Geographers and Cartographers take pride in their work, typically applying all the rules and principles of good cartographic design to their work, all in an effort to make people want to look at and appreciate their work. However, maps don’t always look amazing, actually, sometimes they are down-right ugly! Esri wants to help GIS professionals polish their skills – enter the latest MOOC, Cartography, from Kenneth Field (@kennethfield).

Why put endless hours into your research, data collection, data analysis, and mapping if the end product falls short. In this MOOC from Esri, accomplished cartographers will teach you their secrets and share tips, tricks, and best practices in cartography and map design. The free MOOC begins April 18, 2018 and suggests that attendees spend 2-3 hours per week to study. If all goes well, students won’t be producing anything like the map above any longer!
About the course – Once, only cartographers made maps. Today anyone can. Still, cartographers can teach people to make better maps, just as chefs can show people how to cook better meals. With coaching from experienced cartographers and practical, hands-on exercises using ArcGIS Pro, you’ll become a smarter mapmaker, ready to go beyond the defaults and make better maps. (Esri)
This 6 week course is designed for educators, students, GIS users and map designers. While previous experience with GIS software or cartography can be helpful, it is not necessary for tech-savvy problem solvers. Best of all, Esri will provide access to ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro for use during the course.
Course Goals:
- Learn from experienced professionals
- learn the cartographic capabilities of ArcGIS Pro
- learn to author beautiful maps and publish them online
- Gain valuable real-world job skills
Register for the Cartography MOOC Here
NOTE: For educators wanting to manage their students in ArcGIS Online, we suggest also implementing the popular Admin Tools. Students completing the cartography MOOC, you can manage and share all your best maps in ArcGIS Online using the free Mapfolio.

Esri offers a number of Free MOOCs that will educate you on important technologies and topics, guaranteed to help your career! They also share other EDU opportunities from partner institutions. Some great stuff here!
Have you recently completed some online GIS or related training? Please share your GIS EDU Tips with us on Twitter@geojobegis
See Also:
- Design Better Maps (Esri Press)
- GIS Cartography, Gretchen Peterson
- Free GIS Education & Learning over coffee
- Training from Esri
- Have Infographics and Data Visualizations Ruined Good Map Design?
Next year, I’d like to help design the #DevSummit tee. I’d move Greenland back, place the continents in their correct relative position & put the graticule in the right place. #BacktoBasics #cartography pic.twitter.com/CgjoM9kUJw
— Kenneth Field (@kennethfield) March 8, 2018