Geographical Information Science MSc

Course overview

Geographical information is integrated into our day-to-day life and is crucial to a growing number of industries in both the public and private sectors.

Our Geographical Information Science MSc will provide you with in-depth and specialist knowledge of GIS techniques. You’ll focus on scientific, technical and computational aspects of Geographical Information Science (GIScience), with particular reference to the socioeconomic and environmental sciences.

Core modules introduce GIS, a rapidly evolving area in business and environmental applications. You’ll be introduced to GIS packages and a range of data sources/techniques, useful for those wanting to undertake social and environmental science research and those keen to understand the application of geotechnology as practitioners. You’ll study theories and concepts underpinning GIS and have the chance to explore topics including advanced spatial data visualisation, digital image processing, and geodemographics.

As technology continues to advance, more and more organisations will be seeking trained specialists in this field to help them drive their businesses forward – which is why studying this MSc could open you up to many career opportunities.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in a relevant subject such as geography, earth or environmental science, economics or a social science, mathematics, computer science or other subjects where good numeracy and/or computing skills can be demonstrated.

Applicants with any of the following will be considered on a case-by-case basis:

• Relevant work experience and professional training courses are viewed positively and are taken into account particularly for candidates whose first-degree grade falls below the normal minimum requirement.

You may also find our FAQs page useful.

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information, please contact the Admissions Team.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in listening, speaking and reading and 6.5 in writing. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Science (6 weeks) and Language for Science: General Science (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

Career opportunities

Geographical information science is becoming more and more integral to corporations worldwide, meaning your career opportunities when you graduate could be vast. The specialist intellectual knowledge and skills you’ll learn on this course are highly vocational and in high demand from employers, both in the UK and overseas.

Numerate and spatial data savvy MSc GISc graduates with both technical and domain-specific skills are sought after and transferable into a range of different organisations and roles in both the private and public sector.

Plus, University of Leeds students are among the top 5 most targeted by top employers according to The Graduate Market 2024, High Fliers Research, meaning our graduates are highly sought after by some of the most reputable companies in the field.

Popular careers include data analysts and GIS professionals and planners working for corporations such as the United Nations, statistics agencies, local government, the police/fire/health services, retail consultancies, utility companies and beyond.