Geographic Data Science (MSc)

Birkbeck's MSc Geographic Data Science will provide you with advanced scientific and technical training in capturing, analysing and visualising geospatial information. Thanks to increasing computing power and wealth of digital data, we can record and store an unprecedented amount of information about the world. Geographic information plays a crucial role in our society, contributing to planning, analysis and management in sectors as diverse as transportation, insurance, banking, telecommunications, logistics, energy, retail, agriculture, healthcare, urban planning and scientific research.

On this programme, you will learn how to analyse and extract insights from geospatial data, uncovering the underlying patterns and factors that can help address the big challenges we face in the twenty-first century. You will work with real-world data on a number of domains and problems, such as simulating the dynamics of change in the natural and built environment, identifying suitable locations for renewable energy power plants, predicting crime hot-spots, and producing effective maps to visualise natural- and human-geography applications.

The emphasis is on enabling you to think analytically and develop new skills that have real-world applications for your work and career. You will acquire key data science skills that are in high demand in industry and important tools for research in the field: geographic information systems, such as ArcGIS and QGIS; scientific programming in Python; geo-statistical and modelling in R; map-making and cartography; big data management with spatial databases, such as SQL and NoSQL; web mapping and development; remote sensing and analysis of satellite imagery.