Msc-Gis UCL

CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOMATIC ENGINEERING
UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science
MSc in
Geographic Information Science
For entry in September 2013

Updated January 2013
Contents
1 Introduction ...................................................................... 1
2 Structure of the programme ................................................ 2
3 Aims and strengths of the course ......................................... 5
4 University College London .................................................... 8
5 Research environment ......................................................... 9
6 Equipment and facilities ......................................................15
7 Staff.................................................................................16
8 Programme accreditation and review ...................................21
9 Entry requirements ...........................................................21
10 Assessment .....................................................................23
11 Individual MSc projects .....................................................25
12 Careers and student profiles ..............................................26
13 Final remarks ..................................................................29
1 Introduction
The MSc in Geographic Information Science at UCL is a full-time, twelve-month
programme taught by internationally recognised academics, run in a department
renowned around the world for its teaching and research. Being based at UCL,
one of the worlds premier academic institutions, students undertaking the MSc in
Geographic Information Science have access to a wealth of knowledge from the
physical and engineering sciences, social sciences and humanities.
The well-established and highly regarded MSc in Geographic Information Science
has been taught by the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic
Engineering for two decades. Hundreds of students from around the world have
graduated and you will find our alumni working on every continent, employed
across a broad spectrum of agencies, institutions and organisations in the private
and public sectors, as well as research organisations such as universities.
The MSc in Geographic Information Science is now also linked to the recently
established MSc programme in Geospatial Analysis (GSA) offered by the
Department of Geography. Spanning two UCL faculties, these interdisciplinary
curriculums exploit the complementary research interests and teaching schedules
of the host departments, providing a broader education environment.
There is ever-growing national and international demand for qualified
professionals with expertise in the acquisition, representation and analysis of
geographic information. Furthermore, there is increasing use of Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) as a platform for advanced modelling and analysis of
geographic phenomena. Our aim is to ground students in the principles and
practical aspects of Geographic Information Science in a vibrant and enthusiastic
environment in which collaboration and free-ranging debate are strongly
encouraged. Our programme provides rigorous training for the next generation
of GIS professionals who will, at the end of this course, be able to work effectively
in novel and challenging situations, and who will be capable of rising to the top of
the profession.
This document gives a full description of the course for prospective students and
employers. It includes details of the aims and strengths of the curriculum, the
institution, the entry requirements, the facilities available and the research
environment. It also offers information on individual projects, professional
accreditation and profiles of the careers of some of our students.
I hope that you find all of the information you need here. If you are interested in
joining us then I look forward to hearing from you.
Tao Cheng
Professor in GeoInformatics
Course Director of MSc Geographic Information Science
Email: tao.cheng@ucl.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (20) 7679 2738

2 Structure of the programme
The overall length of the programme is 12 months, split into a first term from
September to December, with the modules assessed in early January; a second
term runs from January to late March, with assessment in late April/ early May.
The final part comprises the individual project, running from May to September.
There are three sections to the course; each is given equal weight: the first term
of taught material; the second term of taught material; and the individual project.
Each of these is worth 60 credits.
The first term is organised into four 15-credit modules (a total of 60 credits),
which focus on the fundamentals of geographic information, data acquisition,
representation and analysis. The first terms compulsory modules are:
GIS Principles
& Technology
Mapping Science
Principles of
Spatial Analysis
Representation,
Structures and
Algorithms
Collectively, these four modules introduce students to the fundamentals of

acquiring, representing and analysing geographic information from both
theoretical and practical perspectives. Thus, graduates will be well grounded in
the computational foundations of Geographic Information Science, and acquire a
broad practical understanding of topics that include: modern programming
environments and database management systems; the impacts of changing
technology on the implementation of GIS, for example, Web services and cloud
computing; and the use of GIS in advanced geospatial analysis in social and
environmental applications.
Note that an all-day field trip will take place in the first term (at no additional
cost) for data analysis purposes. This year the field trip involves tours to Lydd
Airport (subject of a public enquiry this year regarding expansion to become
London Ashford Airport), Romney Marsh Wind Farm and Dungeness Nuclear
Power Station.
The second term is organised into four 15-credit modules (a total of 60 credits),
two core and two optional modules.
Core Module 1
Core Module 2
Optional Module 1
Optional module 2
First, students select at least two of the following core modules:

Geographic
Information System
Design
Spatio-Temporal Analysis &

Data Mining
Web & Mobile GIS
Students may further choose two optional modules. The optional modules
currently available (subject to timetabling and enrolment) are: Airborne Data
Acquisition, Geodemographics & Population Geography, Image Understanding,
Management/Group Project, Network & Locational Analysis, Ocean and Coastal
Zone Management, Positioning, Research Methods, Spatial Decision Support,
Terrestrial Data Acquisition.
2
In the third term students choose an individual project (60 credits) to complete
over the summer, which runs from mid-May to mid-September. This project is
designed with the support of an academic supervisor who will normally be drawn
from each programmes host department. The project is evaluated using a
15,000 word dissertation and a poster presented to other course members and
teaching staff.
It is possible for students to graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma after following
the taught part of the course, but not completing the individual project. However,
only the full programme, leading to an MSc, is recognised by the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Course structure - at a glance

Term
Required
Credits
Module Structure
Further Details
First Term
Total of 60 credits
Four Compulsory Modules:

GIS Principles & Technology
Mapping science
Principles of Spatial Analysis
Representation, Structures and
Algorithms
Second
Term
Total of 60 credits
Four
Compulsory
modules. Each
module is 15
credits.
Core Modules
Geographic Information System
Design
Spatio-Temporal
Data mining
Analysis
&
Choose at least
two core and
two optional
modules. Each
module is 15
credits.
Web & Mobile GIS

Optional Modules
Airborne Data Acquisition
Geodemographics & Population
Geography
Image Understanding
Management/Group Project
Network & Locational Analysis
Ocean
and
Management
Coastal
Zone
Positioning
Research Methods
Spatial Decision Support
Terrestrial Data Acquisition
Third Term
60 credits
MSc individual project

3 Aims and strengths of the course
Overall aims
The MSc in Geographic Information Science programme aims to provide a broadly
based education in Geographic Information Science principles and practical
elements following the latest technological and research developments in the
field. It is a feature of the teaching in the department that we aim to move
rapidly from a theoretical classroom-based exposition of a subject to its practical
implementation.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Explain the general concepts and science of GIS - demonstrating a good

grasp of theories from Geomatics, Geography, Computer Science,
Statistics, Environmental Engineering and related areas.
Operate and be competent in the use of commercial software, at a level

that is required by companies and public sector bodies that routinely use
GIS.
Implement typical GIS routines (algorithms using a high level language

such as Java or Python); students will be able to tackle problems by
writing computer programmes that use GIS functionality.
Manage data acquisition and digital mapping projects - including quality

control over the acquisition of spatial data.
Describe the structures used for spatial data and apply query languages in
relation to database management systems.
Understand the principles underlying the analysis of spatial data; students

will be able to reveal information that is hidden in spatial data by
applying statistical and spatial analysis techniques.
Undertake user requirement analyses, usability testing, prepare project

proposals and draft invitations to tender for projects, write proposals for
system
procurement,
conduct
benchmark
tests
and
oversee
implementation programmes - all project management skills that will serve
students in future project and activities.
Strengths of the course

So why come to UCL? What are the specialist areas available here as opposed to
anywhere else? We believe they include:
A strong focus on technology and in-depth study of practical

implementation of the latest technology;
A multidisciplinary programme with a broad selection of optional modules;
An internationally recognised academic staff composed of leading experts
in the field;
Close collaboration with industry;
Active involvement in research projects;
An excellent study and research environment.
These particular strengths can best be illustrated with direct examples.

