The course introduces students to the theory and general principles of GIS and to practical skills and hands-on experience in its use: the fundamental concepts and basic functions of a GIS; the properties of GIS maps; the structure of a GIS database; coordinate systems and map projections; methods of performing simple vector and raster spatial analysis. In lab exercises students will work with ArcMap to visualize geographic data, create maps, query a GIS database, perform spatial analysis using common analytical tools, and solve geographical problems using a systematic approach. The course introduces the core functionality of GIS software packages such as ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolbox.