Conservation and G.I.S. – (M.Sc.)

Increasingly, government agencies and industrial environmental companies want employees with technical understanding of GIS and an advanced knowledge of conservation issues and techniques.

Course content draws heavily on staff research interests, including remote sensing and forestry management, land-use change and the application of object-based image analysis to conservation issues. There is a strong emphasis on studying international conservation issues such as deforestation, wildlife conservation and natural resource management. Other areas include the use of GIS for internet and mobile applications, and remote sensing in forestry management.

An MSc project will enhance the knowledge and skills you gained during the taught modules and develop a field of expertise. You will gain theoretical and practical experience of the latest, industrystandard
GIS and remote sensing software in dedicated computer labs.

Software includes all ESRI, Leica and Definiens products. Emerging technologies such as Airborne and Terrestrial Lidar scanning are studied, with particular emphasis on their use in forestry management.

Facilities
You will learn through lectures and tutorials, with particular emphasis on fieldwork and practicals. Assessment is a combination of practical write-up, continuous assessment and examinations. You will work on your dissertation between June and October.

The tropical fieldwork module (additional payment required) has visited countries such as Indonesia, Honduras and Cuba. Here, you will spend up to three weeks in various tropical environments to develop
your analytical techniques and it is possible to become a certified scuba diver.