Flying and Mapping with Drones (Graduate)

What You'll Learn

This two-course certificate introduces you to the growing range of uses for drones and prepares you to pass the Federal Aviation Administration’s drone pilot exam. You’ll gain a thorough understanding of how to operate several common types of drones and identify your goals with the drone pilot certification.

Drones are increasingly used for commercial, government and recreational purposes, including:

Real estate
Construction monitoring
Videography
Monitoring lands and infrastructure
Urban planning
Agriculture and forestry
Hydrographic investigation
Emergency response
Accident investigation

These courses will prepare you for a wide range of drone applications and help you develop a breadth of skills for your portfolio, including working with state-of-the-art software for image processing and the creation of maps from imagery.

Certificate Requirements

Students admitted to Evergreen’s Master of Environmental Studies or Master of Public Administration programs are given priority registration. Registration for non-admitted students who have completed a bachelor's degree is on a space available basis with instructor approval.

Students should email the instructor describing their prior undergraduate or graduate degrees and any significant experience they may have with information technology applications such as Excel and Adobe Creative Cloud. Please mention any prior GIS courses taken at other institutions. The instructor will follow up with a phone conversation to discuss how the courses may contribute to the student's learning and career goals.

Learn about Graduate Studies

Students will need to procure their own drone instrument by the second week of the certificate. During the first class session, faculty will present the technical requirements and common options available in the fast-changing commercial drone marketplace.

Faculty will provide a list of acceptable devices at various price points, ranging from low-cost purchase options (around $50) to, optionally, drone devices of higher cost which provide more capabilities.