Online Degrees, Certificates, and Courses

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2021 Summer Session is just around the corner! | 3.25.2021

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is once again offering online courses during Summer Session 2021.
The summer term begins on May 17, 2021, and runs through Aug. 5, 2021, with 4-, 8-, and 12-week courses available. View the Summer 2021 Academic Calendar.
Summer Session allows undergraduate and non-degree students to take a course in an online format from anywhere in the world. It’s also open to students who are enrolled at other educational institutions.
This year, there are 700-plus courses to choose from, and all are taught by our world-class Illinois faculty. The courses are rigorous yet manageable in the condensed time period.
It’s a great time to take a high-demand course that’s hard to get into in the fall or spring. It’s also a great time to catch up on credits, increase your overall GPA, take an interesting class that’s not in your field of study, or work toward a minor.
Priority registration begins in conjunction with Fall 2021 registration on April 19, and open registration for all students begins on May 6.
Students can check out our Summer Session video for a glimpse of some of the exciting courses they can take. View the Summer Session 2021 Course List and check back often for updates.
For more information about this opportunity, visit the Illinois Online 2021 Summer Session page.

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Illinois’ online graduate programs continue to climb in midst of pandemic | 3.17.2021

Despite a turbulent year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign remains steady thanks to continued robust on-campus enrollment and the growing demand for online graduate programs.
Over the last few years, the university has seen record overall enrollments, including 49,339 in Fall 2018; 51,196 in Fall 2019; and 52, 331 in Fall 2020.
Dan Mann, Associate Provost for Enrollment Management, said that enrollment in graduate programs has been growing steadily.
According to a Division of Management Information report, the Spring 2021 graduate enrollment was 17,987 – a 1.04 percent increase from Fall 2020 and – using a better comparison – a 13.03 percent jump from Spring 2020.
“I think most of that growth has been online,” Mann said. Graduate College officials confirmed that.
Currently, the U of I offers a combined 291 master’s and doctoral degree programs. Of those, 34 from most academic colleges on campus are online. That doesn’t count a large number of professional certificate programs.
“When I look to see where the growth is really coming from, typically, it is in online programs,” said Beth Spark, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Registration, and Enrollment Services at the Graduate College.
Spark added that the online surge has been driven largely by a handful of scalable programs – the iMBA (Master of Business Administration, from the Gies College of Business) and MCS (Master of Computer Science, from the Department of Computer Science in the Grainger College of Engineering) being the top two – offered on the Coursera online learning platform.
“We started seeing these huge spikes in enrollment when the iMBA started,” Spark said. “In general, I don’t see our Coursera programs slowing down.”
History of online programming
Illinois’ robust online programming can be traced back to the 1960s, said John Hart, Professor and Director of Online Programs in the Department of Computer Science and Executive Associate Dean at the Graduate College.
That’s when researchers created PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations), recognized as the world’s first computerized learning system. The plasma display, touchscreen, display graphics, online testing, instant messaging, among other things, were originally developed for or on PLATO.
In 1996, the School of Information Sciences offered the first fully online program -- the LEEP program, offering an online Master of Library and Information Sciences, which continually has been the top-ranked program of its kind in the nation.
Around 2012, Illinois entered into a partnership with Coursera to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs).
“We were the first land-grant university to offer Coursera MOOCs to the general public,” Hart said, adding people can take MOOCs without enrolling in the university.
However, he pointed out that they’re different from the “for-credit” courses offered to admitted and enrolled students who are required to complete projects, take exams, and fulfill other course requirements that will go toward course credits and eventually a degree.
“That’s kind of the secret sauce … in order for us to confer a degree,” Hart said, adding that all online students must meet the same admissions and program standards as their on-campus counterparts. “The only difference (between online and on campus) is that we have greater capacity in some of the online programs than we do on campus.”
In Spring 2016, Illinois launched the iMBA on the Coursera platform.
“It was the first online degree program offered by Coursera,” Hart said. “The reason we did that was MOOCs proved that we could deliver quality education at scale. That allowed us as a land-grant university to deliver degree opportunities in areas of high demand that we couldn’t accommodate using other means.”
Since then, Spark said three more programs have been launched on Coursera – the MCS, the iMSA (Master of Science in Accountancy), and the iMSM (Master of Science in Management). Learn more about Illinois Coursera programs and courses here.
