Syllabus

GISC 2302 – Introduction to Geodesy

Fall, 2010

Instructor: Dr. Denis J. Dean

Office: 3.212 Green Hall
Phone: (972) 883-6852
Email: denis.dean@utdallas.edu

Purpose: GISC 2302 is designed to provide students with a basic introduction to geodesy,
with particular emphasis to datums, map projections, and spatial coordinate systems. The aim of
this class is to give students enough of an understanding of these subjects so that they will be
able to understand how principles from geodesy impact spatial data analysis in GIS, remote
sensing and other areas.

Time and Place: 11:30 to 12:45 AM Tuesdays and Thursdays; Green Hall GIS Computer
Lab B (GR 3.402).

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisite classes for GISc 2302. However, students are
expected to have basic knowledge of introductory algebra.

Optional Textbook: Smith, James R. 1997. Introduction to Geodesy. New York, New York:
John Wiley and Sons. 224 pages.

Grading: Students will be graded based on their performance on a two midterm exam (15%
each for a total of 30%), a single, cumulative final exam (20%), a series of four homework
assignments (10% each for a total of 40%), and class participation (10%).

Attendance Policy: The instructor will not take attendance during class. However, students
are responsible for all material covered in all classes, including classes they may miss. In
addition, a portion of each student’s grade will be determined by how well (and how often) they
participate in class discussions (see above), so missing classes can impact your grade. In
addition, please note the following:

1. The instructor will not repeat lecture materials for students who miss classes. It is the
responsibility of the students to make arrangements with their fellow students to obtain
the notes for any classes they miss.

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 2. The web presence of this class is minimal at best. Students should not rely on the web to
provide them with any or all of the materials covered in class.
3. Some class sessions require the students to deliver presentations to the rest of the class.
Students missing their presentation dates will receive zeros for those presentations.

Cheating: Every student in GISC 2302 is honor-bound to do everything in their power to

avoid even the appearance of cheating. Each student must understand that by turning in an
assignment, exam or any other material to the instructor, he or she is asserting that the work is
their own, and that no portion of it was plagiarized from other students, web resources, published
works, or any other source. By signing their work, students are attesting to this fact.
To this end, the instructor will not accept unsigned material tuned in by students.

UTDallas Rules, Policies and Procedures: Go to http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies for a

listing of the university’s policy and procedures relevant to class syllabi.

Tentative Class Schedule: The schedule on the following page is tentative; unforeseen events
may cause changes. However, the general sequence of events should follow the schedule shown
here.

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 Date Readings Subject Due
Aug. 19 Class introduction and overview
Aug. 24 Why do we need geodesy? The non-
Euclidean surface of the Earth
Aug. 26 Review: Math and Spreadsheets (Meet in
the Computer Lab, GR X.XXX)
Aug. 31 Chapter 1 Non-Cartesian coordinates for a non-
Euclidean surface: Latitudes and
Longitudes
Sept. 2 Chapters 2 & 5 Working with latitudes and longitudes
Sept. 7 Datums – Definitions, uses, properties Lat./Long.
Manipulations
Sept. 9 Datums – Common datums
Sept. 14 Converting datums
Sept. 16 Vertical datums Datum conversion
Sept. 21 Review for Exam 1
Sept. 23 EXAM 1
Sept. 28 Review of Exam 1
Sept. 30 Chapter 15 Why? – Projection basics
Oct. 5 Projection qualities
Oct. 7 Example: Making a projection (Warning!
Math!)
Oct. 12 Converting projections
Oct. 14 Common projections 1
Oct. 19 Common projections 2
Oct. 21 Choosing projections for cartography
Oct. 26 Choosing projections for analysis Projection homework
Oct. 28 Review for Exam 2
Nov. 2 EXAM 2
Nov. 4 Review of Exam 2
Nov. 9 Basics of coordinate systems
Nov. 11 UTM
Nov. 16 State Plane
Nov. 18 Converting coordinate systems
Nov. 23 Choosing coordinate systems
Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov. 30 Geodesy example Coordinate homework
Dec. 2 Review for Final

Dec. 14, 11:00 AM FINAL EXAM

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