Course Overview
Postgraduate Diploma in Geographic Data Science will provide you with advanced scientific and technical training in capturing, analyzing, and visualizing geospatial information. Thanks to increases in computing power and the availability of GPS, we can record and store an unprecedented amount of information about the world. Geographic information plays an increasingly crucial role in our society, transforming sectors as diverse as transportation, insurance, banking, telecommunications, logistics, energy, retail, agriculture, healthcare, urban planning, and scientific research. In this program, you will learn how to analyze and extract insights from geospatial data, uncovering hidden patterns that can help address the big challenges that we face in the twenty-first century. You will work with real-world data on a number of domains and problems, such as simulating the dynamics of change in the natural and built environment, spotting good locations for renewable energy plants, predicting crime hot-spots, and producing effective maps to visualize natural and human phenomena. The emphasis throughout this course is on enabling you to develop new skills that have real-world applications for your work and career. You will acquire key data science skills that are in high demand in industry and important tools for research in the field: geographic information systems, such as ArcGIS and QGIS; scientific programming in Python; geostatistical and modeling in R; map-making and cartography; big data management with spatial databases, such as SQL and NoSQL; web mapping and development; remote sensing and analysis of satellite imagery; simulation and agent-based modeling.
General Eligibility
At least a second-class honors degree (2:2) or equivalent in geography, computer science, or a cognate discipline; we will consider the professional experience in place of a degree.
Some experience in Geographic Information Systems is desirable but is not a requirement.
Part Time Work Details
Language Requirement
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this program is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.