5
A strong focus on technology and in-depth study of practical implementation

of the latest technology
The GIS Principles and Technology module not only introduces students to GIS
principles, but also to practical aspects. The lab sessions demonstrate, on a stepby-step basis, how to use ArcGIS thoroughly from data integration to spatial
analysis, network analysis, and image analysis. Students are assessed through a
group project where they further learn how to use these principles and practical
aspects to solve real spatial problems, using existing case studies and real data.
Moreover, our course is unique since it provides a module on Web and Mobile
GIS which covers Internet theory; GIS concepts related to location based
services (e.g. find my nearest, push marketing, routing applications); concepts of
software development and design; programming (including HTML, CSS,
JavaScript, Asynchronous Java and XML (AJAX), PHP) and use of Application
Programming Interfaces.
Our course is also unique in providing a module on Spatio-Temporal Analysis and
Data Mining, which aims to fill the gap in dealing with the emerging needs of
mining large datasets. This module introduces advanced theories and techniques
to model and analyse spatial and/or temporal data with applications in
environmental monitoring, transport modelling and crime analysis. It includes the
statistical regression method: STARIMA (Spatio-Temporal Auto-Regressive
Regression) and machine learning approaches: ANN (Artificial Neural Networks)
and SVM (Support Vector Machines). It also introduces contemporary
technologies of visualisation and simulation.
A multidisciplinary programme with a broad selection of optional modules
The course provides a wide selection of optional modules following the current
multidisciplinary trends in the GIS field. This diverse spread of modules in
engineering, social sciences, computer science and environmental studies enables
students to tailor their degrees to suit their specific interests. For more details,
see modules - Term 2.
Internationally recognised academic staff composed of leading experts in the

field
Our academic staff are recognised internationally as authorities in their field. They
include Professor Paul Longley, leading author of the best-selling GIS textbook;
Professor Muki Haklay, who leads the Extreme Citizen Science group; Mike De
Smith, leading expert in spatial analysis, and Dr Tao Cheng, leading expert in
spatio-temporal data mining. Our academic staff bring an impressive breadth of
expertise and experience, together with their passion for their subjects and
teaching.
Close collaboration with industry
Apart from maintaining good relationships with colleagues in the industry, we are
members of the Open GIS Consortium and therefore have access to the latest
industrial developments. We enjoy a close connection with the Ordnance Survey,
and every year we offer research projects in collaboration with their virtual
research unit. We also conduct projects with end-user organisations in many
sectors; for example, Crossrail, Marks and Spencer; Tesco; The NHS; The
Metropolitan Police; Ordnance Survey, Ove Arup; Local authorities; Transport for
London; Port of London Authority; Thames Estuary Partnership; European Space
Agency; Reuters foundation; RICS; Mapinfo; Qinetiq; The Met Office; Shell;
Environmental Resource Management (ERM) and many others. We also invite a
6

number of industry guest lecturers to speak for our modules and research
seminars. These close relationships are beneficial for the recruitment of our
students to permanent positions on completion of the MSc.
Active involvement in research projects
We have strong and reputable research teams composed of academics, research

fellows and associates and PhD students that lead research of specific GIS
aspects at an international level, and which are funded by research councils and
organisations in the UK and European Union. Our students have the chance to
work with our research teams and gain the guidance and support that it is
necessary during their MSc projects. There is a separate section giving examples
of existing research projects (Section 11).
An excellent study and research environment
The students attending the course have free access to software provided by UCL
during this period; this includes downloads such as the latest version of ArcGIS
(11), MATLAB and MapInfo. Moreover, the students have access to the UCL
library, but also the British library, which is a just door-step away. The students
enjoy free enrolment to courses offered by UCL graduate school; The Graduate
School's Skills Development Programme is open to all graduate research students
at UCL. The purpose of the programme is to provide the opportunity to expand
students generic research and personal transferable skills. These skills are
intended to aid research at UCL and to enhance life skills and employability. More
details can be found at http://courses.grad.ucl.ac.uk/.
Moreover, our students have the unique opportunity to attend the Geospatial
Science seminar series; a weekly term-time forum that discusses current
research and ideas, as well as hosting speakers from prospective employers. The
programme comprises a mixture of invited international and UK speakers, and
researchers at the postgraduate and postdoctoral levels in UCL. The intended
audience is our own MSc Geographic Information Science and MSc Geospatial
Analysis students (who may find the sessions useful in formulating research
questions and dissertation proposals of their own), PhD researchers and staff
involved in our various research programmes and grants. More details can be
found at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/gis/seminars.
UCL also offers many research seminars such as the Bite-Sized Lunchtime
Lectures, which are a great way to find out what's going on at UCL. In just one
lunch-hour, one or two speakers from across UCL's disciplines talk about the area
of study that they love.

4 University College London
In 2009, UCL climbed to
fourth place in the annual
Times Higher Education QS
World
University
Rankings, confirming its
standing
as
Londons
global
university.
The
meteoric progression up
the tables in recent years
reflects the outstanding
quality
of
UCLs
community of academics
and
students.
The
university is one of the
foremost in the UK for
research and innovation,
and
is
dedicated
to
harnessing its exceptional
research for positive social
and economic benefit: no
fewer than 21 Nobel
prize-winners
were
nurtured by the UCL
community.
This community continues
to pursue the highest
standards of academic
rigour and has earned admiration in the higher education domain for its strategies
to pool research expertise across a wide range of disciplines, to deliver the
highest standards in teaching, and to attract the brightest students from all over
the globe. Student life at UCL is rich and challenging; we provide the
opportunities and leadership in teaching, research, entrepreneurship,
volunteering and overseas study. In fact, 34% of UCL students come from outside
the UK, from approximately 140 countries around the world, and our research
reaches the farthest corners of the globe; from the conservation of antiquities in
Iraq to the transformation of engineering research in Kazakhstan.
UCL was founded in 1826 as a secular alternative to the universities of Oxford
and Cambridge. Prior to this, the benefits of a university education in England
were restricted to men who were members of the Church of England. UCL was
founded to challenge this discrimination, providing a radical alternative to
Oxbridges social exclusivity, religious restrictions and academic constraints, thus
opening up English higher education for the first time to people of all beliefs and
social backgrounds. Today, it remains fervently progressive and is one of the
worlds leading multidisciplinary universities, with a global reach and universal
vision.

