menu icon
Book your open day visit nowClick to book open day
Geospatial and Mapping Sciences PgDip

Geospatial and Mapping Sciences PgDip

Different course options

Full time | University of Glasgow | 9 months | SEP-25

Study mode

Full time

Duration

9 months

Start date

SEP-25

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

Postgraduate Diploma

Subject areas

Land & Sea Surveying / Cartography

Course type

Taught

Course Summary

This in Geospatial & Mapping Sciences focuses on understanding the theory and practice of geospatial data collection and management. Topics covered include land, engineering and hydrographic surveying, data and geospatial information quality. The course draws on research and the latest developments in the field of geomatics, with a strong practical component. Key applications of geospatial skills support sustainable development, including measuring land and location of assets (e.g. transport routes, location of electric cables, forests), monitoring subsidence and sea level change, documenting heritage using laser scanning, and setting up and managing the coordinate system/mapping for a country. This programme is strongly endorsed by industry, accredited by both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

  • Surveying and mapping are essential to a country’s development across industrial, agricultural, commercial and residential sectors, and geospatial information is now recognised as a crucial component of a country’s development.
  • If you are seeking a career in geomatics: land and engineering surveying, hydrographic surveying, land registration/cadastre and LIS, photogrammetric and remote sensing engineering or management of geospatial information, then this programme is for you.
  • This programme is accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES), when fully completed with the award of an MSc.
  • The MSc in Geospatial and Mapping Sciences is an industry-sponsored programme and has been developed in close collaboration with industry to meet global demand for professionals in this field.

CAREER PROSPECTS

Career opportunities include land surveyor, engineering surveyor, hydrographic surveyor, GIS specialist, environmental consulting. There is currently a very high demand for surveyors, especially in hydrographic survey, in support of offshore oil and renewable energy engineering and maintenance. Several of the key employers visit us each year to recruit students. In addition to the offshore energy industry, land surveyors are in demand in many parts of the world to support mining operations, major civil engineering projects and to provide surveying services for Land Registration. A strong background in data capture, datums and co-ordinate systems, and data processing can also be of value in the GIS and environmental management sectors.

Modules

An introduction to the essential mathematical background of Geomatics, including co-ordinate systems, datums, map projections and co-ordinate transformations. Geospatial information acquisition, processing and management requires familiarity with certain concepts including: coordinate reference systems, datums and map projections, figures of the earth, 2&3D trigonometry, survey sampling, statistics, solving sets of equations, least squares adjustment, correlation, matrix algebra and computer programming, generally conducted within the frameworks established by national and international professional and standards organisations. It is the intention of this course to ensure that all programme participants have familiarity with these topics and having completed this, will be able to apply this knowledge in the gathering, processing and managing of geospatial data.

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£8,100

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£18,840

Entry requirements

Normally an Honours degree in a relevant field such as civil engineering, earth or environmental science, geography, mathematics, physics, or planning, but others with some mathematical background will be considered. Those with a degree in geomatics or a closely related subject or who meet the age and experience criteria of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors can use the programme as a route to a professional qualification or preparation for a research degree and may, under special circumstances, be given exemption from some aspects of the programme. Entry without standard academic qualifications, or with technical qualifications in geomatics for those with significant practical experience in related employment, will be considered on an individual basis.

University information

The University of Glasgow is one of four ancient universities in Scotland, founded back in 1451. Alumni include seven Nobel Prize winners, Scotland’s First Minister and a Prime Minister, while Albert Einstein gave a seminal lecture on the theory of relativity there in 1933. The university consists of four colleges: College of Arts College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences College of Science and Engineering College of...more