GEO4460 – Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Geographical Data Acquisition
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course introduces spatial analysis of geographic information using geographic information systems (GIS).
Beginning with the fundamental concepts of GIS, such as geographic data types and spatial analysis tools, the course delves into the wide range of geographic data acquisition methods, including photogrammetry, LiDAR, GNSS surveys, and traditional surveying. Building on this foundation, we will explore how the GIS tools at our disposal, particularly Multi-Criteria Analysis, can aid in decision-making.
Learning outcome
After taking this course, you will be able to
- navigate through the complexities of spatial data, including its various types, quality metrics, temporal variability, and dimensionality
- make informed decisions on georeferencing issues
- access existing geographical data
- generate your data through acquisition, processing, and manipulation.
- conduct analyses with GIS tools and utilise them for decision-making (multi-criteria analysis).
Admission to the course
Students admitted at UiO must?apply for courses?in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other master's degree programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
Nordic citizens and applicants residing in the Nordic countries may?apply to take this course as a single course student.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
The courses GEO3460 and GEO4460 have a joint admission with a joint capacity of 24 students.
If there are more than 24 applicants, the applicants will be ranked after the following categories:
1. Master's students admitted to one of the following programme options (prioritized order):
- Environmental Geosciences, Geohazards, and Geomatics (programme option)
- Applied Basin Analysis: Processes, Resources and Evolution of Life (programme option)
having the course as mandatory or recommended
2. Bachelor's students admitted to one of the following programmes?(non-prioritized order):
where the course is mandatory.
3. Other bachelor's and master's students in Geosciences
4. Exchange students on bachelor's or master's level, and other bachelor's and master's students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo
5. Single-course students on bachelor's and master's level
Applicants will be ranked by the number of ECTS credits within each category:?all applicants within category 1 are ranked before applicants in category 2. If there are space limitations in the course, available places will be given to students selected randomly among those with the same amount of ECTS credits.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
The course includes a compulsory field course and excursions. A health-and-safety course for safety in the field must be passed before you can go on these:
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with GEO3460 – Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Geographical Data Acquisition.
- 10 credits overlap with GEG2250 – Introduction in surveying, photogrammetry and spatial analysis (continued).
- 5 credits overlap with GEG2230 – Spatial analyses of geographical information (discontinued).
- 5 credits overlap with GEG2210 – Data Collection - Land Surveying and Digital Photogrammetry (discontinued).
Teaching
Up to 10 hours of lectures/practicals per week. Day visits from businesses / public institutions. There will be weekly exercises, and you must hand in reports from 5 of these which must be approved before the final exam.
Throughout the semester, the students will work toward individual Multi-Criteria Analysis projects on a topic of their choice. The project leads to a mandatory report and presentation to the rest of the class explaining their approach, methods and recommendations. The report and presentation count towards the final grade.
The course includes a small surveying practical field exercise towards the end of the semester.
Attendance at the first lecture is compulsory. Students who fail to meet are considered to have withdrawn from the course unless they have previously given notice to the Student administration (studieinfo@geo.uio.no).
General information about excursions at the Department?of Geosciences
As?the?teaching involves laboratory and/or fieldwork, you should consider taking out separate travel and personal risk insurance.?Read about your insurance cover as a student.
We reserve the right to change the teaching?form and examination of the course in semesters where 5 or fewer students have been admitted.
Examination
- 5 written assignments must be approved to sit for the final exam.
- The report and presentation from the Multi-Criteria Analysis project count 40% towards the final grade.
- The final written examination counts 60% towards the final grade.
- All exam parts must be passed separately for you to pass the course.
When writing your exercises make sure to familiarize yourself with the rules for use of sources and citations. Breach of these rules may lead to suspicion of attempted cheating.
Mandatory assignments are valid for 5 semesters starting from the semester they were approved the first time.
It is possible to take the exam up to 3 times. If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
It will also be counted as 1 of the 3 attempts to sit the exam for this course?if you sit the exam for one of the following courses:
- GEO3460 – Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Geographical Data Acquisition
- GEG2250 – Introduction in surveying, photogrammetry and spatial analysis (continued)
Examination support material
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English. You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.
Resit an examination
Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are?offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.
Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass, the original examination.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.