Enrollment spike
Up through Fall 2016, Spark said enrollment in graduate programs, both on campus and online, accounted for only about 23 percent of the total enrollment.
But with the addition of the Coursera programs, enrollment rose to 27 percent in 2017, 29 percent in 2018, 31 percent in 2019, and 34 percent in 2020 with the online iMBA and MCS programs largely driving the uptick.
The iMBA enrollment nearly doubled from Fall 2018 (1,810) to Fall 2019 (2,706) and rose another 43.94 percent in Fall 2020 (3,895).
The MCS enrollment increased 50.32 percent from Fall 2018 (628) to Fall 2019 (944) and 26.91 percent in Fall 2020 (1,198).
Spark and Hart said the other online graduate programs across campus are also growing steadily, although their enrollments are much lower.
While Spark is pleased that the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 enrollments continue to increase, she cautioned that they must be examined through a COVID-19 lens.
“Enrollments are hard to predict this year based on Fall 2020,” she said, pointing out that many new international students who were enrolled for fall weren’t able to come due to travel restrictions. “Some did choose to enroll online, but a good number of those students – about 1,800 -- deferred and were admitted for Spring 2021 or Fall 2021”
“For Fall 2020 enrollment, we looked like we had an increase, and we did,” Spark continued. “But this increase is primarily due to our online enrollments. If we had had our typical yield for the fall, it would have been a significantly larger increase.”
Enrollment and COVID-19
Going back to the DMI report, Hart said the growth of online graduate programs – both on Coursera and standard Learning Management Systems (LMS) – filled the enrollment gap caused by COVID-19.
*This image is based on a chart created by John Hart, a Professor and Director of Online Programs in the Department of Computer Science and Executive Associate Dean of the Graduate College. The blue represents on-campus programs, including external classroom programs; the gray represents standard online programs; and the orange represents scalable online programs.
He created a chart, which showed that on-campus programs, including external classroom programs, remained steady but dipped about 6 percent – a loss of 608 students – due to the pandemic. Standard online programs added 480 students in Fall 2020, while scalable online programs continue to gain an average of 1,500 a year.
“We’ve doubled our online enrollment, and that was partially boosted by COVID,” Hart said, adding more minority students have enrolled, as well.
Hart acknowledged that some students who took on-campus classes have struggled to adapt to online or hybrid learning. But others have flourished in the online environment.
“What we discovered with our online classes is we’re reaching students in the state, the nation, and the world that we hadn’t been able to reach before with our standard online … and campus offerings, he said.
He said COVID-19 changed people’s everyday lives regarding home and family, employment, and other responsibilities. And more people discovered that online programs – including newer offerings with asynchronous courses -- offer them the flexibility they need to meet those responsibilities and continue their education from wherever they are.
“We’re also able to reach the price point,” Hart said. “Tuition is significantly lower for those online scalable degrees. That allows us to reach students who couldn’t afford the full-time tuition, and that’s expanded our reach to students in lower socio-economic situations. All of those factors have contributed to increasing the diversity of the graduate students at Illinois.”
In Spring 2021, under-represented minority student enrollments increased by 25 percent, Spark said.
“When you dive into that, some of these online programs account for most of that increase,” she said. “Specifically, the four Coursera programs account for just shy of 58 percent of that increase. And overall, they account for about 33 percent of our under-represented domestic students. These programs have definitely led in increasing these enrollments.”
Going forward
The university is now in the admissions season for Fall 2021.
Spark and Mann said it’s difficult to predict what will happen with enrollment.
“We constantly do a lot of data analytics,” said Mann, who was pleasantly surprised by a .94 percent undergraduate enrollment increase from Spring 2020 to this spring and counts it as “a victory.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a model of what to expect in a pandemic … or a period to compare it to," he continued. "We will continue to run our models, but it’s still a bit of a guessing game.”
Spark agreed.
“It’s difficult to determine because some numbers are inflated, some numbers are down,” she said. “It’s going to be an odd year to compare to for a while.”
Regardless, Hart said officials will remain focused on the university’s land-grant mission going forward.
“And we want to make sure that as we’re meeting the needs of the community for this education that we ensure the quality of those degrees … and that all of the requirements for the degree have been met by these methods for offering the degree,” he said.
For an in-depth look at student enrollment data, go to: https://go.illinois.edu/StudentEnrollment
To learn more about Illinois’ online graduate programs go to the Illinois Online Website.