5 Research environment
UCL is a research intensive university. In a department such as Civil,
Environmental & Geomatic Engineering, the annual income from research is
around 5 million. Rather than being seen as a distraction from teaching
students, the philosophy at UCL is that the whole learning experience is enriched
by contact with academic staff who are clearly at the forefront of their fields. This
is as true for staff involved in the MSc in Geographic Information Science as it is
for all staff, and students on the course come into contact with the latest
developments in the field.
To give a very brief flavour of this excellence, some examples are given below of
current or recent projects in the department that are relevant to the Geographic
Information Science course.
STANDARD - Research Group (Led by Prof. Tao Cheng)
UCL, together with Transport for London, are working on a three year EPSRCfunded research project to investigate spatio-temporal characteristics of data
from transport networks, led by Dr Tao Cheng (PI) and Professor Benjamin
Heydecker (Co-PI). The STANDARD project (www.standard.cege.ucl.ac.uk)
encompasses and builds upon a broad range of modelling approaches in spatiotemporal analysis, complexity science and state of the art 3D visualisation. The
project involves two Postdoctoral Research Fellows (Dr. Ioannis Tsapakis and Dr.
Jiaqiu Wang) and four PhD students (Berk Anbaroglu, James Haworth, Ed Manley
and Garavig Tanaksaranond). Examples of their individual research projects
include:
Impact Analysis on Journey Speeds in the Greater London Area
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Ioannis Tsakakis researches factors that affect
journey speeds in the Greater London area. These factors include: a) different
intensities of precipitation and snow, b) incidents, c) work zones, d) special
events and breakdowns, e) temporal factors within a day, f) temporal factors
within a year, g) other traffic-related variables such as traffic composition, and h)
other non-transportation-related variables.
Detecting Non-recurrent Congestion on Road Networks
PhD student Berk Anbaroglu examines the analysis of the development and
dissemination of traffic congestion on the road network across time.
Modelling the Evolution of Unexpected
Networks through Multi-Agent Simulation
Incidents
on
Urban
Road
EngD student Ed Manley looks at how

human
behaviour
influences
the
development
and
movement
of
congestion around the road network.
By better understanding the way in
which people remember and utilise the
urban environment, we can begin to
grasp how motorists might behave in
response
to
road
closures
and
incidents. The project is using a wealth
of taxi driver route data to gain
insights into this behaviour.
9
Visualisation of Traffic in Space-time

Although a large amount of traffic data
have been collected, we are still unable
to fully understand traffic congestion.
The task becomes more difficult when
traffic data is overly abundant and is tied
to space and time. In this research
project
PhD
student
Garavig
Tanaksaranond attempts to understand
road network performance in relation to
space-time, using data gathered from
monitoring devices in London and using
visualisation techniques.
Dynamic Spatio-temporal Modelling of Network Data

Most existing spatio-temporal forecasting models consider the spatio-temporal
relationship between locations to be fixed. However, real time data collected on
networks often displays properties that are dynamic in both space and time. In
this research project, PhD student James Haworth aims to develop a dynamic
model for forecasting network data that takes into account the changing
relationship between parts of the network over time.
Crime, Policing and Citizenship (CPC) Space-Time Interactions of

Dynamic Networks (Led by Dr Tao Cheng, with Co-Is: Prof. Kate Bowers,
UCL Crime Science; Prof. Paul Longley, UCL Goeography; Prof. John
Shawe-Taylor, UCL Computer Science)
Crime continues to cast a shadow over citizens well-being in large cities today,
while also imposing huge economic and social costs. Prevention, early detection
and strategic mitigation are all critical to effective policy intervention, especially in
domains where coordinated responses are required. This research will use an
integrated approach to space-time analysis in order to analyse crime patterns and
police activity patterns and community characteristics, in order to understand and
predict the when, where and what of how criminal activities emerge and are
sustained. Four research associates are working on this project, with several PhD
students and colleagues from Metropolitan Police (www.ucl.ac.uk/cpc).
10

Understanding Travel Behaviour from Sparse GPS data using Machine
Learning and GIS (Led by Prof Tao Cheng)
Travel surveys are one of
the most important ways
of obtaining the critical
information needed for
transportation planning
and decision making. In
this
project,
PhD
students Adel Bolbol,
aims to infer travel
information such as the
transportation mode to
complete travel surveys,
minimising the cost in
time and budget of
conventional travel diaries. The project adopts machine learning and spatial
topology techniques to infer the transportation mode from coarse-grained GPS
data. The projects framework uses speed and acceleration data to perform this
classification, along with understanding the relationship of GPS trajectories with
different transportation networks. This project is funded by EPSRC.
Empowering Web GIS for Public Engagement in Spatial Issues (EPSRC
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Dr Artemis Skarlatidou)
Providing lay people with information essential for them to become informed
citizens and actively participate in policy-making is a complex process, and
research in this area may have a substantial societal impact. The role of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and especially GIS in Public
Engagement (PE) is widely acknowledged. This project aims to provide an
engineering solution to improve the quality of information and interaction using
Web GIS representations of a public-interest issue. The case study of nuclear
waste disposal is used and how risk information should be designed to address
lay peoples concerns in the UK is further explored. Arup is also involved in this
project.
Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) - Research Group (Led by Prof. Muki

Haklay)
'Extreme'
Citizen
Science
(ExCiteS) is extreme in three
ways: firstly, it aims to develop
the theories and methodologies
to allow any community to start
a Citizen Science project that
will deal with the issues that
concern
them
from
biodiversity to food production.
Secondly, it will provide a set of
tools that can be accessed by
any user, regardless of their
level of literacy, to collect, analyse and act on information by using established
scientific methods. Finally, it aims to use the methodologies of Citizen Science
around the globe by developing a technology, through collaborative activities,
that can involve communities from housing estates in London to hunter-gatherers
11

and forest villagers in the Congo Basin. Students involved include: Elles van
Asseldonk, Michalis Vitos, Cindy Regalado and Diana Mastracci.
Adaptable Suburbs (Professor Muki Haklay, Professor L. Vaughan, Dr.
Claire Ellul, Dr. Victor Buchli and Dr. Sam Griffiths)
Adaptable Suburbs seeks to
understand why the networks
of streets and spaces work well
in twenty of the London
suburbs
already
studied.
Extensive,
multi-disciplinary
analysis is being used to
explore the influence of social
interaction
and
spatial
movement on the economic
vitality and adaptability of
places. Key techniques include
space syntax analysis of street network accessibility; historical analysis of change
over time; street-level ethnography, interviewing the people who use and trade in
each centre and mapping their spatial networks; and detailed town centre
analysis using socio-economic data. PhD students involved include: Ashley
Dhanani, David Jeevendrampillai, Ruthie Carlisle, and Patrick Rickles.
EU FP7 Project 'everyAware' (Professor Muki Haklay and Dr. Claire Ellul)
- A Collaborative Project with the Fondazione ISI - Institute for Scientific
Interchange, Italy; Sapienza Universit di Roma, Italy; Gottfried Wilhelm
Leibniz Universitt Hannover, Germany; and the Flemish Institute of
Technological Research, Belgium
EveryAware is an EU project intending to integrate environmental monitoring,
awareness enhancement and behavioural change by creating a new technological
platform combining sensing technologies, networking applications and dataprocessing tools (http://www.everyaware.eu/). Questions to be examined by the
project include the technical possibilities of substituting a large number of lowcost noise and pollution sensors for fewer high-grade devices, and the influence
that personalised information about exposure to noise or air pollution will have on
an end user's behaviour in his or her daily life. PhD students involved include:
Louise Francis and Christian Nold.
Identifying Learning Benefits of Google Earth in Education (Professor
Muki Haklay, Richard Treves [Geography, Southampton])
The project aims to evaluate the
effectiveness of combining Google
Earth Tours and Active Learning in
education. We contend that there is
great educational value in combining
the advantages of the rich visualisation
of Google Earth Tours with student
activities.
Google
Earth
will
be
primarily used in the form of semiinteractive animation (Google Earth
Tours) integrated in a web browser and
12

