Master description
First semester
The Master’s program will be performed with up to 32 students. Half of them attend their first semester at UJI, half at UNL. On purpose, UJI and UNL offer courses with a different focus, in order to address the different backgrounds and requirements of the incoming students. Both partners offer basic modules in GI, although with different intensity.
The program at UJI stresses the computing aspects of GI such as computer graphics and web services, whereas the program at UNL is more oriented towards the processing and modeling aspects of Geographic information, including topics such as “Remote Sensing” and “Geospatial data mining”. As for the other modules, UJI is more informatics-oriented (modules “Informatics and mathematics” and “New technologies”).
UNL provides modules in “Mathematics and statistics” and “Data modeling”. UNL offers different paths within its modules by alternative courses, e.g., a student with a background in social sciences such as geography and few previous know-how in informatics would rather choose “Descriptive statistics” and “Data analysis, whereas a more informatics-related student would choose “Mathematical statistics” and “Data mining”.
Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), NOVA – Information Management School (NOVA IMS), Lisboa, Portugal
| Module | Course | Type (e.g., seminar, lecture, e-learning course) | ECTS credit points (1 CP = 30h students’ workload in Germany, 28h in Portugal, 25h in Spain) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Semester UNL | |||
| Module 1: Foundations of Geographic Information Science | 7,5 | ||
| Geographic Information Science | lecture / practical | 7,5 | |
| Module 2: Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Science I (1 of 2 courses) | 7,5 | ||
| Spatial Analysis and Visualization | lecture / practical | 7,5 | |
| Remote Sensing | lecture / practical | 7,5 | |
| Module 3: Analytical Tools | 15 | ||
| Spatial Statistics | lecture / practical | 5 | |
| Geospatial Datamining | lecture / practical | 5 | |
| Group Project Seminar on Programming and Analysis | lecture / practical | 5 | |
| Sub-total: 30 credit points | |||
Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Castellón, Dept. Lenguajes y Sistemas Informaticos (LSI), Castellón, Spain.
| Module | Course | Type (e.g., seminar, lecture, e-learning course) | ECTS credit points (1 CP = 30h students’ workload in Germany, 28h in Portugal, 25h in Spain) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Semester UJI | |||
| Module 1: Foundations of Informatics | 10 | ||
| Programming | lecture / practical | 4 | |
| Databases and Data Management | lecture / practical | 3 | |
| Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning | lecture / practical | 3 | |
| Module 2: Advanced Informatics and Data Analytics | 12 | ||
| Data Science | lecture / practical | 4 | |
| Development of Applications for Geographic Data Exploration and Visualization | lecture / practical | 5 | |
| Spatial Data Services, Sources, Standards and Infrastructures | lecture / practicals / self-study | 3 | |
| Module 3: GI basics | 8 | ||
| Geographic Information Systems: Desktop to Web | lecture / practical | 3 | |
| Geographic Information Systems applications and trends | lecture / practical | 2 | |
| Earth Observation and Remote Sensing | lecture / practical | 3 | |
| Sub-total: 30 credit points | |||
Second semester
For the second semester, all students attend the courses at UM. The first module mediates “Fundamentals in GI Science”. The second module “Advanced topics in GI Science” mediates knowledge on ongoing research and research projects, thus preparing the students for their own research in the Master thesis. Optionally, courses of this module can be replaced by an annual summer school performed by UM, UJI, or UNL, or by work in ongoing research projects of one of the partners’ research groups. The third module mediate additional “Core competences” the students will need for their Master thesis as well as for their future professional careers: “Research methods in GI Science” and “Project management in GI projects”.
University of Münster (UM), Institute for Geoinformatics (ifgi), Münster, Germany.
| Module | Course | Type (e.g., seminar, lecture, e-learning course) | ECTS credit points (1 CP = 30h students’ workload in Germany, 28h in Portugal, 25h in Spain) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Semester ifgi | |||
| Module 4: Foundations of Geographic Information Science II | 4 | ||
| Core Topics in Geographic Information Science | seminar | 2 | |
| GI Forum | lecture | 1 | |
| GI Forum Discussion Group | seminar | 1 | |
| Module 5: Advanced Topics in Geographic Information Science II (2 of 5 courses) | 10 | ||
| Location-based services | practical / seminar | 5 | |
| Spatial cognition | practical / seminar | 5 | |
| Study project | practical | 5 | |
| Programming in GI | practical / seminar | 5 | |
| Reference Systems | practical / seminar | 5 | |
| According to upcoming research fields, courses might be added or replaced | – | 5 | |
| Module 6: Applied Topics in Geographic Information Science | 10 | ||
| From data to knowledge | practical / seminar | 5 | |
| Applied topics: Students choose one out of the following courses 1. Applied geospatial technologies 2. Advanced digital cartography 3. According to upcoming research fields, courses might be added or replaced. |
practical / seminar | 5 | |
| Module 7: Transferable Skills | 6 | ||
| Project management/GeoMundus conference | practical / seminar | 3 | |
| Research methods in GI Science | seminar | 3 | |
| Sub-total: 30 credit points | |||
Third semester
As for the third semester (Master thesis), students can choose one of the three universities, whereas the applicants will be distributed equally to the three partners. If a student did not attend courses of one of the three partner universities before, one of the supervisors or co-supervisors has to be of that university. With the Master thesis, the candidate shows that she/he is capable to independently handle a defined scientific problem within a defined schedule, and in a way that is ready to publish. Typically, the Master thesis will be integrated into an ongoing research project at one of the partners.
| Module | Course | Type (e.g., seminar, lecture, e-learning course) | ECTS credit points (1 CP = 30h students’ workload in Germany, 28h in Portugal, 25h in Spain) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. Semester (at ifgi, NOVA IMS, or UJI) | |||
| Thesis | |||
| Master thesis seminar | seminar | 2 | |
| Master thesis including defense | thesis | 28 | |
| Sub-total: 30 ECTS | |||
| Total | Total: 90 credit points | ||