Programmes

About Course

SKILLS LEVEL                                                                   COURSE DURATION

Postgraduate (ZNQF Level 9)                                                 2 years

LESSONS:

PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME

The MSc Degree in Applied Geographical Information Science and Remote Sensing is designed to provide education for postgraduate students in the application of GIS and Remote Sensing techniques to analyse, monitor, and develop innovative solutions for problems in various sectors including mining, tourism, civil protection, health, and security.  As a result, the graduates should be able to:

• Apply Geospatial Science and Earth Observation technologies to develop innovative solutions to priority national, regional and global problems such as biodiversity loss.
• Constructing and test hypotheses to predict and explain geospatial phenomena;
• Design, collect, and analyse geospatial data to identify spatiotemporal trends, patterns and relationships while error and uncertainty in the data to arrive at justifiable conclusions; and
• Communicate the new knowledge to specific audiences using appropriate scientific language to support sound decision making and policy formulation.
• Test and develop customised geospatial products and services such as an early-warning system for disasters for use by industry, public institutions and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrate capacity for environmental and social assessment, scientific research, and analysis.
• Conduct research that identifies problems and suggests solutions that benefit natural resources management and biodiversity conservation.

ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS

Normal Entry

Applicants should normally hold a minimum of an Upper Second Class (2.2) Honours degree in GIS and Remote Sensing, Life Sciences, and related Geospatial disciplines with a significant Geographical Information Science content.

Special Entry

A candidate with a BSc (Honours) degree at 2.2 and at least three years of relevant work experience shall be admitted after passing a qualifying examination.

PROGRAMME CHARACTERISTICS

Structure
The Programme shall consist of twelve (12) modules including two electives and a research project, which will culminate into a dissertation.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes, field-based practicals, seminars, group work, industrial visits, industrial attachment, research project, and individual independent study.

Assessment Methods

Written and oral examinations, tests, laboratory reports, seminar presentations, industrial attachment report, final year research project report, continuous assessments. Coursework shall constitute 40% (Test 15%, Assignment 5%, Practical 20%) and Written Examinations 60%.

REGULATIONS
The Regulations for the Master of Science degree, hereinafter referred to as the MSc Applied Geographical Information Science and Remote Sensing complement and are subordinate to University General Regulations for undergraduate degrees and Faculty of Environmental Science regulations.

YEAR I

EGR 5101 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE THEORY AND PRACTICE (18 CREDITS)

Geographic Information Science research resulted in the development of Geographic Information System (GIS) and is important for understanding biophysical and socio-economic systems. This is a foundational core course covering: Introduction to Geographic Information Science, nature and properties of Geographical data, Geographic Information Science versus Geographic Information System, Conceptual models of geographical phenomena, Conceptual models of real world geographical phenomena, Coordinate Systems and Projections, Global Satellite Navigation Systems theory and Applications, Geodatabase Management Systems (DBMS), Spatial data analysis and GIS project design and implementation.

EGR 5102 REMOTE SENSING AND DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING (18 CREDITS)

The course focuses on Principles of remote sensing, Electromagnetic Radiation interaction with Earth Surface Materials, Image acquisition process and image structure, Image Pre-Processing and Processing techniques, Supervised Image Classification Techniques, Unsupervised Image Classification Techniques including machine learning algorithms, Multispectral transformations of image data, and Applications of remote sensing in diverse fields.

EGR 5103 RESEARCH METHODS FOR SPATIAL SCIENTISTS (18 CREDITS)           

Methods for conducting scientific research are central the understanding and prediction of geospatial phenomena. The course covers: quantitative research designs, experimental designs, problem identification and brainstorming, Scientific approaches to understanding the processes and events, statistical and spatial statistical hypothesis testing, qualitative research methods, scientific writing and communication, proposal writing for funding.

EGR 5201 HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING (18 CREDITS)

The course focuses on understanding hyperspectral data sources, techniques for hyperspectral data calibration, algorithm development and analysis. The course also covers the application of hyperspectral remote sensing in mineral exploration, environmental pollution monitoring, land degradation and estimating vegetation/crop biochemical and biophysical properties.

EGR 5202 GIS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (18 CREDITS)           

The course introduces students to the principles, regulations and legislation that encompass the development of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The following topics are covered: Application of GIS in EIA phases i.e., Screening and scoping, Impact identification, Prediction of impact, Assessment of impact, Impact mitigation and control, Public consultation and Monitoring and auditing, GIS and pre-project and post-project "model" applications, GIS and for scenario building and testing (to answer "what if" questions relative to project size and features,), and GIS applications in different EIA projects.

EGR 5203 WEB AND MOBILE GIS (18 CREDITS)

Advances in GIS and mobile technology coupled with advances in Worldwide Web technology have resulted in the development of web and mobile GIS with varied applications in environmental management, crime management and transport management among other application areas. The course covers the following: Web GIS architecture, Mobile GIS architecture, Development and Applications of Mobile and Web GIS.

ELECTIVES 1*       

EGR 5106 SPATIAL STATISTICS AND MODELLING (18 CREDITS)

Conventional procedures of data analysis do not make use of this important location information, and this tends to limit our understanding of processes operating in space and time. This course covers: Spatial data analysis, spatial modelling, spatial statistics, Methods/techniques for analysing point data, Methods for analysing areal data, Methods ad models for analysing spatially continuous data, Advanced Methods and Models for analysing spatially continuous data, Modelling spatially continuous data with variograms, and Methods of modelling spatially continuous data with wavelets.

