Geographic Information Science - Conversion Course - Bolton Street

Course Title: Master of Science in Geographic Information Science

What is... Geographic Information Science?

Geographic information Systems are widely-used indispensable tools for governance, commerce, and environmental and social science in Ireland and world-wide. Over the next few years it is forecast that the area of GIS will grow rapidly. This will lead to the need for highly qualified professionals in all areas of the geospatial industry. The MSc programme in Geographic Information Science presents an opportunity to develop and build on your previous learning and to deepen your understanding and knowledge of essential principles, practices and applications of geospatial technologies.



Competency in information technology skills has consistently been identified as a critical need in the geospatial industry and in the wider workplace in Ireland. This course has been designed specifically to address these issues and will provide graduates with a thorough grounding in information technology including spatial databases and web technology as well as programming skills tailored to the particular requirements of geospatial data.



This is a conversion course to enable graduates of a related discipline or current practitioners in the geospatial or related industry to acquire a qualification in Geographic Information Science at Masters Level. The programme is delivered within Spatial Information Sciences in the School of Surveying and Construction Management in TU Dublin Bolton Street.



Schedule

In full-time mode, each phase is completed over a 15-week semester. Phases 1 and 2 comprise of taught modules with circa 15 contact hours per week each. During Phase 2, as part of the module Work Placement, students will have the opportunity to gain relevant practical industry experience working within a company or organization. Phase 3 consists of one mandatory module, Research Project and Dissertation.



In part-time mode, students are expected to complete a mixture of Phase 1 and Phase 2 modules in each of two academic years. As above, phase 3 consists of one mandatory module, Research Project and Dissertation.



The programme committee will, where practical, try to ensure that the attendance requirements for part-time students are flexible and condensed into one day and evening per week.

• Fundamentals of GIS

• Spatial Data Acquisition

• GI Project Management

• Web and User Interface Design

• Spatial Databases

• Introduction to Programming

• Advanced GIS

• GIS Modelling

• Work Placement

• Web GIS

• Programming for GIS

• Advanced Spatial Data Management

• Research Project and Dissertation

Minimum Entry Requirements?

Conversion Course

To be admitted to the programme, students should have a minimum of a 2.2 in an honours bachelor degree (level 8 NQAI) or equivalent. Applications from candidates who have an equivalent qualification at honours level (for example, a professional qualification) will also be considered. Prior work or industrial experience is not a pre-requisite for entry on to the course.



If English is not your first language you will need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency as detailed on our website. Applicants for this course should have a minimum IELTS (Academic Version) English Proficiency of 6.5 overall (or equivalent) with nothing less than 6 in each component.



Applications may be considered from candidates who do not have the minimum academic requirements set out above but who do have significant relevant industry experience. In this situation candidates will be interviewed.

TU268: Full Time: Applications for this course are now open.

TU220: Part Time: Applications will open in February 2025.



For further information, please visit How To Apply (Application Weblink above).



Non-EU Students

Non-EU students, not resident in Ireland, are not eligible to apply for part time programs that are delivered on-campus. Applications for part time courses that require on-campus attendance will not be processed and the application fee will not be refunded.

Method of Delivery: On-Campus

TU268: 1 year, Full Time



TU220: 2 years, Part Time

Commencement Date: September 2025

What are my career opportunities?

It is an exciting and challenging time for the geospatial industry and also a time of opportunity. Government has recognised the value and benefit in promoting Ireland as a smart economy and developing the expertise and technology to manage and exploit new sources of information and technologies. Development of such technologies requires highly skilled graduates with both strong computing and spatial analysis skills.



Employment opportunities and emerging workforce development opportunities are growing in the GIScience area and the number of GIS-related job opportunities has risen steadily over the last few years. Career opportunities exist in a wide and diverse range of organisations including government, semi-state, private and commercial sectors.



Accreditation will be sought from the following professional bodies:

• Irish Institution of Surveyors (IIS)

• Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)

• Engineers Ireland (IEI)

• Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES)