QGIS Syllabus for Beginners

Welcome to “QGIS is a free, open-source desktop program used to make, edit, view, and study digital maps and spatial data”

A Conceptual Course Syllabus

Unit 1 — GIS & QGIS Basics

• GIS concepts & applications in civil engineering; QGIS interface; Data formats (SHP, GPKG, KML, CSV); Adding layers & basemaps (OSM); Vector vs raster data; Import/export
• Mini Project: Import boundary and point/vector layers from different formats into one QGIS project; export to GeoPackage and KML.

Unit 2 — Coordinate Systems & Data Creation

Geographic vs projected CRS; Assigning & reprojecting CRS; Basic georeferencing; Creating point/line/polygon layers; Digitizing & snapping; Attribute tables & field calculator; Length/area calculation Mini Project: Digitize a road network, buildings, and water bodies from satellite imagery; calculate road lengths and land areas.

Unit 3 — Attribute & Spatial Analysis

Sorting, filtering & selection by attribute; Selection by location; Clip, Dissolve, Merge, Intersect, Union, Difference

Mini Project: Clip a road network to the project boundary, then use Selection by Location to identify buildings near the proposed alignment.

Unit 4 — Symbology & Professional Map Layout

Single, categorized & graduated symbology; Rule-based styling; Labels & engineering-style legends; Print Layout: north arrow, scale bar, legend, grid, titles, inset maps; Export to PDF/image

Mini Project: Prepare a professional study-area location map (Nepal → Province → District → Project Area) with inset maps.

Mini Project: Prepare a ward-wise population density map using graduated colors.

Unit 5 — Building Density Heatmap (OSM Data)

• Downloading building footprints from OpenStreetMap; Counting features per ward/zone; Heatmap renderer
• Mini Project: Download building footprints for the project area from OSM and generate a building density heatmap.

Unit 6 — Terrain Analysis (DEM)

• Introduction to DEM; Hillshade; slope; Contours & elevation profiles
• Mini Project: Generate hillshade, slope, contour, and elevation maps for a small watershed.

Unit 7 — Land Use / Land Cover (LULC) Mapping

• Clipping LULC data to the study area; Classification basics; Styling & visualization; Area calculation by class
• Mini Project: Clip a LULC map for given study area & categorize it into land-use classes (agriculture, forest, settlement, water, barren land) with area statistics.

Unit 8 — Grid Index & Atlas Mapping

• Creating map grids; Atlas generation & page indexing; Map series creation
• Mini Project: Prepare a grid/index atlas for a road or pipeline alignment, usable as engineering drawing sheets

Note: The course syllabus may be customized based on the participants’ needs, experience, and professional background. It can also be modified, updated, or tailored to meet specific learning objectives and organizational requirements.