EGR 5107 SOCIETAL APPLICATIONS OF GIS AND REMOTE SENSING (18 CREDITS)

This course focuses on: multi-criteria evaluation, use of GIS and remote sensing techniques for analysis and modelling crime, security threats, disease outbreaks, voting patterns and other societal applications.

EGR 5108 APPLIED GIS AND REMOTE SENSING FOR TERRESTRIAL CARBON ESTIMATION AND MONITORING (18 CREDITS)

Forests sequester and store more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem and are an important natural ‘brake’ on climate change. Terrestrial carbon management also has critical links to economic development, food security, and climate change adaptation. This course introduces students to the use of GIS, multispectral, hyperspectral and lidar remote sensing to estimate and monitor carbon in terrestrial ecosystems including wetlands.

EGR 5109 GIS ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING (18 CREDITS)

Geographic Information Science is mainly implemented within a computer based Geographic Information System (GIS) and it is important to understand the principles of programming GIS algorithms. The course covers: Introduction to Programming and script writing, Development and implementation of GIS application Geodatabase interfaces, Google earth engine and cloud computing techniques.

EGR 5110 SPATIAL DATABASE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION (18 CREDITS)

Spatial databases are important decision support tools and a good understanding of their implementation is important for effective decision making. The course covers the following: Relational Database model, User needs analysis for spatial database implementation, Functional Needs Analysis for spatial database implementation, and Spatial database design and implementation.

EGR 5111 APPLIED GIS AND REMOTE SENSING FOR AGRICULTURE AND WATER MANAGEMENT      (18 CREDITS)

The rapid development and integration of spatial technologies such as Geographic Information Systems, the Global Positioning System, and remote sensing with ICT have created many new tools for managing water resources and agriculture. The course covers the following: Advanced principles of remote sensing (RS), Land resource information and data capture using RS, Application of Remote Sensing RS and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to crop monitoring crop yield estimation, GIS and RS for precision farming and development of Geo-based Agricultural Information Systems, Applications of Remote Sensing and GIS in Sustainable Agricultural Management and Development, GIS application to Watershed management, Application of GIS and RS for flood monitoring and prediction, and GIS and remote sensing applications to water quality assessment monitoring.

YEAR II

EGR 5104 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE SYSTEMS (18 CREDITS)

The course covers the state of the art regarding the use of unmanned aerial systems/ vehicles to provide geospatial data at cm-level resolution and accuracy. The course provides an overview of the recent developments on the sensing, navigation, orientation and general data processing of unmanned aerial systems. The course is relevant to areas such as artificial intelligence, asset monitoring i.e., oil pipes, emergency response and vegetation and environmental analysis.

EGR 5105 REMOTE SENSING OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (18 CREDITS)

Global environmental change includes global climate change as well as widespread changes in the world’s terrestrial environments, oceans, and coastlines. These changes are affecting the well-being of human populations and of biological components of the global system. The course will introduce students to: natural and anthropogenic drivers of global environmental changes, use of GIS and remote sensing for the analysis of global environmental changes at a variety of temporal and spatial scales.

EGR 6010 DISSERTATION (18 CREDITS)

Students are expected to do a dissertation on an approved topic. The Dissertation shall be at least 12,000 words and at most 20,000 words in length. In the case of a Dissertation with predominantly calculated solutions, pages that are less than 10,000 words may be allowed. Students will present their work in a research seminar to enable them to communicate the findings from their dissertation to the wider audience and to get feedback.

ELECTIVES 2*       

EGR 5204 ADVANCED GIS ANALYSIS (18 CREDITS)

The course covers: Spatial models, raster modelling using seek and trace functions, Spatial Overlay analysis using weight of evidence modelling, introduction to graph theory, construction and application of spatial graphs, GIS analysis using fuzzy logic and geocomputation.

EGR 5205 ADVANCED DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS (18 CREDITS)

The interpretation of remotely sensed data depends on the use of advanced digital image processing and analysis techniques. The course covers: sensor and data models, single and multi-band image analysis, spectral and spatial transforms on digital images for enhanced image visualisation and information extraction, advanced image registration, fusion, correction and calibration techniques.

EGR 5206 APPLIED GIS AND REMOTE SENSING FOR BIODIVERSITY AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (18 CREDITS)

Maintenance of biological diversity is key to preventing local or global extinctions, rehabilitating populations, and restoring species habitats. The course explores the importance of maintaining biodiversity within ecosystems and creation of natural reserves such as parks for promoting biodiversity conservation. The following topics are covered: Biodiversity conservation and concepts, spectral measures of diversity, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Techniques for biodiversity assessment and monitoring, Upscaling field-based data, Landscape analysis for identifying disturbance regimes, Applications of GIS and remote sensing in park design and management, Wildlife habitat suitability analysis, GIS and remote sensing techniques for monitoring and quantifying wildlife distribution and densities.

EGR 5207 GIS AND REMOTE SENSING FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT (18 CREDITS)

Disasters related to climate and weather such as cyclones, and floods cause more economic damage and loss of life than other types of disaster worldwide. This course covers: Introduction to Natural and Technological Disasters, Use of GIS and Remote sensing for disaster and vulnerability assessment, Application of unmanned aerial vehicles for near-real time monitoring of disasters, GIS and remote sensing-based modelling and monitoring of floods, landslides, cyclones and droughts and development of an automated early-warning system for disasters.