Geographical Information Science

Monitoring the tsunami
On 26 December 2004, South-East Asia was hit by a devastating undersea earthquake. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and millions more lost their homes. The word ‘tsunami’ was suddenly on everyone’s lips. But where do such destructive waves actually come from? How do they spread, and what areas are affected? Using advanced computer animations, news programmes were able to show viewers all over the world exactly how a tsunami is formed, and the scale of the destruction in the afflicted areas. Why did predictions fail?

The study in short terms

Geographical Information Sciences (GIS) is one of the fastest expanding areas in information technology. Increasingly, it is being seen as an essential tool in many areas of government and business. Offered under the auspices of UNIGIS, a network of universities cooperating in the design and delivery of distance learning in GIS, the Master’s programme in Geographical Information Science at VU Amsterdam enables professionals and students to acquire new knowledge and skills in the field.

GIS is a flexible, modular programme. It is divided into a basic component comprising four core modules and a specialization involving four elective modules, enabling you to tailor the programme to meet your specific needs. After completing the four specialization modules, you will also begin work on your Master’s research project. The four core modules in GIS are:

• Introduction to GIS;
• Spatial Data;
• Database Theory;
• GeoData Sources.

After having gone through the accreditation procedures in the U.K. and internally at our university, the programme is currently in the process of accreditation of the Dutch government.

Prospects after your Master’s

The employment market for GIS graduates is very healthy. They find work in the private sector (48%) and in government bodies (47%). Of the latter, one third work at national level – in rural planning, government ministries and water management – another third at provincial level and the remainder for local authorities. Many students have won promotion, career advancement or new jobs while on the programme or after completing their studies. They find that studying GIS opens up new horizons within their existing employment and beyond. We sometimes call on the extensive professional experience of past students to demonstrate practical applications of GIS at extracurricular events. Meanwhile, the research group responsible for the GIS programme, SPINlab (Spatial Information Laboratory), is always open to good PhD proposals.  
 
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