combined with other learning material. People involved: Paolo Battino.
Design and Usability of Geovisualisation for Healthcare Informatics
(Professor Muki Haklay, Dr. Anna Cox)
EngD student Jessica Wardlaw
researches
the
design
and
usability of tools used for analysis
and visualisation of data in health
service management, with a focus
on promoting their use to identify
spatial patterns in health data.
Spatial patterns such as the
locations of population groups at
risk of particular health outcomes
can inform the location of new
healthcare services and ultimately
assist in the commissioning of
services where they are needed
and the reduction of health
inequalities. This project is funded by EPSRC and Dr. Foster Intelligence, and an
Industrial Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.
Mobile Gaming, Citizen Science and Biodiversity (Professor Muki Haklay,
Dr. Anthony Steed and Dr. Nathalie Pettorelli [London Zoological
Society])
EngD student Gianfranco Gliozzo researches the design and implementation of
mobile games to promote conservation and biodiversity. The objective of this
project is the creation of tools to introduce a wide arena of participants to citizen
science projects to support ZSL initiatives. This project is sponsored by EPSRC
and the Zoological Society of London.
SECOA - Solutions for Environmental Contrasts in Coastal Areas (Dr Claire
Ellul partnering with London Metropolitan University)
This project is evaluating the use of Spatial Data Infrastructures to facilitate data
sharing in a multi-disciplinary project where the main focus is climate change and
conflict in coastal zones. A total of eight partner organisations are involved, from
the UK, Italy, Israel, India, Vietnam, Belgium, Portugal and Sweden. To date, the
project has identified that standards-based data sharing (e.g. INSPIRE) is
perhaps over-complicated for use by academics who are not GIS experts. An
alternative, simplified, data sharing mechanism has thus been proposed and
developed.
Improving Performance of 3D GIS on the Web (Dr Claire Ellul)
City models are becoming more easily available and can be derived from sources
such as Light Detection and Ranging, close range laser scanning and
photogrammetry. Applications using such models include visualisation (e.g. what
will a new building look like here) but can also be more analytical - flood
modelling, analysis of solar panel potential, network analysis for mobile
telecommunications, tunnel boring. Many of these applications could be made
available over the internet, but this is limited by the large volume of data in a
standard city model which takes time to retrieve and display on screen. This
13

research is examining ways to reduce the data volume prior to its transmission to
a web browser.
3D models in Building Information Modelling (Dr Jan Bohem and Dr Claire
Ellul)
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a process developed to improve the flow
of information about a building throughout its lifecycle i.e. from construction
through commissioning until demolition. BIM should provide a common platform
that different stakeholders can supply and retrieve information thereby reducing
waste through enhanced decision making.A key part of the BIM process is a
central geometric model that represents the construction in 3D. PhD student
Charles Thomson investigates this 3D model, from initial geometry capture in the
real world to the generation and storage of the virtual world model while keeping
the workflow and outputs compatible to the BIM process.
14

6 Equipment and facilities
There is a wide range of facilities (e.g. an IT suite, seminar rooms, lecture
theatres, libraries, social spaces, a refectory and additional facilities provided by
UCL and ULU student unions) at the main UCL campus accessible to all UCL
graduate and postgraduate students. The Department of Civil, Environmental and
Geomatic Engineering further provides computer cluster rooms equipped with
specialist software. Students are also provided with one-year licenses for
specialist software which can be installed in their laptops.
We have close links with the biggest vendors in the area of GIS. These include
ESRI inc. and their ArcGIS software is being used to teach the principles of GIS
via their virtual campus learning environment. We are a registered research
laboratory with Intergraph, which provides us with access to their software and
technical support - the software is being used for teaching and research;
furthermore, we have links with Mapinfo and their software is used for teaching
and research purposes. Finally, Laser-Scan and Snowflake software is used to
learn advanced applications of GIS in a database environment and other
application packages are also available for students on the course (such as
Cadcorp SIS).
Students of the department are introduced to, and trained in, this software
throughout the teaching terms and can utilise the suite for their individual
research projects in the third term. Apart from the GIS specialist software, the
department further provides students studying for their MSc in Geographic
Information Science with high-quality printers and survey equipment (e.g.
reflectorless Leica TS06 total stations, a range of automatic levels and ten new
Leica Zeno handheld GIS/GPS devices). We also have a ScanStation 2 and a
FARO Photon 120 laser scanner, and on the close-range side we have a Nikon
MMD and two Arius 3D colour scanners. We also possess two Nikon D700 digital
SLR cameras which are used in photogrammetry. Eye-tracking equipment and a
usability lab are also available.
15

7 Staff
Tao Cheng (Course Director)
Tao Cheng is Professor of GeoInformatics. She has studied and
lectured in China, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, France and the
UK. Her research interests span network complexity, integrated
spatio-temporal data mining, spatial-temporal data modelling and
visualisation, and uncertainty and quality of geographic
information. She has over 150 publications and is a past recipient
of the U. V. Helava Award for the best paper in the ISPRS Journal
of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. She is also the Director
of UCL SpaceTimeLab, a multidisciplinary research Centre that
focus on studies of spatio-temporal complexity in society, economics and
engineering. The SpaceTimeLab has 12 members: two academics, four PDRAs
and six PhD students. Tao Cheng has carried out numerous consultancies and
research with various organisation and companies such as Arup, Transport for
London, and Metropolitan Police London. Tao Cheng runs the GIS Principles &
Technology and Spatio-Temporal Analysis and Data Mining modules.
Mike de Smith
Mike de Smith''s academic background is in Geography (BSc, MA,
PhD), and Mathematics (BSc). From 1974-9 he was a researcher
in the Communications Studies Group (CSG) which was initially
based at University College London (UCL). During the period
1979-2001 he ran a number of telecommunications consultancy
and computer systems businesses, latterly focusing on real-time
financial information systems. Dr. de Smith's academic research
covers the fundamental building blocks of spatial analysis, notably
the concepts of measurement, distance and the determination of
optimal paths; he is the lead author of the Geospatial Analysis book and web site.
Mike de Smith runs the Principles of Spatial Analysis module and organises and
leads the field trip in the second term.
Paul Densham
Paul Densham joined UCL in 1994 as a lecturer in Geographic
Information and in 1996 he was promoted to Reader - prior to this,
he was Assistant Professor of Geography at the State University of
New York at Buffalo. Whilst at SUNY Buffalo, he was a Principal
Investigator and Research Fellow in the National Centre for
Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA). Paul Densham holds
a B.A.(Hons) in Geography and Economics, an MSc in Operational
Research and a PhD in Geography. His PhD thesis is entitled
Decision Support for Reorganizing Settlement Systems which
developed methods for the interactive elicitation and validation of people's
preferences and for solving large location-allocation models. He led the NCGIA's
sixth research initiative Spatial Decision Support Systems with Michael Goodchild;
the NCGIA's seventeenth research initiative, Collaborative Spatial Decision-Making
(CSDM), with Marc Armstrong and Karen Kemp; and the NCGIA's research
investigation Parallel Computation and GIS. Paul Densham runs the
Representation, Structures and Algorithms module.
16

