Welcome!

The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) is a nonprofit 501(c)6 organization incorporated in 2002. The GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) promotes the advancement of proficient GIS professionals through its international GISP® (Certified GIS Professional) certification program. The Institute fosters rigorous professional and ethical standards, community engagement, and professional mentoring within the GIS industry.

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What We Do

The GISCI provides the geospatial community with an internationally recognized, complete certification program: the GISP® Certification. GISCI offers participants at any stage of their career a positive method of developing value for themselves and employers in the GIS profession. Since our founding, over 10,800 individuals from all over the world have earned the GISP® designation.

The current GISP® Certification process consists of a portfolio-based application that illustrates an applicant's background in Education, Professional Experience, and Contributions to the Profession.  In addition, all new GISPs must successfully pass the GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge Exam®.

The GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge Exam® was developed and added to the process in the fall of 2015.   Selected GISPs performed groundbreaking work in the process of creating the exam based on job analysis, the Geospatial Technical Competency Model (GTCM) approved by the Department of Labor in 2010, and the GIS&T Body of Knowledge.

All new GISPs are certified for a period of 3 years, and all recertifying GISPs will be certified for the same 3-year period.  Well-seasoned GISPs may apply for the GISP-R (GISP-Retired) designation when they leave the industry.

What We Believe

GISCI does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.