This Masters in Geospatial & Mapping Sciences focuses on understanding the theory and practice of geospatial data collection, land and hydrographic surveying, data and information quality, applications of survey information, and research and development in the field of geomatics. It is strongly endorsed by industry, accredited by the RICS and has an excellent employment record.
Semester 1 – 60 credits
Semester 2 – 60 credits
One of:
Summer – 60 credits
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.
Graduates of this programme have gone on to positions such as:
Offshore Surveyor at NCS Survey
Hydrographic Surveyor at Subsea 7
Offshore Surveyor at Subsea 7
Analyst at Morgan Stanley
Offshore Surveyor at UTEC
Offshore Surveyor at iSurvey Offshore Ltd
Research Scientist Associate at a university
Fellow at European Organisation for Nuclear Research
Offshore Surveyor at Marine Offshore Designer
Hydrographic Surveyor at UTEC
Assistant Land Surveyor at UTEC Star net
Trainee Surveyor at Fugro
Hydrographic Surveyor at Harkand Andrews Survey
Offshore Supporter at Subsea 7
Offshore Surveyor at Fugro
Offshore Hydrographic Surveyor at UTEC
Graduate Supervisor at AECOM
GIS Technician at Farazamin Company Tehran
Graduate Surveyor at Met Geo Environmental Ltd.
Surveying roles encompasses all activities concerned with measuring and recording information about the world that surrounds us. A surveyor can work in many different environments for a variety of reasons; building, residential, commercial, environmental and quantity. The roots of surveying trace back ancient Egyptian history, and its practice has been fundamental to the progression of human-kind. Today, surveying holds just as much relevance, yet the demand has drastically increased due to an enhanced interest in developing and managing the physical world.
This programme is taught by the internationally renowned Camborne School of Mines (CSM), a combined world-class mining school and geoscience department. With accreditation from both the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors, this MSc is recognised by professional associations around the world.
Whilst there are other MSc programmes available with the word surveying in their title, there is no other comparable programme in the UK. Content covered in this programme is very unique as aside from covering the fundamentals of surveying, it delves into geomatics, minerals and environmental topics, equipping students with distinctive practical and specialist skills. This varied programme means that upon graduation, our students are not limited to surveying careers in the built environment, and as a result they are recognised and pursued by industry for their diverse knowledge and skills. If you are interested in finding out more, feel free to chat to the Programme Director, Neill Wood or get in touch and pay us a visit.
Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
Accredited as meeting the requirements of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Accredited as meeting the requirements of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
You can either study the course full time over a year or part-time over 3 years.
The compulsory modules can include;
The modules listed here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
We believe every student benefits from being taught by experts active in research and practice. You will discuss the very latest ideas, research discoveries and new technologies in seminars and in the field and you will become actively involved in a research project yourself. All our academic staff are active in internationally-recognised scientific research across a wide range of topics. You will also be taught by leading industry practitioners.
The Masters in Geomatics & Management is aimed at graduates in geomatics (surveying and mapping). It will enhance your career progression in the field of geomatics, and provide you with the necessary skill set to succeed in managerial positions. The combination of geomatics with management offered by this programme has been strongly endorsed by industry.
*For suitably qualified candidates
Semester 1 – 60 credits in Management
Semester 2 – 60 credits in Geomatics
50 credits from:
Career opportunities exist in both the private and public sectors and there are lots of possibilities for those with Surveying and Mapping skills. Positions include GIS specialist, ranging from support in large corporations (banking, insurance, retail), environmental consultancies, local authorities, utility companies, or mapping specialist with software house or geoinformation data provider. There is currently a very high demand for surveyors, especially in hydrographic survey, in support of offshore oil and renewable energy engineering and maintenance. 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.
Graduates of this programme have gone on to positions such as:
This is a fast-track conversion course for graduates from unrelated disciplines who want to become chartered building surveyors. The course is also suitable if you are a professional working in a property or surveying role and want to improve your skills and career prospects in residential and commercial building surveying, property management and development or building control.
Building surveying is an expanding professional discipline involved with new development and the inspection, maintenance and refurbishment of existing buildings. The course includes practical laboratory and project work to improve your career prospects in the public and commercial sectors throughout the UK and overseas.
There is a focus on practical, client-focused property projects involving completion of technical and professional tasks and applying creative solutions that draw on your developing knowledge. You study • property law • economics • planning • land development • construction and refurbishment • building regulations and controls• building technology • surveying techniques
One of our key teaching resources is a University-owned Georgian terraced house. This is used for practical teaching sessions in pathology, structural principles along with dilapidations and condition surveys as the property has been adapted to open up its structure for inspection purposes. Industry professionals also use this resource for training purposes with the support of our teaching staff.
