. How do we cope with rising seas? How will we prepare for more intense hurricanes? How will we adapt to debilitating droughts and heat waves? Scientists are striving to improve predictions of how the environment will change and how it will impact humans. Earth in the Future: Predicting Climate Change and Its Impacts Over the Next Century is designed to provide the state of the art of climate science, the impact of warming on humans, as well as ways we can adapt. Every student will understand the challenges and opportunities of living in the 21st century.

Experiential learning, yes! But...online? at a distance? independent undergraduate research? This capstone course in Energy and Sustainability Policy is a novel approach to exactly this. Each student follows the same overarching structure: a four-part written research report, weekly journals, group discussions, a LinkedIn presence, an in-person presentation and a video submission. Along the way, the student has numerous personal interactions with real world stakeholders and gives an in-person presentation to an interested local audience. Proven over many semesters now, this engaged scholarship model serves senior students well, guiding and building confidence and professional opportunities.

Today GPS is critical to positioning, navigation, and timing. The smooth functioning of financial transactions, air traffic, ATMs, cell phones and modern life in general around the world depend on GPS. This very criticality requires continuous modernization. The oldest satellites in the current constellation were launched in the 1990s. If you imagine using a computer of that vintage today, it is not surprising that the system is being substantially updated. Global Positioning System (GPS) is now a part of a growing international con?text-the Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS. This course dives into how GPS and other GNSS systems are designed, how they operate, and the impacts they have on spatial analysis and spatially-enabled systems.