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Resources available through UIUC AnyWare | 2.1.2021

UIUC AnyWare is a virtual desktop service that grants students access to over 100 software programs used for class, wherever they are—in the classroom, on campus, or remote. It is available on a diverse set of operating systems, including iOs, Android, Windows, Linux, and macOS. Not only does this service benefit students, but it can also be used to the benefit of instructors. Heidi Gharst, who manages UIUC AnyWare at the University, recommends that instructors implement UIUC AnyWare into their courses immediately.

Some of the benefits of using UIUC AnyWare include:

Providing best practices for a blended classroom.

Because of COVID-19, many students are choosing to do their semester at home. With UIUC AnyWare, students don’t have to suffer from not having access to software programs that they normally wouldn’t be able to access on their personal devices. It also runs efficiently in conjunction with low-speed internet connections. Students are also able to access UIUC AnyWare’s services 24/7.

Processing capabilities.

Personal devices are usually not able to support certain software because of processing limitations - UIUC AnyWare can help combat this by allowing students to download large files without worry of data caps or bandwidth issues. Personalized settings will also be saved automatically between sessions, so students and instructors have the flexibility to transition to whatever device they’re using next.

Convenience for Professors.

UIUC AnyWare can help reduce stress for professors about students not being able to access software needed to succeed in the classroom, reducing the number of emails professors would get from students asking for assistance. “Students that may be struggling financially, have old computers, have slow Internet connection or an incompatible computer could benefit from UIUC AnyWare,” Gharst says.

Learn more and get started by visiting go.illinois.edu/UIUCAnyWare.

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NetMath has a new course offering! | 11.5.2020

Stat 200: Statistical Analysis will provide students with the tools to sort through data to make objective decisions. Stat 200 provides an accelerated introduction to the basic tools for quantitively oriented students, with particular emphasis on understanding which tools are appropriate for which problems.
Stat 200 is open to high school students, college students, and beyond. You do not have to be a University of Illinois student to enroll.
This is the only 16-week-long NetMath course offered in a cohort-style environment, with new cohorts starting on the third Sunday of each month. Upcoming cohort start dates are: November 15, 2020; December 20, 2020; January 17, 2021; and February 21, 2021. Registration for each cohort ends two weeks prior to the start date.
Students will learn from a world-class instructor and be prepared to apply statistical tools to understand data gathered in the real world.
NetMath is the online self-paced distance learning program of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Learn more about Stat 200 at https://netmath.illinois.edu/stat-200-statistical-analysis. Contact netmath@illinois.edu with any questions.

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Date	Event
5.22.2021	Students may view final Spring 2021 grades via Student Self-Service (?)

