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GIS & Mapping with QGIS (Free) for Beginners

Make real maps of your village, city or district with free QGIS, Indian open data and a phone for field work

Ghosla Academy · Geography & Research Team

This course teaches Geographic Information Systems from zero using QGIS, a free and open-source desktop GIS. You start with the core ideas — layers, vector and raster data, coordinates and projections — and quickly move to hands-on work: loading free data for India, editing attribute tables, styling maps and running the analysis tools that planners and researchers use every day. Every lesson uses Indian examples such as district boundaries, schools, roads, wetlands and DEMs of the Aravallis. You finish with three projects, including a field survey on your phone using the free QField app, and a print-ready map portfolio you can add to your thesis, report or CV. No paid software or expensive hardware is needed.

What you will be able to do

  • Explain GIS, vector and raster data, attributes and coordinate reference systems in simple words
  • Install QGIS, add layers from free Indian and global sources and save a clean project
  • Query and edit attribute tables, use the field calculator and style layers by category or value
  • Run buffer, clip, intersect, dissolve and spatial join tools to answer real planning questions
  • Create hillshade and slope maps from a free DEM and georeference a scanned map
  • Design a print-ready map with legend, scale bar, north arrow and data credits

What you build

  • First location map of your own district with an OpenStreetMap base layer
  • School accessibility buffer analysis for a town or block
  • Final thematic map portfolio with field points collected on your phone

What you need to start

  • A basic laptop or desktop (Windows, macOS or Linux) for QGIS; a phone is enough for field data collection
  • No prior GIS or coding experience; school-level geography is helpful

Curriculum · 5 sections, 22 lectures

GIS Foundations4 lectures
  1. What GIS Is and Where It Is Used in IndiaFree preview12 min
  2. Vector vs Raster Data, Layers and AttributesFree preview13 min
  3. Coordinates, Projections and CRS Made Simple12 min
  4. Quiz: GIS Foundations6 min
Getting Started with QGIS4 lectures
  1. Installing QGIS and Touring the Interface14 min
  2. Free Data Sources for India: OSM, Bhuvan, Survey of India and More12 min
  3. Project: Your First Map of Your District20 min
  4. Quiz: Getting Started with QGIS6 min
Working with Vector Data4 lectures
  1. Attribute Tables, Field Calculator and Selections15 min
  2. Styling: Categorised, Graduated and Labels13 min
  3. Digitising: Creating Points, Lines and Polygons12 min
  4. Quiz: Working with Vector Data7 min
Spatial Analysis5 lectures
  1. Buffer, Clip, Intersect and Dissolve15 min
  2. Spatial Joins and Counting Points in Polygons13 min
  3. Raster Basics: DEM, Hillshade and Slope12 min
  4. Project: School Accessibility Buffer Analysis20 min
  5. Quiz: Spatial Analysis7 min
Map Making and Field Work5 lectures
  1. Print Layout: Legend, Scale Bar, North Arrow14 min
  2. Field Data Collection on Your Phone with QField12 min
  3. Georeferencing an Old Map or Toposheet13 min
  4. Project: Final Thematic Map Portfolio20 min
  5. Quiz: Map Making and Field Work7 min

Who this is for

  • UG/PG Geography, Environmental Science, Planning and Civil Engineering students
  • PhD scholars and project assistants who need maps for theses and reports
  • NGO, panchayat and CSR field staff who want to map villages, schools or plantations