PgDip/MSc in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems

Who is it for?

Ask yourself these simple questions:

Are you a fresh graduate desiring to enter remote sensing/GIS-related employment for the first time, or add remote sensing and GIS to your skill set to enhance employability, qualification or change career?

Are you a professional already in remote sensing/GIS-related employment and want to broaden and deepen your remote sensing and GIS knowledge and skills with a view to making better use of spatial technologies, or want to enhance your career and promotion prospects, or even just qualification?

If you answered yes to any of these, then good news – this course is for you!

Our remote sensing and GIS programme offers flexible learning through part-time education – while each module has assessment deadlines, you study at a time and pace that suits you. Further, you decide the duration of the course! PG Cert in 1 year, PG Dip in 2 years and MSc in 3 years.

Why us?

We are an established provider of online distance learning postgraduate courses. With 25 years experience of teaching GIS and nearly 20 years via online distance learning, we have a long and successful track record in GIS education. We enjoy imparting knowledge, skills and confidence that enhance employment prospects with our innovative and career-focused modules and research.

Modules are taught online via Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment that provides access to lectures, practical exercises, reading and additional study materials. Communication tools (discussion boards, video-conferencing and email) are integrated within Blackboard and all modules are supported by experienced lecturers and tutors. Progress is assessed entirely online – there are no formal sit-in examinations.

What you get!

• Access to a fully online course! You can study from almost anywhere and there is no need to travel to classes – choose the times you study each week to suit yourself.
• Up-to-date skills and experience to deal with geospatial data and methods.
• A free copy of ArcGIS, the remote sensing package ERDAS Imagine, and the data analysis package SPSS.
• Support and advice from experienced lecturers, tutors, librarians, e-learning and IT staff.
• Access to online resources such as e-books, digital lectures and podcasts, discussion boards and video-conference tools all within a dedicated e-learning platform.
• Improved employability, professional and academic skills, and gain extensive hands-on practice with key software.
• An experience of conducting a substantial independent research project (MSc only), written in the form of a research journal article (which may, with the agreement of your supervisor, be submitted for publication).

The course and its modules are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.

Year one

Introduction to Remote Sensing

This postgraduate module offers students the opportunity to study the principles and applications of remote sensing and image analysis and to explore links between remote sensing and GIS. Students will become familiar with the theoretical foundations of remote sensing and will develop technical skills through a series of software-based practical exercises and assignments using ERDAS Imagine software.

Principles of GIS

This module introduces the theory and practice of Geographic Information Systems and is intended to provide an understanding of the breadth of potential GIS applications and to equip students with key concepts and skills relating to the input, management, manipulation, analysis and output of spatial data. Lecture-based teaching of key concepts is reinforced by linked practical exercises which allow students to develop competence in ESRI's ArcGIS package. The module assumes no prior knowledge or experience of GIS.

Photogrammetry and Advanced Image Analysis

This module covers advanced topics in visible remote sensing and image analysis, including photogrammetry and digital elevation models, image processing and manipulation, advanced classification techniques such as object-based image analysis (OBIA), and time series analysis and change detection using Google Earth Engine. It builds on the topics covered in "Introduction to Remote Sensing" and provides a framework for more detailed modules later in the course, as well as the (optional) research topic.

Programming for GIS and Remote Sensing

This module develops programming skills using the python programming language. The module seeks to provide students with key skills in the development of repeatable, automated analyses of GIS applications. The module also aims to develop academic writing skills in preparation for the MSc degree.

Year two

Advanced Active and Passive Remote Sensing

This module covers advanced topics in active and passive remote sensing, including the highly sought-after topics of hyperspectral and microwave remote sensing, including applications of SAR data. It also covers thermal and below-surface (i.e., ground-penetrating radar) remote sensing techniques. It builds on the topics introduced in "Introduction to Remote Sensing" and provides a framework for more detailed modules covered later in the course, as well as the (optional) research topic.

Spatial Data Management

This module builds on the knowledge and practical skills gained in "Principles of GIS" to provide students with further experience in the acquisition, manipulation and analysis of spatial data. Methods for generating and collecting digital spatial data from primary and secondary sources are considered, and data processing, selection, integration and analysis extensively practised. Lecture and practical sessions include digitising, geo-registration, GPS, accessing and using secondary sources, spatial join and overlay, network analysis and 3D modelling, and incorporate the experience of a variety of large and small scale vector and raster datasets. The module also incorporates practice in statistical analysis and interpretation. Development of GIS software skills focuses on ArcGIS and extensions.

Spatial Analysis (This module is optional)

This module builds on the introductory material of remote sensing and GIS modules, covering advanced concepts of spatial data analysis and modelling, and providing extensive practical experience of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), and spatial analysis and modelling within a GIS environment.

Web-based GIS (This module is optional)

This module examines the role of programming within the GI industry. It aims to enable students to appreciate the need for programming skills that can be used to customise and develop web maps. A range of development skills in HTML, JavaScript, OpenLayers and GeoServer are introduced which equip the students with knowledge of the potential and scope of programming within various web mapping applications.

Marine Remote Sensing (This module is optional)

This module first introduces the underlying concepts of marine remote sensing and its applications within the framework of ocean properties and seafloor characteristics. It introduces students to different datasets and spatial data management tools for ocean remote sensing and aims to help them develop an appreciation of mapping scales, data resolution and density. The module also focuses on the effective integration of relevant datasets in the context of specific users' and stakeholders' requirements. The module is a combination of theoretical and practical based sessions using both commercial and open-source software.

GIS for Environmental Management (This module is optional)

This optional module examines the application of GIS to environmental management, modelling and impact assessment. It aims to enable students to appreciate the need for properly researched information to support strategic and operational environmental management decisions, and to be aware of the means by which such information can be obtained and evaluated. This module also provides an opportunity to think about and decide on a potential MSc research topic if a student wishes to continue further.

Year three

Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Project

This module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of research in an area of particular interest to the student. The student will be assessed on their project proposal and two progress reports, together with the final research paper.

Remote sensing, GIS and geospatial technologies underpin a rapidly growing, multi-billion-dollar industry, and are becoming increasingly mainstream within both the public and private sectors, resulting in a need for graduates who have a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Participants and graduates of this course could seek employment in a variety of remote sensing/ GIS-related roles such as analysts, scientists, consultants, project managers, surveyors, data specialists, technicians, mapping officers, development, sales and marketing, customer support, GIS training, lecturing and research (including funded PhD projects). The breadth of potential uses of remote sensing and GIS ensures a great diversity of job opportunities; for example, our GIS graduates have found employment with mapping agencies, GIS and SatNav companies, environmental consultancies, ecological and marine resource management and environmental agencies, renewable energy companies, forestry, fisheries, town planning departments, heritage agencies, health and emergency services, housing authorities, local government, aid agencies, countryside recreation, rural development, retail analysis, utilities and infrastructure, Further and Higher Education, mining and mineral exploitation and the oil industry, among others. Knowledge and understanding of geospatial data are also increasingly required in a variety of jobs outside of the GI profession, making remote sensing and GIS qualifications valuable for enhancing employability in a range of fields.