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Still looking for a Summer Session course? | 5.3.2021

Higher temperatures, wilder weather, rising sea levels, melting glaciers. Scientists say they’re all evidence of climate change.
If you’re interested in taking a closer look at climate change and its impact on us, consider enrolling in ATMS 140 ONL (also ESE 140): Climate and Global Change over the summer term.
This 3-credit hour course is one of the 700-plus course sections that’s being offered during Summer Session 2021, which runs May 17 through August 5 with 4-, 8-, and 12-week courses available. Check out the Summer 2021 Academic Calendar here.
ATMS 140 introduces climate change and its interactions with the global environment; surveys the physical, chemical, biological and social factors contributing to global change; distinguishes anthropogenic influences and natural variability of the earth system; and addresses societal impacts, mitigation strategies, policy options, and other human responses to global change. Other topics that will be discussed include greenhouse warming, acid rain, and ozone depletion.
This course runs June 14 – August 5 and satisfies a campus general education requirement. It is only open to current undergraduate students.
Here are some other courses that will be offered during Summer Session:
UP 160 O: Race, Social Justice, Cities (3 credit hours)
Study of the history and politics of American cities as sites of everyday struggles against systemic racialized exclusions rooted in patterns of residential segregation. Frame everyday racial encounters as surface symptoms of submerged and systematic forms of racism rooted in centuries of genocide, land theft, racial slavery, and decades of Jim Crow segregation and neoliberal exclusions. Explore everyday racial conflicts in selected cities as expressions of historical struggles for social and spatial justice, across multiple scales. Focus on the governance of routine social practices ranging from policing to education to gentrification and memorialization in public places. Final student projects will focus on social struggles against systemic and everyday racisms in a self-selected city of their choice. (Credit is not given for UP 160 if UP 199 section -"Race, Social Justice and the City” has been taken.)
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
ARTS 220 SB and FAA 220: Introduction to Fashion (3 credit hours)
Are you an aspiring fashion designer? Then this course is for you!
Introduction to Fashion provides an overview of the many diverse areas of interest and employment available to someone with an interest in fashion. This course will focus on the development of an individual apparel design process. Other topics include basic garment construction concepts, properties of textiles, fashion illustration, 20th-century dress history, manufacturing, trend forecasting, merchandising, and social psychology of dress.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
CWL 320 A, ENGL 359, JS 320, REL 320, and YDSH 320: Responses to the Holocaust (3 credit hours)
This course introduces a variety of Jewish literary responses to the Holocaust written during and after the Second World War (from 1939). The discussion of Holocaust memoirs, diaries, novels, short stories, poems, and other texts will focus on the unique contribution of literary works to our understanding of the Holocaust. In addition, the works and their authors will be situated in their Jewish cultural-historical context. (Taught in English translation.)
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
BADM 340 OL: Ethical Dilemmas of Business (3 credit hours)
We’ve all heard about companies, large and small, that have engaged in price gouging, making false service or product claims, or other unethical or professional behaviors. This course examines business decision-making and the role ethics plays in that process. Students will analyze how managers behave and whether ethical choices are knowingly made or only realized thereafter. The object is to increase awareness of the moral dimension of business activity.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
ARCH 314A and LA 314: History of World Landscapes (4 credit hours)
The hopes, fears, imaginings, and expectations of people from the past have always been transformed into real places. In various ways, every society leaves its traces on the physical landscape, whether subtle fingerprints or dramatic and enduring structures. This course will help you learn how to read the landscape by looking at the complex alchemy that renders social values into places. The class will use informed interpretation -- in the context of social, political, and environmental history -- to transmute real landscapes back into the historical values that guided their construction.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
CLVC 224 A: American Race and Ethnicity CL (3 credit hours)
Survey of American minority cultures and the reception of Greco-Roman culture in literature, film, and politics, with brief units of historical concentration on ancient slavery and proto-racism, Harvard's Indian College, early African-American poets, novelists, educators, and classicists, the Greco-Roman heritage of the Ku Klux Klan, and Civil Rights Movement leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Huey P. Newton, and Eldridge Cleaver. Other highlights include Derek Walcott's Caribbean/Homeric Omeros, Erin Gruwell's mixed-race Freedom Writers, and Spike Lee's Chi-Raq.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
GEOG 105 ONL: The Digital Earth (3 credit hours)
Geospatial technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly important tools in research and policy arenas and everyday life. This course will provide an introduction to these emerging technologies and to the principles of mapping science that underpin them. At the same time, the course will explore how these innovative technologies are changing the spaces and places around us, including how we interact with the environment and each other. Lab exercises provide hands-on experience in collecting and mapping geospatial information, interpreting digital imagery and the Earth's environments, and critically thinking about the social implications of the digital
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
ASTR 330 ONL: Extraterrestrial Life (3 credit hours)
Have you ever gazed up into the sky and wondered if there is life beyond Earth? This course offers a scientific discussion of the search for extraterrestrial life. Topics include cosmic evolution (protons to heavy elements to molecules), terrestrial evolution (chemical, biological, and cultural), high technology searches for extraterrestrial life in the solar system (Mars, Venus, outer planets); and beyond the solar system (Drake equation and current SETI projects). See the course eText.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: No
GWS 225 AA and SOC 255: Queer Lives, Queer Politics (3 credit hours)
This course investigates queer lives in relation to dominant ideas about "deviance" and "equal rights." Drawing on case studies, the course investigates questions related to nation, race, economy, bodies, drugs, health, identities, agency, and action as they intersect with contemporary queer politics. Students will learn conceptual and qualitative methods to investigate issues related to queer lives. See this flyer, and read these scholarly articles.
Runs: May 17 – June 11
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: No
View the full Summer Session Course list here.
Priority registration is currently underway, and open registration for all students begins on May 6. Get started at https://online.illinois.edu/online-courses/summer-session
To learn more, visit the Summer Session 2021 page at online.illinois.edu