Claire Ellul
Claire Ellul joined the department (CEGE) as a lecturer in
Geographic Information Science in 2010, following a 10-year
career as a GIS consultant in the UK, Europe and the Middle
East. She is interested in technical and data-related research in
GIS, and specialises in spatial databases and software
development. Current research themes include three-dimensional
GIS, spatial data management, data quality and metadata and she
is conducting research into how to persuade non-GIS research
teams to capture and use spatial metadata, the use of GIS in
Citizen Science and Community Engagement, teaching GIS
principles to researchers from other disciplines. Claire Ellul runs the Web & Mobile
GIS module and contributes to the databases and spatial databases element of
the Geographic Information System Design module.
Muki Haklay
Muki Haklay is Professor of Geographic Information Science and
the director of UCL Extreme Citizen Science group. The group is
dedicated to allowing any community, regardless of their literacy,
to use scientific methods and tools to collect, analyse, interpret
and use information about their area and activities. His research
interests include Public Access and use of Environmental
Information; Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability
Engineering aspects of GIS; and Societal aspects of GIS use - in
particular, participatory mapping and Citizen Science. Muki Haklay runs the
Geographic Information System Design and Research Methods modules.
Paul Longley
Paul Longley (B.Sc., PhD, D.Sc., AcSS) is Professor of
Geographic Information Science at the Department of
Geography, UCL. His publications include 14 books and more
than 125 refereed journal articles and contributions to edited
collections. He has held over 40 research grants and has
supervised more than 35 PhD students (most funded by
research councils). He is a co-editor of the journal Environment
and Planning B and a member of five other editorial boards. He
has held ten externally-funded visiting appointments and given
over 150 conference presentations and external seminars. He teaches Geographic
Information Systems and Science and is a co-author of the best-selling book of
that name. Paul Longley runs the Principles of Spatial Analysis module.
Pablo Mateos
Pablo Mateos is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the Department
of Geography, University College London (UCL). He completed his
PhD in 2007 at UCL with the topic 'The ontology of ethnicity based
upon personal names: with implications for neighbourhood
profiling'. In it he developed an improved ontology of ethnicity that
maps into reliable measures at the level of the individual, using
such measurements to improve public service delivery and support
policy applications at neighbourhood level. After a successful
management career of 10 years in the logistics sector in several countries, in
2003 he undertook a career change to work in academic research. Pablo Mateos
runs the Geodemographics and Population module.
17

Dietmar Backes
Dietmar Backes is one of the departments geomatics systems managers,
providing support for the use of equipment and software in the department,
particularly focusing on the Lidar and imagery side. Dietmar Backes coordinates
the Mapping Science module, which draws upon the expertise of several of the
departmental staff.
Jan Boehm
Jan Boehm has a background in Computer Science, for which he holds a Masters
degree from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA, and a Diploma
degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He also holds a Doctoral
degree from the department of Aerospace Engineering and Geodesy at the
University of Stuttgart. Since 2010 he has been a lecturer in Photogrammetry and
3D Imaging at University College London. He has published more than 50 papers
on the topics of close-range photogrammetry, three-dimensional point cloud
processing and robotics. His current research projects include creating building
information models (BIM) from point clouds, detailed faade modelling from
terrestrial and mobile laser scanning and developing a human measurement
system from low cost natural user interface sensors. Jan Boehm contributes to
the teaching on Mapping Science; Terrestrial Data Acquisition; Airborne Data
Acquisition and Image Understanding.
Paul Groves
Paul Groves joined UCL in 2009 after 12 years at DERA and QinetiQ. He leads a
programme of navigation and positioning research within UCLs Space Geodesy
and Navigation Laboratory. Paul specialises in the integration and mathematical
modelling of all types of navigation systems. He is an author of about 40 technical
publications, including the book Principles of GNSS, Inertial and Multi-Sensor
Integrated Navigation Systems. He holds a BA/MA and a DPhil in physics from the
University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and an
associate editor of both Navigation: Journal of the ION and IEEE Transactions on
Aerospace and Electronic Systems. Paul Groves contributes to the Mapping
Science module.
Jonathan Iliffe
Jonathan Iliffe's expertise lies in the area of geodesy, specifically those issues
that relate to coordinate reference systems national or local, on land or at sea.
Current or very recent research projects include determining the height corrector
surfaces for use in the British Isles (transforming GPS data to the local height
system in each country), the UKHO-sponsored VORF project (transforming GPS
data to the different coordinate reference systems used on land and at sea) and
the development of the SnakeGrid system (which gives a near-unity scale factor
along very large linear engineering projects such as railways, highways and
pipelines). He acts as a consultant on international land and maritime boundary
delimitations, and advises governments, survey and engineering companies and
railway organisations on the geodetic aspects of large infrastructure projects.
Together with Roger Lott, he is the author of Datums and Map Projections, a
standard textbook for students and professionals around the world. In 2008
Jonathan Iliffe was awarded the Richard Carter Prize (Geospatial Engineer, 2008)
by the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors for his work on SnakeGrid and
projects such as OSGM02 and VORF. Jonathan Iliffe runs and contributes to the
18

