Privacy and Ethics in Undergraduate GIS Curricula

The development of location-aware technologies, such as smartphones, raises serious questions regarding locational privacy and the ethical use of geographic data. The degree to which these concepts are taught in undergraduate geographic information science (GISci) courses is unknown. A survey of GISci educators shows that issues of privacy and ethics are important in a GISci education. However, a large proportion of GISci educators are not concerned about the loss of locational privacy and many do not devote classes to the subject. Those not teaching the subject cite lack of course time and the need for more information.