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Looking for a Summer Session course? | 4.5.2021
Are you a local history buff? Then you may want to consider enrolling in the HIST 273 B: Illinois History online course over the summer break!
Illinois History is one of the 700-plus courses that’s being offered during Summer Session 2021, which runs May 17 through August 5 with 4-, 8-, and 12-week courses available. Check out the Summer 2021 Academic Calendar here.
This 3-credit-hour course examines the history of Chicago and Illinois from prehistoric times to the present, illustrating the jarring conflicts and great achievements of peoples from all over the world. Topics include politics, economics, popular and high culture, education, mass media, racial problems, and ethnic diversity. There is an emphasis on the relation of city, state, and region to one another.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
If local history isn’t your thing, then there are plenty more courses in a wide variety of academic disciplines to choose from, including these:
ANTH 246 ONL: Forensic Science (4 credit hours)
This course may pique your interest if you’re thinking about becoming a forensic science technician, crime scene investigator, or medical examiner -- or you enjoy watching those CSI shows. It will provide the history and theory of underlying methods used in forensic science. Topics include the courtroom, units of a crime laboratory, methods of security and investigating a crime scene, and the analysis of evidence collected from a crime scene such as blood, fibers, hair, and fingerprints.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
THEA 101 A and E: Introduction to Theatre Arts (3 credit hours)
Are you interested in the theater, but it’s not your major? Then this course is for you!
You’ll get an introduction to the theater acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, and playwriting, together with a survey of theatrical history, minority theater, and plays by women. Attendance at Department of Theater productions (ticket fee required).
- THEA 101 A Runs: May 17 – June 11
- THEA 101 E Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: Yes
CHLH 330 and REHB 330: Disability in American Society (3 credit hours)
This introductory course to disabilities studies provides students with a broad overview of the history of challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and the Disabilities Rights Movement to secure equal rights and passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students will also delve into contemporary issues, challenges, and programs that are available to individuals with a disability and different ways to support them.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
SOC 161 BD: Introduction to Poverty (3 credit hours)
Poverty is only a problem in developing countries and areas in the United States like Appalachia, right? Think again! This course provides an introduction to sociological research about the views, experiences, causes, and consequences of poverty in both advanced and developing countries. The purpose of the course is to set the facts straight about who experiences poverty, why poverty remains pervasive, and what is being done, at home and abroad, to alleviate poverty. For more about the course, read this U of I News Bureau story.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
ANSC 250 B: Companion Animals in Society (3 credit hours)
This course explores the current and historical functions and influences of companion animals in American society. Topics include the evolution of animal protection, the use of assistance and service animals, and the growth of the pet supply industry. Controversial issues that are of current concern to society will also be examined.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: Yes
GLBL 228 A and HIST 257: Terrorism, Past, and Present (3 credit hours)
This course explores the history of terrorism, its goals, and practices. We recognize that it is not specific to any one ideology, religion, or people. Terrorism is political violence, psychological warfare meant to manipulate a large target audience.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
RST 224 ONL: Politics of the National Parks (3 credit hours)
When most people think about our national parks, they are planning – or dreaming of – their vacation. But how did they come into existence, and how has public policy shaped them over the years?