teaching on Mapping Science, Management/Group Project and Ocean and Coastal
Zone Management.
Liz Jones
Liz Jones is a Teaching Fellow in Geomatics and a Geomatic Systems Manager.
She joined the department after working as a surveyor in the 3D team of
Plowman Craven, a UK survey company. Prior to this, she completed an MA in
Egyptology (Liverpool) and an MSc in GIS (UCL). Liz is the GIS officer and
surveyor for a number of archaeological projects, including the Gurob Harem
Palace Project and the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project. She also maintains
the UCLGeomatics blog and is the Departmental Advisor to Women Students. Liz
Jones contributes to the Terrestrial Data Acquisition and Positioning modules and
provides practical support on Ocean and Coastal Zone Management.
Stuart Robson
Professor Stuart Robson heads the Photogrammetry, 3D Imaging and Metrology
Research Group. His personal research focus is in the traceable on-line dynamic
3D co-ordination and monitoring of engineering, medical and cultural objects and
structures using photogrammetric image networks and sequences, vision
metrology and laser scanning. Following these themes, he has active research
projects in the engineering sector with Network Rail, Airbus, NASA and NPL and in
heritage with the British Museum, the Science Museum, Arius3D and the SME IET.
Stuart has contributed to more than 120 publications including co-authoring a
major text book, Close Range Photogrammetry: Principles, Techniques and
Applications. Stuart Robson contributes to the Terrestrial Data Acquisition
module.
Richard Simons
Richard's main research interests lie in the field of Coastal Engineering, in which
he has made a major contribution to the study of wave-current interaction,
providing an insight into fundamental fluid processes and related interactions with
the seabed. He has a particular interest in marine aggregate dredging and
supervised a recent project using a new cellular automata model to predict the
long-term behaviour of the seabed and benthos after dredging. In the broader
field of coastal morphology, another project has applied novel statistical methods
to predict long-term morphological development of the seabed. In the field of
fluid-structure interaction, extensive tests are being performed to train and
validate a neural network model of 3D wave effects around submerged
breakwaters; advanced 3D flow measurements are being made to assess the
stability of scour protection for various levels of rock misalignment, and an EngD
project with H.R. Wallingford is investigating scour around complex foundations
relevant to the marine renewables industry. Richard Simons contributes to the
Ocean and Coastal Zone Management module.
Marek Ziebart
Marek Ziebart is a Professor in Space Geodesy, which is the science and
engineering of using satellites in orbit around planets to measure dynamic
19

characteristics such as the gravity field, sea level and ice cap variations, as well
as plate tectonics. In 2007, GPS World named him as one of the 50 Leaders to
Watch in recognition of his contributions to the global navigation and positioning
industry. He holds a PhD in Satellite Geodesy and Astrodynamics, and is a
member of the NASA/CNES Ocean Surface Topography Science Working Team.
He is a contributor to news items and documentaries on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio
4 (Today programme), BBC Radio 5live, BBC News 24 and the World Service. He
has carried out numerous consultancies and research contracts for clients such as
the UK Hydrographic Office, the European Space Agency, Tritech Rail, NASA, the
US Air Force, QinetiQ, and Ordnance Survey. The UCL Satellite Geodesy and
Navigation Research Group has 12 members: four academics, three PDRAs and
five PhD students. Marek Ziebart contributes to the Positioning and Ocean and
Coastal Zone Management modules.
8 Programme review and accreditation

In common with other geomatics MSc programmes in the department, the MSc in
Geographic Information Science is accredited by the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS). This means that passing at MSc level affords an
entry route into that institution for graduates of the programme. In order to gain
this accreditation, details of the syllabus are supplied to the RICS, and then on an
20

annual basis further information is supplied on qualifications of entrants,
destinations of graduates, and so on. There is also an annual partnership
meeting between the RICS and university representatives, with attendees invited
from industry. The course is further linked to the Association of Geographical
Information (AGI) - the professional body of the GIS industry in the UK and is
also accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as a first
stage in PhD training.
The programme, the department itself and, more widely, UCL, are subject to a
hierarchy of quality control procedures. These start at the level of the individual
modules, with a consideration of the marks awarded and any problems
encountered, and then work their way up through a consideration of the
programme as a whole, the department, and finally UCL itself being subject to the
external review of its quality control apparatus.
Student feedback into these procedures takes several forms, including
questionnaires and round table discussions, but as with any surveying course the
experience of working together on field courses means there are many
opportunities for students to comment on the programme.
Separate to this process, there is a system of external examiners to ensure that
the academic standards of the degree match the national and international
norms. Thus, all exam papers are sent to the external examiner for review before
being signed off; the examiner has access to all student work and reviews the
marking, and is present at the final examiners meeting at which degrees are
awarded.
9 Entry requirements
The minimum entry requirement for the MSc in Geographic Information Science is
a first or an upper second class honours degree in a cognate subject at
undergraduate level (generally a BSc) from a UK university or equivalent from an
overseas institution. Examples of cognate degrees would include: engineering,
environmental science, human geography, physical geography, geology, forestry,
mathematics, oceanography and physics.
The essential point
Information Science,
study that prepares
analysis of data, and
also considered.
is that before embarking on the MSc in Geographic

students should already have followed a programme of
them for scientific analysis, report writing, the statistical
so on. Applicants with relevant professional experience are
The UCL Registry has extensive knowledge and experience of overseas

institutions and their marking schemes, and is able to provide an assessment of
how they compare against UK university standards for any applicant.
Language requirements
Non-native English speakers are required to take a university recognised test of
academic English language proficiency. A number of qualifications and tests are
recognised and students can refer to the Qualifications Recognised by UCL for the
Purpose of Satisfying the Graduate English Language Proficiency Requirement in
UCLs Academic Manual.
21
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/part-4/pgenglish-language-proficiency-requirement
For more information, please see:
Average age of students on this MSc

It is worth pointing out that although the minimum age for enrolling on the MSc is
21 (this being the effective minimum for a graduate of a British undergraduate
degree), in practice the average age may generally be slightly older than this.
Some graduates come to us with a few years of general experience of work; for
example, in the IT industry, or have more specific experience of working in the
field and are coming back to university for further study of specialist areas.
However, there are plenty of others who join the course without any previous
work experience.
10 Assessment
At the programme level, the minimum standards required are:
MSc Pass:
50% weighted course average in ALL taught modules

and
22
No more than 30 credit points at less than 50% (condoned fail grades
may be granted between 40-49% at Board of Examiners discretion). No
marks below 40% are allowed
and
50% (minimum) in dissertation
MSc Merit
60% credit-weighted average over ALL modules (including dissertation)

and
and
No marks below 50%, no condoned fails, no re-sits, and all marks are
based on first attempts.
MSc Distinction:
70% credit-weighted average over ALL modules (including dissertation)

and
and
No marks below 50%, no condoned fails, no re-sits, and all marks are
based on first attempts
N.B The taught modules have a weight of 120 credit points. The dissertation has
a weight of 60 credit points.
Individual modules may be assessed either by coursework or by an unseen
written examination or by a combination of the two.
A summary of the method of assessment of each module, together with details of
the nature of the examination (where assessed by a written exam) or of how
many pieces of coursework need to be submitted and their credit value (where
assessed by coursework) is given in the following table.
Module Title
Credit value
Assessment
GIS Principles & Technology
15
100% Coursework
Mapping Science
15
100% Exam
First Term
23
Principles of Spatial Analysis
15
100% Coursework
Representation, Structures
and Algorithms
15
100% Coursework
Geographic Information
System Design
15
100% Coursework
Spatio-Temporal Analysis &

