CONTRIBUTE TO SOME OF MANKIND’S GREATEST CHALLENGES, SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, FOOD AND WATER SECURITY, LAND SCARCITY, AND NATURAL DISASTERS, BY ACQUIRING, ANALYSING, AND PROCESSING GEO-INFORMATION DATA.
Geo-information systems are powerful tools to monitor natural resources, species occurrences, ecosystem conditions, watershed boundaries, and land-use patterns, among other things. How can you predict when and where natural disasters, such as floods, will occur? In what ways can you improve agricultural practices to protect crops from extreme weather conditions? What about estimating water safety by detecting why, where, when, and how water-born diseases occur? Or designing responsible land maps that ensure the well-being of vulnerable groups living in rural areas? If you are eager to tackle these and similar global challenges by exploring, analysing, and visualising geospatial and remote sensing data, the Master’s in Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation might be just right for you!
In this two-year, English-taught Master’s, you will learn to address the growing range of global challenges - from climate change to resources depletion and pandemic diseases - that our society and vulnerable populations across the world are facing by using geo-information systems. You will acquire the theoretical knowledge, technical skills, and big data analytics competences to find the data you need, analyse the problem at hand, visualise the data, and design an innovative and sustainable solution. With your expertise, you will contribute to improvements in the domains of food and water security, natural resources management, geo-health, climate change adaptation, urban development and smart cities, disaster risk reduction, and responsible land administration.
Brochure
Choose a specialisation
You have a lot of freedom to tailor your Master’s in Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (GEO) to your interests and ambitions. Do you want to explore geothermal and earth resources to secure future demands for energy and minerals? Or are you interested in predicting and monitoring natural hazards? Perhaps you want to make modern cities more sustainable and inclusive with sufficient environmentally-friendly housing? In this Master's you will build a unique expertise in a specific domain by choosing one of the seven specialisations.
Your choice determines which courses you will follow and the type of research you will focus on in your master’s thesis. You can choose from seven different specialisations:
- Applied Remote Sensing for Earth Sciences
- Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction
- Geoinformatics
- Geo-information Management for Land Administration
- Natural Resources Management
- Urban Planning and Management
- Water Resources and Environmental Management
You can also set up your own free specialisation by selecting courses from the seven specialisations. The programme staff will help you compose your free specialisation that suits your interests and background.
State-of-the-art research facilities
The Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) is internationally recognised for its research and capacity development in the field of geo-information science and Earth observation. As a student here, you will have access to first-class lab facilities and resources such as the GeoScience Laboratory, the Design and Interactive Space for Co-Creating, the ITC Satellite and Sensor Database, the Visualisation and Usability Lab, and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Centre. Also, you can work with leading scientists and other experts from the geo-information science and Earth observation domain. It is a great environment where you will expand your network and gain invaluable hands-on experience for your future career!
Career perspectives
All over the world, in any industry, there is a growing need for experts in geographic information systems (GIS), spatial data science, and remote sensing. As a GIS specialist with in-depth knowledge and skills related to geospatial technologies, you will be a key player in developing and advancing data-driven sustainable solutions to some of the most pressing global issues, such as climate change and energy transition. You could work for a wide range of international non-governmental or corporate organisations, governments, consultancy agencies, research institutes, public service corporations, telecommunications companies, water authorities, and national mapping agencies, to name but a few. This is why most of our graduates find a job soon after graduation.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR GEO-INFORMATION SPECIALISTS
Experts in geo-information systems who can acquire, analyse, and visualise geo-information to develop innovative solutions are in high demand both in the private and pubic sectors. You can work as a policy advisor, geo-information consultant, GIS analyst, geospatial data scientist, environmental management consultant, remote sensing specialist, data engineer, and more. You can also opt for a career in academia and do a PhD at any university worldwide. Or you can start your own company!
Quick links
- Structure of this Master’s and specialisations
- What are the tuition fees?
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Related programmes
The Master's Spatial Engineering is closely related to Geo-information Science and Earth Observation.