This course examines the politics of national parks in the United States, including the creation of parks, local support or opposition to parks, and park policy as well as policy questions such as the value of wilderness ecosystem management, endangered species protection, and role of parks in national identity and remembrance of events such as the Civil War, the Indian Wars, or the civil rights movement.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
DANC 125 OL1: Black Dances of Resistance (3 credit hours)
The Break Down: Black Dances of Resistance interrogates African American dance for its potential for social resistance. "Break Down" refers to the spirituality of perseverance and the "vital aliveness" of the African Diasporic movement that has counteracted the dismal social climate in which Black people have found themselves throughout American history. Concurrent with online lectures, students will participate in African-informed dance classes once a week to excavate the "Break Down" in selected African American dance forms including but not limited to plantation dances, hip hop, Black queer dance styles, and contemporary choreography.
- Runs: May 17 – June 11
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: Yes
ANTH 209 ONL: Food, Culture, and Society (3 credit hours)
Food is much more than nourishment for our bodies. It can be a part of our cultural identity. It can be a means of political control. This course introduces basic anthropological and sociological methods, concepts, and approaches to the study of food. It explores issues including gender roles, religious influences, family relationships, community sharing, nationalist rituals, and global processes in the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Film, ethnographies, and other social science studies will be examined. Watch a video on the course.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
View the full Summer Session Course list here.
Priority registration begins in conjunction with Fall 2021 registration on April 19, and open registration for all students begins on May 6. Get started at https://online.illinois.edu/online-courses/summer-session
To learn more, visit the Summer Session 2021 page at online.illinois.edu
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New professional certificate program teaches cutting-edge cyberGIS and geospatial data science | 3.12.2021
Illinois Online is excited to announce a new Graduate Certificate in CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science, available through the Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science (GGIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
This online certificate program focuses on developing and utilizing geospatial data, methods, and technologies to solve a wide range of real-world problems ranging for example from agriculture and water resources to emergence management and public health. Areas of emphasis include cyberGIS, spatio-temporal modeling and analytics, geospatial visualization, geospatial big-data analysis, geospatial artificial intelligence, and associated domain applications.
The first cohort starts on March 22, 2021. So register today or by the deadline on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Complete this form to begin the registration process.
The online certificate program was designed to meet the high demand for advanced cyberGIS and geospatial data science skills needed in many industries. And, it will prepare students and working professionals to successfully advance their career and become a leader in their field.
Students will earn their certificate by completing three (3) of the following four courses below for a total of 12 credit hours. The courses will also be offered during each of the upcoming terms.
- GEOG 403: Geographic Information Science and Systems
- GEOG 407: Foundations of CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science
- GEOG 517: Geospatial Visualization and Visual Analytics
- GEOG 527: Geospatial Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
To learn more about this exciting opportunity, visit the Illinois Online CyberGIS and Geospatial Data Science Certificate page at https://online.illinois.edu/online-programs/graduate-certificates/cybergis
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Three strategies for helping college students (or anyone) become better writers | 2.19.2021

