Graduate Diploma in Geographical Information Systems

The Graduate Diploma in Geographical Information Systems is a 36-unit program offered by the School of the Environment, within the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

It articulates with the 18-unit Graduate Certificate Geographical Information Systems.

• Admission requirements
• Course aims
• Learning outcomes
• Program of study
  
  

Admission requirements

Applicants will normally hold either the Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems or an approved degree or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution.

Admission may also be granted based on prior work and voluntary experience. This must include four years of industry experience.

Admission will be based on the extent to which work or voluntary experience has enabled the applicant to develop an understanding of Geographical Information Systems and or familiarity with software applications, databases or statistics.

Applicants who wish to be admitted on this basis will need to provide:

• curriculum vitae
• description of the roles and activities in work or voluntary positions
• description of the skills and abilities demonstrated through their work/voluntary experience
• name(s) of referee(s) who could verify work/voluntary experience.

Assessment of the work or voluntary experience will be undertaken by the Chair of the Course Management Committee. The Faculty Board may admit others who can demonstrate fitness for candidature.

The Graduate Diploma in GIS is not available to graduates of the Bachelor of Applied Geographical Information Systems or of equivalent undergraduate courses from other tertiary institutions.

Course aims

The Graduate Diploma in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and application of GIS and remote sensing and is intended for students with an undergraduate degree that is not related to studies in GIS.

It provides a theoretical and practical framework for graduates from a range of backgrounds, as well as those from the public sector and non-government organisations wishing to extend their choice of career path by acquiring knowledge and skills in the capture, synthesis and communication of spatially-referenced information.

Students will learn skills which are applicable to a range of areas such as urban and regional planning, infrastructure management, transportation, the environment, biological sciences, biodiversity management and archaeology. 

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete the graduate diploma will be able to:

• practice advanced skills in GIS analysis in a variety of areas as well as discuss and interpret more complex spatial information theory and methodologies
• demonstrate an in-depth understanding of vector and raster GIS structures, relational databases, geodatabases, data input, data editing and raster interpolation methods
• practice multispectral image interpretation and analysis through a range of geometric and radiometric enhancement techniques, image arithmetic and data fusion
• extract useful information from remotely sensed data through a range of multispectral transformations, band ratios, and classification methodologies
• demonstrate the practical application and analysis of GIS and remotely sensed data through the implementation of project work.
  

Program of study

To qualify for the Graduate Diploma in Geographical Information Systems, students must complete 36 units with a grade of P or NGP or better, from the following list of optional topics.

A student&##39;s program of study must be approved by the Course Co-ordinator.

Except with the permission of the Faculty Board, a student may not include a topic (as credit or otherwise) which repeats work previously undertaken at the undergraduate level.

Option - Year 1 topics

Select 36 units from:

 GEOG7701  Research Project Design, Conduct and Management  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8700  Geographical Information Systems GE  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8701  Introduction to Remote Sensing GE  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8702  Image Analysis in Remote Sensing GE  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8710A  GIS Research Project  (9/18 Units) and
 GEOG8710B  GIS Research Project  (9/18 Units) or
 GEOG8720  GIS Research Project (9 Units) 
 GEOG8711  Advanced Digital Image Analysis GE  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8722  GIS Field Practice  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8731  GIS Modelling GE  (4.5 units)
 GEOG8732  Spatial Information Management GE  (4.5 units)
 GEOG9721  Spatial Statistics and Surface Models GE  (4.5 units)

Note: Up to 9 units of other topics may be taken with the approval of the Course Co-ordinator.