Master of Geospatial Science

Geospatial science is a highly practical discipline and this underpins the learning environment in the program.

The primary modes of delivery are face-to-face lectures, video-lectures, tutorials, and extensive practical activities. All courses use online learning materials to support the learning and teaching program. Students have some opportunities to engage in field excursions and other off-site activities. The approaches to teaching and learning that will form the basis of your learning experiences include:

• activities such as practical work that engage you in real-world situations
• projects that simulate, and in some cases are conducted with, industry
• learning activities that build upon the fundamental skills required for work in geospatial science
• learning activities that require you to participate in team development
• tasks that require technical competence in the field

Assessment is multi-faceted and may consist of examinations, practical reports, field work, projects and assignments. Oral presentations are required in several courses.

The School of Science has extensive links with industry across all aspects of spatial sciences, including remote sensing, geographic information systems, geovisualisation, photogrammetry, surveying, cartography, and land administration and land management.

The Program Advisory Committee (PAC) is composed of numerous senior industry figures representing geospatial science. The PAC meets regularly to ensure the relevance of the Master of Geospatial Science program to industry and assists with the design of the program.

The program has strong links across our industry, with many opportunities for you to participate in industry-related teaching and learning activities, such as field and project work.

The program enjoys an excellent academic and vocational reputation and is widely recognised by industry employers as producing graduates who are knowledgeable, motivated, adaptable, and industry-ready.

Graduates have professional-level expertise in the analysis, management, capturing, and visualisation of spatial information, and are proficient in the latest technologies and infrastructures to support these skills. As a graduate you will be well equipped to take on advanced roles within the spatial sciences in an industry, government, or research context. The skills are in high demand both nationally and internationally across a wide range of industries and the government sector including:

• environment and natural resources, such as environmental impact assessments, environmental monitoring, and agriculture and forestry
• land development, such as land use planning, geodesign, spatial data infrastructures, and sustainable development
• mining and exploration, including mineral exploration and environmental engineering
• facilities management and construction, including site selection, insurance and logistics
• transportation and utilities, such as water demand modelling, transport planning, mapping and navigation, and intelligent transportation
• governance and policy, including urban planning, e-government and community mapping
• emergency and disaster management, such as bushfire mapping, flood awareness, biosecurity, evacuation and emergency response
• data analytics and ICT, including mobile and wearable computing, web-mapping, cloud computing and interactive visualisation.

Professional recognition and accreditation

Graduates are eligible for admission to the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute of Australia (SSSI). Graduates may also be eligible for membership of the Mapping Sciences Institute of Australia (MSIA). An application to RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) for accreditation of the program is being undertaken.

Professor Simon Jones (Professor of Remote Sensing) is internationally renowned for his research in remote sensing, land cover, and change mapping.

Professor Matt Duckham (Discipline Leader of Geospatial Science) has taught GIS on five continents, and is a co-author of a major textbook on GIS (GIS: A Computing Perspective).

Dr Karin Reinke (Senior Lecturer) is an expert in resource management and environmental monitoring, particularly with applications to wildfire management.

Dr Gang-Jun Liu (Senior Lecturer) is an expert in GIS, in particular in the industry-standard ESRI ArcGIS platform.

Associate Professor Colin Arrowsmith is a research leader in geography and GIS, with particular expertise in the areas of tourism and cultural heritage.