"QGIS for Geologists – Basic" is our first course and most suitable for those with little to no experience in GIS. This professionally-endorsed training will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of GIS and spatial data, as well as how to use the basic functions within QGIS itself.
BECOME A FAMILIAR USER OF QGIS
Become a familiar user of QGIS by learning how to employ the software's core functionality and deal with the main types of spatial data (free preview).
This course follows through an example scenario where you have been asked to compile and organise GIS data from a project area in order to create high quality geological maps.
Requirements
❖ To watch the lessons, you need any device with internet.
❖ To use the data in QGIS, you need a computer, keyboard and mouse.
❖ All content is presented in English, but French / Spanish subtitles are available.
This course is divided into five main chapters which will logically guide you through the basics of using using spatial data within QGIS.
For more detailed information about each individual lesson and module (e.g. topics, tutorial lengths, lesson formats etc.), a copy of the curriculum can be downloaded using the following link: 
Full Curriculum - Download (PDF)
1. Introduction
The key learning objective of this module is for you to understand the fundamental principles of GIS: what they are, the ways in which they can be used, and the different types of GIS software that are available, focusing in particular on QGIS. This also includes a step-by-step walkthrough on how to download and install the software itself, plus which version of it to use.
2. QGIS Projects
The key learning objective of this module is for you to be able to set-up and manage a brand new QGIS project, including using the various tools for basic navigation, adding in satellite base map imagery for general orientation, setting and understanding different coordinate reference systems, and knowing what options are available for customising the user interface.
3. Data Basics
The key learning objective of this module is for you to know how to import, create and edit different types of spatial data into QGIS, such as CSVs, shapefiles and raster grids. Lessons will also cover how to apply very basic symbologies and labels, work with attribute data, and manage the layers themselves in order to maintain a well-organised project file.
4. Data Styling
The key learning objective of this module is for you to know how to effectively style and label your spatial data in a greater level of detail, and this includes the set-up and utilisation of geology-specific symbologies. Lessons will also demonstrate how to transfer stylings between different layers and projects, as well as setting-up layer style catalogues and map themes.
5. Creating Maps
The key learning objective of this module is for you to be able to produce professional-looking and high quality geological maps. This involves setting-up the template itself, adding important cartographic symbols (e.g. scale bar, north arrow, legend etc.), controlling all of the objects, and managing multiple templates for final importing, exporting and printing.
Video Demonstrations
Tutorials showing how to do different things in QGIS
Presentation Slides
Presentations used to help explain more complex topics
End-of-module Tests
Quizzes to test knowledge and confirm overall learning
Alongside all of the training data and presentation PDFs, you also gain access to the Universal Freebies alongside the following items of Basic Bonus Content:
Instructor
 HUW RICHARDS
CGeol, EurGeol, MSc, MSci, FGS, AAusIMM, MCSM
Huw is a Chartered Exploration Geologist with considerable experience in the use of GIS within the natural resources sector. He is an award-winning presenter and has been invited to guest speak many institutions, including Oxford University, Imperial College London, the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Geological Society. In 2017, he was awarded as the latter's Early Career Geologist of the Year. Huw holds an MSc in Mining Geology (Dist.) from the Camborne School of Mines, and an MSci Geoscience degree (1st Class Hons.) from Royal Holloway University.
For more information, you can visit his LinkedIn profile. |
We pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality of training possible and immensely value the feedback from our students. Here's what they have to say.
The course is excellent and just what I needed to gain an understanding of GIS, how the data is structured and how to produce plans. It was also great to learn doing something relevant to my work and not trying to use abstract or irrelevant examples. Thank you for making the world of GIS less daunting and accessible!
Despite the ‘Basic-level’ course designation, folks of all levels of GIS ability could benefit in one way or another from these lessons. Production quality is superb, with high-quality narration. This is the best value-for-money course relevant to mineral exploration that you will find on the internet.
My first impressions were excellent. The website is fantastic – it’s so easy to navigate, the course player features are great, and because there’s so much useful content, being able to refer back to it in the future will be so valuable. I now feel like a familiar user of QGIS and confident in using GIS data.
GIS is integral to the geosciences and this course goes above and beyond. Not only does it give you the framework, but it leaves you feeling confident that you can set up your own database and produce maps / figures to a professional standard. I would encourage all geologists to undertake this!
G4G provides the perfect course for beginners. You can complete the course at your own pace, the majority of videos are short enough that you can watch them in a spare 5 minutes, and everything is extremely well explained. I would fully recommend this course to anyone interested in GIS.
As a GIS novice, this course was extremely informative and made me understand how coordinates are calculated and, more importantly, how to create professional maps for presentations and reports. The Atlas function (creating multiple maps) is also a time-saver that I'm sure to use frequently.
This course truly pinpoints the fundamental GIS skills required by geologists, whether at university or in the industry, anywhere in the world. I could not believe how accessible and fully flexible the training was meaning that, even with a busy full time job, I could still top up my GIS skills at a pace that suited me.
For someone with limited prior GIS knowledge, this course has given me the confidence to generate and review GIS outputs for use across all end markets I work in. The lessons are intuitive and well-structured so it’s easy to drop in and out to fit self-learning around a busy daily life.
This is the best GIS course out there. The instruction is absolutely first class and the content highly practical and informative. Huw is a superb instructor who guides you through the course at an appropriate pace without bombarding you with jargon. In my opinion, this is one of the best investments I’ve made.
Pricing Options
To make our courses more accessible, you can choose to pay either up-front (granting you an overall reduction) or via a series of smaller installments over the course of six months.
MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
These have our 30 day 100 % money-back guarantee (if < 30 % completed).
DISCOUNTS
We offer both 'standard' discounts to certain groups all year-round, as well as more 'festive' rate reductions from time to time: check here.
Here on the G4G website.
Once purchased and logged-in to your personal account here on the GIS for Geologists website, you will be able to access all of the course content through the learning management platform that is built-in and powered by Thinkific. You can get a free preview of what the platform looks like by clicking here.
No.
Whilst all of the data used in each tutorial are made available should you wish to practice what is being taught, there is no official homework nor any lengthy assignments involved in this course. The only 'assessments' come in the form of short multiple-choice quizzes at the end of each core chapter which aim to confirm retained knowledge and reinforce the key learning objects.
Automatically upon completion of every lesson.
Once every lesson within the course has been finished (incl. all tests with scores above the 70 % pass mark), your official Certificate of Completion will be issued automatically and available from your Student Dashboard. This will be signed and state your name, the course, equitable CPD hours (14) and the professional endorsements.
No.
A tutorial explaining exactly how to download and install the software is provided in the introductory module – this will also explain the differences between the available versions (and which one the course will use).
Yes.
Whilst this course neither requires any prior knowledge of QGIS or GIS more broadly, a basic understanding of Geology / Physical Geography would be needed given the geoscientific nature of the datasets that are used (as these provide the context for example scenarios etc.). First-year university-level knowledge of either would be more than sufficient.
Yes: 70 %.
All the tests have a minimum pass mark of 70 %. However there is no time limit, nor is there a limit on the number of attempts you can have.
No.
Any extra content added to the course after you have purchased it will be available to you free of charge. This will also not affect your access to your Certificate of Completion so long as you have already achieved it.
No.
As open source software, QGIS is designed to be extremely interoperable in order for it to run smoothly across various different platforms and operating systems, including Windows, Mac and Linux. As a result, there are no formally-stated system requirements because it will run on just about any computer. All video demonstrations in the course were recorded using QGIS on a Windows OS.