Whether your courses are online or on campus, you’re not going to get through your undergraduate or graduate school career without having to write a paper – or 20, depending on your field of study. While you might not have to write lengthy research papers post-graduation, you will likely need to write a resume and cover letter, emails to colleagues and/or clients, work or personal memos, and possibly business plans and reports. Strong writing skills will set you apart from other job candidates and help you be successful in your career as well as other parts of your life.
So, how can you improve your writing skills?
1. Read.
“I strongly believe that,” said Emily Knox, Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and an award-winning Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois. (Check out the MS/IM program, which is returning online in Fall 2022.)
Knox spoke about the correlation between reading and writing well in her presentation on effective and efficient teaching strategies, which she gave recently as part of The Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning’s Art of Teaching: Lunchtime Seminar Series.
“The problem with a lot of our students is they do not read,” Knox said, during a discussion on writing with other instructors. “That’s where you see a lot of the issues with things like ‘intents and purposes’ … which sounds like ‘intensive purposes.’ Yes, they do read a lot on the internet, but what I mean is … what we call intensive reading.”
When you read a book, newspaper or magazine article, blog, even a well-written set of directions, you are studying the art of writing. Whether consciously or unconsciously, you’re getting a sense of how good writing should be done and how writers use voice, plot, style, and other elements to effectively tell their story or convey their message. Reading also helps you build your vocabulary, expand your understanding of things, and spark your creativity, among other things.
While “The Iliad,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” are certainly examples of good writing, don’t try to slog your way through the classics if that’s not your thing. If you’re a sports nut, try “Friday Night Lights.” If you enjoy traveling, check out “Eat, Pray, Love.” If you’re into poetry, Google the poems of National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman. Start reading a newspaper, magazine, or blog. In other words, read something that appeals to you. It will make you want to read more.
2. Write
If you want to get good at something, you’ve got to practice. Try journaling a few times a week about a class, something that happened in your day, somewhere you would like to travel, a new recipe or piece of tech you’re dying to try. You could also try writing a letter to the editor of the Daily Illini or your hometown publication or a blog post. You can write about a topic that’s trending online (Social media posts don’t count!) or something that you’re passionate about even if it’s a review of your favorite coffee shop or study spot.
Looking at a blank screen or sheet of paper can be intimidating even for seasoned writers. Once you choose a topic, start jotting down things that come into your head. What is the main idea (or ideas) that you want to convey? What details about that idea should your audience know? Don’t worry about organization, grammar, or punctuation at this point. Once you have something down, go back and organize your thoughts.
“One thing students get very bogged down in is what do I think is good writing,” Knox said, adding that’s caused some to freeze up.
“What I try to do is encourage students to write in a style that makes most sense for them,” she continued, adding she doesn’t care if they write in first or third person. “I don’t worry about what style guide the students are using. What I want them to do is write clearly in a style that works for them.”
Knox added that over her years of teaching, she’s rethought her writing assessments and doesn’t require a long research paper “with 20 citations” if that assessment doesn’t fit her course objectives. In some cases, she said, it makes more sense having them write a persuasive letter or a piece of writing they would write as a business professional.
3. Revise, revise, revise
This is something everyone should do regardless of their level of expertise or experience.
Remember, one of the main goals of writing is making sure you’re communicating your knowledge and ideas clearly and effectively. If you have time, it’s always a good idea to step away from your computer to give your mind (and eyes) a break. When you return, you can look at your piece objectively and critique your main point (or thesis), your organization, word choice, etc., and then proofread for grammar and punctuation. (Tip: If you run out of breath while reading, you may need to add a comma or period or two.)
One of the best ways of making sure you’re conveying your ideas effectively is by asking someone to review your work and provide feedback. So, reach out to a classmate, a tutor, or your instructor who will offer some constructive criticism. This step is especially important if you’re writing an academic paper and want to make sure you’re using the right tone and citing research correctly, among other things.
Do you have any tips for sharpening your writing chops? For more writing support, check out Illinois Online's Writing Support page.

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