You also have the opportunity to use the latest high-tech non-destructive testing equipment including flexible endoscopes, borescopes and thermal imaging cameras for detecting heat loss – all of which you can use in practical projects and the dissertation module.
You benefit from a range of teaching, learning and assessment techniques. Intensive study weeks allow you to work on complex, professional briefs with other students in multi-disciplinary practice. One of the modules is an international project which has taken place in various locations including Istanbul, Shanghai and Toronto with assistance from international surveying firms.
The majority of teaching takes place within a newly refurbished, dedicated buildings at our City Campus. The course is fully supported by online resources that allow students to learn flexibly in addition to face-to-face teaching.
This course is designed to be adapted and updated, so that you are as fully prepared as possible for a successful career ahead. The postgraduate construction, building and surveying courses were first established with the MSc Property Appraisal and Management in 1991 with many of our former students now in senior positions throughout the profession.
This course is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).
Core modules
Building surveyors are highly valued professionals who offer a variety of services across the whole of the built environment.
As well as gaining the skills and knowledge needed for professional accreditation (to become chartered), you gain knowledge essential for a successful career throughout the surveying profession, focusing on roles such as • residential and commercial building surveyor • property developer • building control officer • property manager.
Our graduates are found throughout the surveying profession from international surveying practices to sole traders in private practice. We welcome their continuing involvement with this course, from participation at our very successful employer fairs through to advising students during integrated projects.
Looking for an absorbing, fulfilling career in rural land and estate management? Our MSc Rural Land and Business Management course, which prepares you for membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, will equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary for a career in professional practice, advising the owners and occupiers of rural land and property on their assets and businesses.
The course focuses on equipping you with the specialist knowledge and skills necessary to deal with the challenges facing rural businesses, both now and in the post-Brexit environment. It aims to blend theory and practice to deliver a challenging programme, highly relevant to the changing demands of modern business. You will be encouraged to develop a critical awareness of the current challenges of your new profession, and learn how to apply an analytical, strategic approach to the sometimes difficult and complex situations you will meet in practice.
Programme
Many of the UK’s most successful rural land managers began their careers at the University of Reading. The programme is recognised by the UK’s top employers as an excellent preparation for a career in rural surveying. You will be taught by experts in the field (both academics and current practitioners) and will undertake real-life case studies, and visits to farms, estates and other rural businesses – while working within the busy, vibrant society of one of the UK’s leading universities.
Real Estate & Planning
Our Department is the largest in the UK for teaching and research in real estate and planning. Established in 1968 at the University of Reading, we are the only major UK real estate and planning centre to be located within a business school. Being part of the Henley Business School reflects our close and longstanding collaborative relationship with industry.
We enjoy a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research and we are consistently highly ranked in all major league tables. We undertake internationally recognised, leading edge research into real estate, planning and land and we offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, all of which are accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Our planning courses are also fully accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute. Our programmes are held in high regard by leading employers, many of whom come to us each year to recruit our graduates. We are proud of our outstanding employment record, with more than 95% of our students entering graduate level jobs within 6 months of leaving us.
Henley Business School
Module descriptions are correct for modules taught in the academic year 2017/18. Optional module listings are indicative, and may be subject to change.
Core modules
Plus elective modules from a range offered by the School of Agriculture and Henley Business School, which may include: Advanced Marketing, Appraisal of Agricultural and Rural Development Projects, Business Planning and Control, Ecosystem Services, Human Resource Management, Resource and Environmental Economics, Rural Diversification, Sustainability and Real Estate, Real Estate Asset Management.
The programme has an excellent employment record – 100% for the last four years. We have long-standing links with the major firms in the sector who regularly recruit from the University. Recent graduates have gone on to work for multi-disciplinary rural consultancy firms including Bidwells, Carter Jonas, CKD Galbraith, Fisher German, Knight Frank, Savills and Strutt & Parker, and specialist firms such as Dalcour Maclaren, as well as for regional firms throughout the country. They have also taken jobs with rural estate owners as trainee land agents, and organisations such as the National Trust and RSPB.
Our graduates tell us the content of the course is highly relevant to the profession, training them to be analytical thinkers and leaders. They have frequently progressed to become directors of landed estates or surveying firms. Some have secured posts in environmental organisations, government agencies, planning consultancies, or in academia. Others find this higher degree pathway an ideal entry qualification into wider management careers.
Most graduates complete the two years’ professional training and experience required to become members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and many also become members of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers.
