Overview

The Master’s in Remote Sensing and Computer Science combines the fields of Computer Science and Remote Sensing to provide students with a strong theoretical and conceptual background and vocational training in these inter-related topics.  Having completed your undergraduate degree in a related field, this MSc will enable you to bring your skills and knowledge up to date with a mastery of the latest technological tools and contemporary theoretical understanding.  The course particularly focuses on conveying new approaches to data processing, analysis and interpretation as well as the use of innovative technologies, such as the use of intelligent autonomous systems and 3D imaging analysis.

The course is a full-time programme, taught over one year, and is divided into two parts over three semesters.  In part one, you will establish a breadth of necessary skills in a number of core modules whilst directing your own study by choosing specialist modules, worth a total of 120 credits.  In part two, you will apply your learning in the individual dissertation worth an additional 60 credits. 

The Remote Sensing component will introduce you to a range of technologies (including radar, optical/hyperspectral sensing and LiDAR) in a breadth of application contexts (including climate change, human impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, glaciology, hydrology, forestry, coastal change, carbon cycle science and biodiversity).  Within Computer Science, you will encounter an equally varied and engaging breadth of subjects, including robot navigation, planetary robotics, medical imaging and diagnosis, remote sensing and soft condensed matter visualisation.

Whatever your own previous experience or future aspiration, you will benefit from the marvellous integration of cutting-edge theory and practical application, across four world-class departments.  In addition to this input, you will be encouraged to conduct your own reading of up-to-date articles on key aspects of Computer Science and remote sensing, and also to participate in relevant meetings and conferences, such as the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Annual Conference. 

As a graduate of the Aberystwyth MSc in Remote Sensing and Computer Science, you will possess the latest technological, theoretical and practical understanding of the subject.   Recent graduates in remote sensing have been highly successful in continuing within academia and finding employment within private enterprises and in UK and international government agencies.  You can be fully confident that this MSc, as a statement of contemporary academic expertise proven in practise, will make you highly desirable to employers, academic institutions and recruiting government bodies.

Factfile

Duration:	One year full-time or two years part-time. The academic year (September to September) is divided into three semesters: September to January; January to June; June to September.
Contact Time:	Roughly 12-16 a week in the first two semesters. During semester three you will work on your Dissertation, arranging your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor.
Assessment:	The taught part of the course (Part 1) is delivered and assessed through lectures, student seminars, practical exercises, case studies, course work and formal examinations. The subsequent successful submission of your research dissertation (Part 2) leads to the award of MSc.
Entry Requirements:	A first class or 2:1 degree at undergraduate level.  Candidates with equivalent experience and qualifications will be considered.
English Language Requirements:	If you have a Bachelor’s degree from a UK University, you do not need to take an English proficiency test. Non-native English speakers who do not meet this requirement must take a University-recognised test of academic English language proficiency: IELTS or TOEFL.  The required IELTS minimum proficiency level is 6.5.  For TOEFL, the minimum scores are as follows: 580 for the paper-based test; 237 for the computer-based test (with an essay rating of 5.0); and a score of 93 for the internet-based test.  More information on IELTS and TOEFL is available on their respective websites.
Course Fees:	The fee for this course for 2011-2012 is £3,550 for UK/EU students and £10,500 for International students. More informatin regarding tuition fees is available from the Postgraduate Admissions Office.

Career Development

Qualification: MSc in Remote Sensing and Computer Science

This degree will suit you:

• If you wish to obtain a Master’s degree with leading input from four internationally-renowned research departments;
• If you have a 2:1 degree or higher in a related discipline;
• If you wish to gain academic expertise, field skills and technical experience in a remote sensing discipline;
• If you wish to enter one of a diverse range of careers requiring research, analysis and practical excellence.

