Programme

With Geomatics for the Built Environment you will learn to use advanced techniques in data collection and analysis, spatial information modelling and the visualisation of data. You will gain knowledge about the use, governance and application of geographic data for solving real-world problems in an innovative way. You will become proficient in quickly analysing the needed geospatial information, performing the required processing and analysis steps and producing an appealing visualisation or presentation of your solutions.

Academic year 2023-2024

Second year      
3rd semester   4th semester  
1st quarter 2nd quarter 3rd quarter 4th quarter
Synthesis Project
(10 EC)
Or:
Joint Interdisciplinary projects
(15 EC)
Thesis Preparation 
(10 EC)
Graduation Project 
(30 EC)
Free electives
(5 EC)
Free electives
(5 EC)

One academic year = 60 EC (1680 hrs study, 1 EC 28 hr)
EC = European Credits 
Total amount of credits MSc programme = 120 EC 
For more information on all courses, please visit the study guide.

If a student already obtained the taught knowledge and skills of a course, it is possible to get an exemption for that course via the Board of Examiners.

In the first year, you will take the core courses and a concluding project, in which you will apply the knowledge gained during the core courses. 

Core courses

The core courses provide a strong foundation to all students by teaching the fundamentals of the geo-information chain: data gathering, processing, analysing and visualisation as well as data governance. The core courses are aligned with the geo-information chain: 

  • Sensing Technologies (GEO1001) & Location Awareness (GEO1003) (data gathering), 
  • Geo  Database Management Systems (GEO1006), 3D Modelling (GEO1004), Digital Terrain Modelling (DTM) (GEO1015), Photogrammetry & 3D Computer Vision (processing) (GEO1016), 
  • GIS & Cartography (GEO1002) (analysing), 
  • Geoweb (visualising) (GEO1007) and 
  • Geodata governance (GEO1009) (governance). 

The core courses build up from the fundamentals and basic skills to application and integration.

The third and fourth quarter of the first year offer the opportunity to deepen or broaden your knowledge and skills through our Geomatics electives. As of September 2021 the Geomatics programme offers in the first year the following electives:

  1. GEO5010: Research assignment (2 EC)
  2. GEO5012: Land administration (5 EC)
  3. GEO5015: Modelling wind and dispersion in urban environments (5 EC)
  4. GEO5016: Geomatics in practice (10 EC)
  5. GEO5017: Machine learning for the built environment (5 EC)
  6. GEO5018: Ethics for the data driven city (5 EC)

Free electives

You may also select courses which cover topics of your interest but are outside the Geomatics electives. These electives may be from other MSc. courses at TU Delft or at other universities. These electives require formal approval by the Board of Examiners. Discuss the suitability of free electives with the Geomatics programme director.

Geomatics Synthesis project

The second year will start with the Geomatics Synthesis project (GEO1101), which will be carried out in groups. This project allows you to combine the knowledge from the core programme and apply it to a real-world project while gaining hands-on experience in project management. More information on the synthesis project

We will be showing the results of the students’ synthesis project at  Geomatics Day

Instead of the Geomatics synthesis project you may also opt for applying to participate in one of the TU Delft Interdisciplinary Projects (JIPs).
Furthermore, the second year focuses on conducting scientific research supervised by at least two experts: the graduation project (GEO2011 and GEO2020). The second year also offers another possibility to deepen or broaden your knowledge and skills through Geomatics electives.

Graduation project

The Graduation Project has a workload of 40 ECTS (about 9 months full-time). You are free to choose a Geomatics topic that suits you best. The topics of the graduation project can be subdivided into two broad groups: 

  • Graduation projects in the framework of ongoing research projects
  • Applying Geomatics technologies for solving real world problems.

Participation in the ongoing research projects of the staff offers a unique way to contribute to scientific progress. This type of research is usually carried out at TU Delft, but not necessarily, as governmental agencies or companies are also often involved. The second type of graduation project concerns applying Geomatics technologies for solving real world problems. This type of research is usually carried out in close cooperation with companies or government agencies. Each group of teachers involved in the Geomatics Programme offers a list of relevant, innovative topics. You are also free to define your own graduation project in close consultation with the objected supervisors.

Overview of finished graduation projects

Geomatics electives second year

The first and second quarter of the second year offer the opportunity to deepen or broaden your knowledge and skills through our Geomatics electives.  In the second year, you can choose the following Geomatics  electives:

  1. GEO5010: Research assignment (2 EC)
  2. GEO5014: Geomatics as support for energy applications (5 EC)
  3. GEO5016: Geomatics in practice (10 EC)

More information on the Geomatics electives (study guide)

Free electives

You may also select courses which cover topics of your interest but are outside the Geomatics electives. These electives may be from other MSc. courses at TU Delft or at other universities. These electives require formal approval by the Board of Examiners. Discuss the suitability of free electives with the Geomatics programme director.