Our alumni association, the Reading Real Estate Foundation, organises career development and recruitment events for students throughout the year. These include an evening lectures series with key industry speakers, an annual Careers Fair and a highly successful mentoring programme – unique in the sector – which pairs individual students with industry professionals. We also have a professional Careers Development Advisor who helps our students with every aspect of the career process, including identifying work placements, internships and permanent career opportunities.
This programme accepts graduates from any discipline to convert and become full RICS accredited in Land Economy and Rural Surveying.
Land Economy and Rural Surveying is very employable internationally, and it is an essential discipline in which you can contribute to the built environment covering anything from towns, cities, roads, transport systems and leisure venues. We are moving towards mega cities in which people will connect via technology to improve quality of life and infrastructure. This gives society a considerable challenge in terms of ensuring quality of life in the future where there will perhaps be more regulation. In order to give you the best start in the profession our programme is fully RICS accredited and it is the only programme of its type in Scotland. The discipline has been a strength at University of Aberdeen for many years now and our connections with industry are excellent over this time.
The programme gives you a very thorough knowledge of all areas associated with land economy and rural property management. This includes looking the wide range of environmental challenges, rural management such as forestry and game management, agriculture and planning and environmental law. These modules are disciplines in themselves and very useful for your career opportunities which could be wide ranging, adding real value to your programme.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out about international fees:
Find out more about fees on the programme page
*Please be advised that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page and the latest postgraduate opportunities
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Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
You may also be interested in:
This Masters in Geoinformation Technology & Cartography focuses on understanding and managing the locational data required to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) together with visualisation and map production in a GIS environment. It is the only programme in the UK to have a significant emphasis on cartography; and our focus on the underpinning geomatics aspects and cartographic output is unique among GIS programmes.
Semester 1 – 60 credits
Semester 2 – 60 credits
Summer – 60 credits
Career opportunities exist in both the private and public sectors and there is currently high demand for GIS skills. Positions include cartographer with map publishing company, government agency, or private service agency; GIS specialist, ranging from support in large corporations (banking, insurance, retail), environmental consultancies, local authorities, utility companies; mapping specialist with software house or geoinformation data provider. GIS Officer, Dundee City Council, Dundee, UK.
Graduates of this programme have gone on to positions such as:
GIS Cartographer at Arcus Renewable Energy Consulting
GIS Operator at Scottish Water
GIS Analyst at Forth GIS
GIS Cartographer at L&M Surveys
Cartographer at Harper-Collins Cartographic
GIS Analyst at Arcus
GIS Analyst at Natural Power
Estates Technical Surveyor at North Ayrshire Council.
This course combines research and academic skills with field surveying skills, ready for practical application within the ecological consultancy industry. It’s designed to meet a rising need for highly skilled conservationists. Through practical experience, taught sessions and interaction with experienced field ecologists, you’ll gain taxonomic expertise. This will enable you to accurately identify a wide range of species and communities; use the appropriate field skills and techniques to carry out biodiversity surveys across different habitat types; and produce reports and assessments to professional standards. You’ll also have an additional and distinctive opportunity to be trained in the use of geographical information systems (GIS) – a vital tool in the surveying and management of the environment.
The skills you learn will be underpinned by a thorough knowledge of why some species and communities are conservation priorities in law or policy. You’ll also study the fundamentals of project planning, data collection and statistical analysis, in order to properly conduct your surveys and assessments. You’ll be given the chance to become a critical thinker, capable of evaluating what you do, and adept at reporting your findings to the key audiences.
This course is delivered with a strong practical approach to learning. You’ll be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, field and laboratory work, and online learning.
Independent learning is required, and you’ll undertake high-quality research. You’ll research your chosen topic in depth, then design and implement a relevant research project, before communicating the findings to an informed audience in a comprehensive scientific report.
Teaching is supported by our Brackenhurst Campus – a 200-hectare country estate and working farm. The campus is part of the DEFRA Environmental Stewardship scheme, which supports effective environmental management of farm land and countryside estates. It offers a good range of wetland and terrestrial habitats, which are invaluable for learning and practising surveying techniques, and the sampling of species.
You’ll also benefit from active conservation projects on the estate, including bird ringing and small mammal trapping and monitoring, alongside environmental impact assessments on construction work and renewable energy technologies.
You’ll have the opportunity to take part in field trips to Rutland and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. There are also opportunities to complete a research project in the UK or abroad.
Find out more about our Brackenhurst Campus on our website
Want to find out more about studying with us? Find out more at one of our upcoming open days. Reserve your place.
For more information on our courses, please visit our website.