Employability

Every aspect of the Aberystwyth Master’s in Remote Sensing and Computer Science programme is designed to enhance your employability: indeed, successful completion of this degree is in itself certain to do so by building your CV; but more significant is the hugely enhanced array of knowledge, abilities and skills with which you will graduate.  We know from past graduates’ success that prospective employers take a similar view, as our alumni have taken positions with UK and international government bodies, private enterprises and leading research establishments.

By completing the Aberystwyth Master’s in Remote Sensing and Computer Science, you will have strengthened your employability in both specialist and more general areas of work.  As a specialist, you will be a highly competent contributor to any work relating to building systems to gather business intelligence and to design, perform and interpret the results of scientific experiments.  In more generic employment situations, your strengths will be broad and deep because you can demonstrate mastery of any planning, research, analysis and reporting skills that your employer will require.

You may choose to apply for the Access to Masters scheme (ATM) which ensures that postgraduate training is geared towards the needs of business.  Masters students on ATM undertake projects with local businesses, which are tailored to meet the interests of the companies.  This scheme ensures that Masters students have gain experience in a relevant workplace and begin to build their personal business networks, ready for graduation.

All employers, whether subject-related specialists or more general corporate bodies and consultancies, place a high value on first-rate technical aptitude, clarity in research and analysis and fluency in communication.  You will gain these skills, and much more, as you progress through your studies at Aberystwyth to become an engaging candidate for areas of work relating to remote sensing and beyond.

Field Expertise in Practise

As a highly practical Master’s course, the MSc in Remote Sensing and Computer Science includes field trips which will take you into the Cambrian Mountains and the local area.  This will provide you with hands-on experience in the use of field equipment and the collection of ground truth data to support the interpretation and analysis of Remote Sensing and Computer Science datasets.

Such activities convert the purely academic theory of research and data collection into the proven know-how of experience and, in reporting your findings, the necessary repertoire of presentation skills to communicate your results successfully.  This experience gained by this approach, which begins at the concept stage and ends in written and live presentation, is a rare advantage in the competitive jobs market.  The MSc in Remote Sensing and Computer Science is set up to help you pursue this edge throughout your studies, securing your theoretical learning with practical knowledge.

Advanced Skills in Research and Technology

As you would expect, the content of this MSc is strongly weighted in favour of understanding all the scientific processes and advanced technical tools at your disposal.  A number of modules, such as the Advanced Research Skills, are designed to develop your thinking to the point that critical analysis and evaluation becomes second-nature.  The benefits of practising such skills go beyond the Master’s course and into further study and any professional employment you choose. 

Masters students have access to a dedicated computer laboratory (located within the Llandinam Tower) for research in remote sensing which is fully equipped with the latest software.  You will get to grips with an impressive array of remote sensing software systems, technologies and programming languages including IDL ENVI,  ARCGIS, ArcInfo, Erdas Imagine, Cyclone (LiDAR processing), Gamma (radar processing) and python.  This highly specific and technical experience will more than satisfy employers within related employment sectors and impress those in other, unrelated areas of work.

Project Management in the Dissertation

The Master’s dissertation requires you to work independently and to pursue your own individual dissertation topic.  You will access to the support and expertise of any of the four departments relevant to remote sensing, but you are required to cultivate a professional work ethic to deliver the combination of research, analysis, communication and presentation demanded by your dissertation.  This rigorous part of the MSc will require you to employ project management skills which are entirely transferrable to almost any work context that Master’s graduates apply for.

Studying for this Master’s degree will allow you to sharpen up all your core scientific disciplines, your professional work ethos and your presentation and communication skills.  Once secured by obtaining your Masters Degree, you will have gained confidence in the level of your academic expertise and practical field skills, which in turn will enhance your employability in both highly specialised related professions and also on broader, unrelated professional paths. 

Contacts

The Programme Leader for this course is Professor Richard Lucas

 

Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences,

Aberystwyth University,

Penglais Campus,

Aberystwyth University,

Ceredigion,

SY23 3DB

Tel +44(0)1970 622 2630

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• Aberystwyth Student Life
• About Aberystwyth (external site)

At a Glance (F841)