Master of Spatial Science Technology (MSPT)

Engineering and Built Environment
MSpScTech

Master of Spatial Science Technology (MSPT) - MSpScTech

CRICOS code (International applicants): 081717C

	On-campus	External
Semester intake:	Semester 1 (February) Semester 2 (July)	Semester 1 (February) Semester 2 (July)
Campus:	Toowoomba	-
Fees:	Commonwealth supported place Domestic full fee paying place International full fee paying place	Commonwealth supported place Domestic full fee paying place International full fee paying place
Standard duration:	2 years full-time, 4 years part-time. International students should complete this program within the CRICOS duration which is 2 years.
Program articulation:	From: Graduate Certificate of Spatial Science Technology ; Graduate Diploma of Spatial Science Technology

Contact us

Future students	Future International students	Current students
Freecall (within Australia):1800 269 500 Phone (from outside Australia): +61 7 4631 5315 Email: study@usq.edu.au	Phone: +61 7 4631 5543 international@usq.edu.au	Freecall (within Australia): 1800 007 252 Phone (from outside Australia): +61 7 4631 2285 Email usq.support@usq.edu.au

Professional accreditation

The Master of Spatial Science Technology is not accredited by any professional bodies other than the ��ýapp of Southern Queensland.

Program aims

This postgraduate degree produces graduates who are skilled in spatial science investigations, evaluation and synthesis. It allows students to enhance their knowledge of a particular surveying or spatial science information discipline area for application, research or management purposes.

Program objectives

The Master of Spatial Science Technology is a graduate level program in the fields of geographic information systems (GIS) and surveying. A coursework component (10 units) is augmented by a research project component (6 units). This allows students to enhance and extend their knowledge of a particular GIS or surveying specialisation. Since spatial science is inherently a confluence of knowledge from various disciplines, a candidate from a non-spatial science background, such as biological and physical sciences, engineering, mathematics and statistics, information technology, agriculture and forestry, arts, and business, can apply to this program.
Students who successfully complete the Master of Spatial Science Technology will be able to demonstrate an ability to:

critically evaluate knowledge from the literature and other information sources relevant to spatial science fields;
analyse technological trends, and current and advanced technologies in the spatial science area and related disciplines, such as sustainable development, information systems, and technology management;
apply knowledge and skills in spatial science;
undertake research into spatial science issues and applications.

Australian Qualifications Framework

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is a single national, comprehensive system of qualifications offered by higher education institutions (including universities), vocational education and training institutions and secondary schools. Each AQF qualification has a set of descriptors which define the type and complexity of knowledge, skills and application of knowledge and skills that a graduate who has been awarded that qualification has attained, and the typical volume of learning associated with that qualification type.

This program is at AQF Qualification Level 09. Graduates at this level will have specialised knowledge and skills for research, and/or professional practice and/or further learning.

The full set of levels criteria and qualification type descriptors can be found by visiting .

Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission to the program candidates must possess a three or four-year undergraduate degree, or equivalent, in a discipline approved by the Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences. Overseas candidates must possess a degree in an approved discipline recognised by the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) as awarding degrees that are comparable to the education level of an Australian bachelor degree.
Candidates for admission must have demonstrated a high level of academic performance and International applicants must also comply with the ��ýapp requirements for competency in written and spoken English.

All students are required to satisfy the applicable .

If you do not meet the English language requirements you may apply to study a ��ýapp-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, you may be admitted to an award program.

Program fees

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth supported place is where the Australian Government makes a contribution towards the cost of your higher education and you as a student pay a , which varies depending on the courses undertaken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .
Commonwealth Supported students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called .

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the
Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called provided they meet the residency and citizenship requirements.
Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition fees and are not eligible for .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

Program structure

The Master of Spatial Science Technology is comprised of 16 units of study as indicated in the following tables. It involves a minimum of either four (4) semesters of full-time study or eight (8) semesters of part-time study.

The program is flexible, and depending on their previous undergraduate degree and current interests, allows a student to choose courses from a) GIS and surveying courses, and b) related disciplines and application areas, such as sustainable development, information systems, and technology management. All students must complete a five unit research project ( and ) and a pre-requisite course on research methods ().

Specialisation

The specialisation study provides students with knowledge and skills in a specific discipline. The two specialisation study areas in the Master of Spatial Science Technology are:

Geographic Information Systems
Surveying.

IT requirements

Access to an up-to-date computer is necessary. On-campus students can access appropriately equipped laboratories, but should consider acquisition of their own computer. External students should be able to access a computer with the following as advised by the ��ýapp. All students should have access to email and the Internet via a computer running the latest versions of Internet web browsers such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. The ��ýapp has a wireless network for on-campus students' computers. In order to take advantage of this facility and further enhance their on-campus learning environment, students should consider purchasing a notebook/laptop computer with wireless connectivity. A notebook/laptop may be required for some courses.