Data Mining
15
100% Coursework
Web & Mobile GIS
15
100% Coursework
Airborne Data Acquisition
15
100% Coursework
Geodemographics &
Population Geography
15
100% Coursework
Image Understanding
15
50% Coursework and

50% Exam
Management/Group Project
15
50% Exam and 50%

Coursework
Network & Locational

Analysis
15
100% Coursework
Ocean & Coastal Zone

Management
15
40% Coursework and

60% Exam
Positioning
15
50% Coursework and

50% Exam
Research Methods
15
100% Coursework
Spatial Decision Support
15
100% Coursework
Terrestrial Data Acquisition
15
100% Coursework
Second Term (Core Modules)
Options
11 Individual MSc projects
Individual MSc projects form one third of the total credit value of the
course, and are a means through which students can demonstrate a deep
understanding of the subject. The aim of the project is to produce work
that has a research element and is in principle of interest to a wider
community than those immediately involved. That is, the MSc project is
something distinct from a routine professional job and is intended to
24
launch students to some extent into the unknown: in several cases it has
led to published papers. In most cases it fosters resourcefulness, as they
are expected to act as the liaison point between their academic
supervisors and other bodies involved (such as industrial sponsors). In all
cases it encourages students to think deeply about their chosen field, to
research widely in published literature, and to write clear and concise
reports.
Some examples of MSc projects that have been carried out by students on the
MSc in Geographic Information Science in 2012 are given below.
Rgis Garandeau
decision support for water system planning using standard

(i.e. UN and World Bank) and local datasets
Oluyemisi Adeyemi Comparing two 3D Geospatial Databases

Katherine Ryan
The geography of main & top-up shopping
Rachel Ng'Ethe
Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis using Analytic Hierarchy Process
Monsuru Adepeju
Exploratory Space Time Data Analysis of Crime Patterns in

Central London
Eva Waddup
Spatial Hotspot Analysis of 999 Incidents in Camden by

Incident Type
Jon Slade
Google Map's Journey-immersion
Steven DeRoy
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Land Access and

Water Rights
Julia Altenbuchner
Evaluating Rendering Performance of 3D City Models
Kelvin Wong
Ordnance Survey
Feng Xian
Integrating Metadata/Quality Information and GIS Software
Xiaoyan Yu
Mapping application for the Amazon Kindle
25

12 Careers and student profiles
The UCL MSc Geographic Information Science programme has produced hundreds
of well-trained graduates, who have gone on to have fulfilling careers and
extraordinary experiences. The range and quality of the career options that have
opened up before our graduates from local authorities to central government,
from consultancy to PhD programmes are an excellent advert for the quality in
depth of this Masters programme. Many of our graduates go on to work as GIS
Analyst for construction and planning companies (such as Arup and Crossrail), or
as Software Developers in leading professional software companies (such as ESRI
and MapInfo) by developing innovative spatial tools and specialised spatial
software, or as GIS Specialist for various companies and organisations (Shell,
M&S, Tesco, Environment Agency, Met Police, TfL, NHS, Ordnance Survey, just to
name a few) by delivering sophisticated GIS applications. Some of our graduates
are now pursuing research careers, and some are running their own companies.
Here we scrutinise the career profiles of some of our past students.
Catherine Emma (Kate) Jones (2002-2003)
I know its a clich but the MSc in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
changed my life. During the MSc my dissertation project was sponsored by a
local health care provider, which led onto PhD, the consequence of which was a
PostDoc and now I am a lecturer!
As a lecturer in Human Geography, I teach from between 10 to 200
undergraduates at a time, introducing them to the joys of digital mapping for
solving real world problems. As a lecturer the most useful skill you can perfect is
the art of multi-tasking as we combine teaching with research practice. This year
I successfully obtained my first research grant, awarded by JISC. The research
project will develop a web and mobile mapping application to explore the World
War 2 London Bomb Census Maps using data from The National Archives.
I enjoy being an academic I have more freedom and flexibility than a
conventional office job and what other job pays you to keep learning and
discovering?
Daniel James Lewis (2008-2009)
I chose to do the Masters in GIS as a result of my positive undergraduate
experience in quantitative geography; it was clear to me the GIS was a powerful
and practical tool, and that expertise in it would offer some substantial
opportunities. During the MSc I worked with Prof. Muki Haklay as he established
the direction of a major component of his research: citizen science. This
experience was formative, and inspired me to pursue a PhD, which I did with
Prof. Paul Longley in the area of GIS and health geography. My PhD explored
local provision of healthcare services in Southwark, London at a fine scale of
analysis, and was jointly sponsored by the ESRC and Southwark Primary Care
Trust.
This gave me the interest and expertise needed to progress to a research
position, which I did by moving to Queen Mary, University of London and
becoming a research fellow for Prof. Steve Cummins on a major 5 year NIHR
Public Health research grant. This research is looking at the impact of the Olympic
regeneration and its legacy on the health and wellbeing of young people in East
London. Im responsible for defining a lot of the spatial and environmental
26

variables crucial to understanding the Olympic legacy, and still find myself using
many of the techniques I originally learnt doing the MSc in GIS.
Sudip Pradhan(2004-2005), GIS/DSS Developer
Pursuing an MSc degree in Geographic Information Science at UCL was one of the
wisest decisions in my life. Having already worked in GIS for four years, I realized
that I needed an academic degree in the subject in order to further develop my
career in it. I am glad that I went to UCL for my master's degree for it not only
helped me to develop theoretical understanding of key topics of GIS but also
taught me practical skills which are quite relevant and useful in my job to date.
After completion of my MSc I worked as an Applications Developer at Geofutures,
Bath until August 2007 when I went back to Kathmandu, my hometown, and
rejoined my old organization, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD-http://www.icimod.org/). At ICIMOD, I focus on developing
GIS/DSS tools and applications while also contributing in other activities such as
database development, spatial modeling, spatial analysis, and trainings. In the
past, I designed and implemented Enterprise GIS at ICIMOD. Currently I lead the
development of web-based decision support applications in various thematic
areas (e.g. cryosphere, ecosystems and biodiversity, disaster preparedness and
management,
etc.)
under
SERVIR
Himalaya.
The
SERVIR
(http://www.servirglobal.net/) Himalaya is a joint initiative of ICIMOD, NASA and
USAID and is the third node of NASA's SERVIR programme.
Richard Johnston, UX Consultant (2009-10)
After a short career break following my undergraduate degree in Computer
Science I enrolled at UCL to add to my CV the credentials of learning at one of the
worlds top Universities. Coming from a computing background I wished to
broaden my technical skill set, and learn about the latest advancements in
technological development. In a field rife with a wide of opportunities of areas to
specialise in picking GIS I certainly made the right choice. Throughout the course
I was taught the knowledge and given assignments that asked for practical
application of methods at the forefront of the latest research. I was highly
impressed with the combination of tuition from leaders in their respective fields
(from both academic and industry backgrounds), and access to extra curricular
seminars and lecture series I was able to attend.
I decided to study on the GIS course to seek future career options, and thanks to
the diverse module options was able to find a specialism I found of professional
interest. In my case this was User Centered Design in application to Geospatial
Technologies, though it could have easily have been any number of the topics
covered in modules I chose to be on over the year. And whilst Ive not had to
revisit many of the subject areas I studied, the work ethic and high quality I was
expected to put into the work I delivered definitely taught me how to achieve at
the highest level. Most importantly for me, working in an environment that
obviously prides itself on a rigourous, yet forward thinking approach to teaching
the scientific method, my time at UCL has given me the confidence to succeed
both inside and outside of my now excelling career.
Thanks to the extremely supportive tutors I was also given the freedom to
develop my expertise (both theoretically and practically) in my chosen area of
interest during my dissertation. For the completion of this project I was provided
with links to Londons business scene, and in conjunction with a leading builder of
consumer internet sites developed a solution to benefit their commercial
enterprise. This gave me experience practically applying a wide selection of the in
27

depth GIS training from the taught course, and gave me real world exposure to
Londons fast paced Internet startup community. This exposure has since proved
vital in guaranteeing continuous employment in the competitive jobs market.
Finally I'd add that the experience I had being in and around the fantastic campus
at UCL, and in acknowledgement of the great people I met (both on and off the
course - many of whom I'm still in regular contact with), truly made for one of
the best (and most productive) years of my life thus far.
Zhi Huang (2010-2011), GIS Technician , University of Oxford
I chose further study on GIS in UCL after completing my undergraduate in China.
My GIS skills have been highly improved through various lectures covering GIS,
Remote Sense, GPS, Mapping, IT, Analytical methods etc.; and a number of
group and individual projects provided the opportunities to develop ability of
addressing the real-world issues such as wildfire assessment, flood modeling ,
wind farm site selection, and so on. For dissertation, I was working with Boots
UK on analysing the geographic factors impacting customer response to Boots
Christmas invitation, during which, both the company and my supervisor were
being very supportive.
After completion of my MSc, I worked as a GIS Officer at North East Scotland
Biological Records Centre, where I have successfully applied my techniques
gained through taught course to practical environment assessment and local
natural reservation project. Now, I am a GIS technician in University of Oxford,
and am focusing on epidemiological geographical research. I found my one-year
study in MSc GIS has equipped me with not only a sound skill set but also the
ability of learning new techniques effectively.
Steven DeRoy (2011-2012), President and Director of the Firelight Group
UCL's Master of Science in GIS program provided me with current and applicable
training that prepared me with advanced understandings of GIS technologies and
their application to solve real-world problems. Having worked in the field of GIS
since 1998, I was pleased with the high calibre level of the course, instructors
and facilities that enabled me to enhance my skills and abilities in this evolving
field of discipline. I would highly recommend the MSc in GIS program at UCL for
anyone interested in beginning or advancing their career in GIS.
Kelvin Wong (2011-2012), GIS Analyst
I chose to pursue an MSc in Geographic Information Systems for two reasons: 1)
to develop and expand my skillset; 2) to make myself more employable.
University College London was the obvious choice with its one-year intensive
course, international reputation and a cohort of incredibly talented staff.
From the offset, there was a steep learning curve to bring everyone to the same
standard on the basics of GIS. As the term progressed, the curriculum expanded
to other topics including statistical analysis, underlying structures and algorithms
of a GIS, programming, cartography, projections and transformations and a
whole wealth of other fascinating areas. The variety I was exposed to vastly
expanded my repertoire, but also allowed me to explore which topics I enjoyed
most and wanted to continue studying in the next term.
The second term allowed for optional modules whereby you were able to
specialize in your interests and build on your strengths. I was able to develop my
programming skills on the Web & Mobile GIS course as well as gaining database
28

management skills on the Spatial Databases course. Becoming acquainted with
different programming languages and their various nuances not only prepared me
into an adaptable and flexible GIS professional, but it was also fantastic for the
CV.
For my dissertation, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Ordnance Survey on
a sponsored project where I was able to combine elements of what I had learnt
from the taught courses in a real and practical way.
After the completion of my MSc, I joined WSP Group as a GIS Analyst where I
focused on development and transport based projects. Half of my time is spent on
client consultancy projects whereby I help generate maps and visualization of
data such as isochrones for assessing accessibility. The other half of my time is
reserved for GIS research and investigating innovative solutions that could
augment the companys processes. The MSc in GIS course at UCL has put me in
good stead for all eventualities; being around similarly passionate staff and
colleagues fostered an intellectually stimulating but also fun environment. I would
thoroughly recommend this course to any prospective students!
13 Final remarks
The UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science has been running for over twenty
years. In that time we have built a reputation for producing graduates who are
capable and competent, with a sound grasp of the principles and practice of GIS.
Youll find them all over the world running spatial analyses in construction and
planning projects, developing innovative spatial tools and specialised spatial
software, delivering sophisticated Web GIS applications, working in research and
lecturing or running their own company. Wherever they are, their UCL degree is
respected and valued; this is as true today as its always been, and were
investing in the equipment and appointing the staff to ensure it stays that way in
the future.
We have tried in this brochure to give as much information as possible about the
scope of the course, its particular strengths, the staff who contribute, and the
facilities available. If you do need to know more, take a look at our website or
feel free to contact us.
Otherwise, if you are thinking of applying to the course, or if you have employees
you are planning to send here for further training, or if you are looking for welltrained graduates to join your organisation we look forward to hearing from
you.
29

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CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOMATIC ENGINEERING

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

For entry in September 2013

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Collectively, these four modules introduce students to the fundamentals of

First, students select at least two of the following core modules:

Spatio-Temporal Analysis &

Web & Mobile GIS

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Course structure - at a glance

Four Compulsory Modules:

Web & Mobile GIS

MSc individual project

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Explain the general concepts and science of GIS - demonstrating a good

Operate and be competent in the use of commercial software, at a level

Implement typical GIS routines (algorithms using a high level language

Manage data acquisition and digital mapping projects - including quality

Understand the principles underlying the analysis of spatial data; students

Undertake user requirement analyses, usability testing, prepare project

Strengths of the course

A strong focus on technology and in-depth study of practical

These particular strengths can best be illustrated with direct examples.

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

A strong focus on technology and in-depth study of practical implementation

A multidisciplinary programme with a broad selection of optional modules

Internationally recognised academic staff composed of leading experts in the

Close collaboration with industry

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Active involvement in research projects

We have strong and reputable research teams composed of academics, research

An excellent study and research environment

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

EngD student Ed Manley looks at how

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Visualisation of Traffic in Space-time

Dynamic Spatio-temporal Modelling of Network Data

Crime, Policing and Citizenship (CPC) Space-Time Interactions of

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Extreme Citizen Science (ExCiteS) - Research Group (Led by Prof. Muki

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

8 Programme review and accreditation

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

is that before embarking on the MSc in Geographic

The UCL Registry has extensive knowledge and experience of overseas

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

Average age of students on this MSc

50% weighted course average in ALL taught modules

UCL MSc in Geographic Information Science

60% credit-weighted average over ALL modules (including dissertation)