Credit

Exemptions/credit will be assessed based on the .

Enrolment

The Master of Spatial Science Technology consists of 16 units of study as indicated in the following recommended enrolment patterns for each specialisation study area. Each candidate must follow a specific schedule based on the candidate’s specialisation study (i.e. GIS or surveying).
The recommended enrolment pattern below is designed to cover a four-semester period for on-campus students.
Each student must complete the following:

eight (8) courses from Schedule A (GIS and Surveying courses)
two (2) courses from Schedule B (related disciplines and application areas)
all courses in Schedule C (research methods and project dissertation).

A student with previous undergraduate degree in the spatial sciences may opt to select fewer courses in Group A than required and thus will need to complete more courses from Group B, with the approval of the Head of Discipline. All students in this program must select or formulate a research dissertation topic that focuses on spatial sciences (i.e. GIS, remote sensing, surveying, GPS, spatial science education, etc.) and/or their applications.

Recommended enrolment patterns

In this section:

Geographic Information Systems specialisation recommended enrolment pattern
Surveying specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Geographic Information Systems specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Course	Year of program and semester in which course is normally studied						Enrolment requirements	Comments
Specialisation: Geographic Information Systems (Specialisation study Code: 15926)
	On-campus (ONC)		External (EXT)		Online (ONL)
	Year	Sem	Year	Sem	Year	Sem
Schedule A: Students must complete all eight courses**
		1		1
				1		1
		1		1
		1		1			Pre-requisite: and or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GDST or MSST or GCST or MENS
		1		1,3
		2		2
		2		2
		2		2			Pre-requisite: or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCGS or GDST or MSST or GCNS or GCST or GDNS or MENS
Schedule B: Students must complete two courses from the following list
		1,2		1,2,3
		2		2
				2
		1		1
		1		1			Pre-requisite: or MAT1500 or or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCEN or METC or MENS or GCNS or GDNS or MSST or MEPR
		1		1
URP4002 Urban and Regional Planning Theory#		1		1
		2		2
		2		2
		2		2
^^		2		2			Co-requisite: or or (Students enrolled in Programs: BEDU (Legal Studies) or BLAW or LLBP or BALW or BBLA or BCLA & Co-requisite: LAW1201 or ) or (Students enrolled in Program: DJUR & Co-requisite: LAW5501 or )
		1,2		1,2
		2		2
Schedule C: Students must complete all courses in Schedule C
*		1, 2,3				1, 2
		1,2		1			Pre-requisite:
^		1,2		1, 2			Pre-requisite:	4 units

Footnotes
**	A student with a previous undergraduate degree in the spatial sciences may opt to select fewer courses in Group A than required (and thus will need more courses from Group B), upon approval by the Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences.
#	This course will be introduced in 2017
^^	On-Campus offer only available at Springfield
*	Best enrolled in first year to satisfy and pre-requisite.
^	Students wishing to undertake research project over multiple semesters may enrol in twice in place of .

Surveying specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Course	Year of program and semester in which course is normally studied						Enrolment requirements	Comments
Specialisation: Surveying (Specialisation ��ýapp Code: 15927)
	On-campus (ONC)		External (EXT)		Online (ONL)
	Year	Sem	Year	Sem	Year	Sem
Schedule A: Students must complete all eight courses**
		1		1
				1		1
		2		2			Pre-requisite: ( and ) or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCNS or GCST or GDNS or GDST or MSST or MENS
		1		1
		2		2			Pre-requisite: or or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCST or GDST or MSPT
		2		2
		1		1			Pre-requisite: and or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCNS or GCST or GDNS or GDST or MSST or MENS
		2		2			Pre-requisite: or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCNS or GCST or GDNS or GDST or MSST or MENS
Schedule B: Students must complete two courses from the following list
		2		2			Pre-requisite: and or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCNS or GCST or GDNS or GDST or MSST or MENS
		2		2
		2		2
		1		1			Pre-requisite: or Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GCNS or GCST or GDNS or GDST
		1		1
		2		2
		1		1
URP4002 Urban and Regional Planning Theory#		1		1
		2		2
				2		2
		2		2			Pre-requisite:
Schedule C: Students must complete all courses in Schedule C
*		1, 2,3				1, 2
		1,2		1		1	Pre-requisite:
^		1,2		1, 2			Pre-requisite:	4 units

Footnotes
**	A student with a previous undergraduate degree in the spatial sciences may to opt to select fewer courses in Group A than required (and thus will need more courses from Group B), upon approval by the Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences.
#	This course will be introduced in 2017
*	Best enrolled in first year to satisfy and pre-requisite.
^	Students wishing to undertake research project over multiple semesters may enrol in twice in place of .

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