MSc Social and Geographic Data Science
Overview
There is a constantly growing need for qualified professionals and scientists with expertise in social and geographic data science. Our MSc Social and Geographic Data Science will train you in the scientific and vocational skills you will need to be part of the next generation of data scientists. You will graduate will unique expertise at the interface of social science, computing and statistics.
Structure
COMPULSORY MODULES (TERM ONE)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0114 | Principles of Spatial Analysis | 15 credits |
| GEOG0115 | Introduction to Social Data Science |
15 credits |
| GEOG0163 | Data, Politics and Society |
15 credits |
COMPULSORY MODULES (TERM TwO)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0125 | Advanced Topics in Social and Geographic Data Science | 15 credits |
| GEOG0105 | Research Project and Dissertation (Terms 2 and 3) | 60 credits |
OPTIONAL MODULES (TERM One)
You will normally, but not exclusively, choose your four optional modules from the following list. We regret that not all modules will be available each year due to sabbaticals and staff changes. If you have questions about the availability of a specific optional module, please contact the Programme convenor.
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0040 | Principles and Practice of Remote Sensing | 15 credits |
| CASA0005 | Geographic Information Systems and Science | 15 credits |
| IRDR0009 | Digital Public Health: Epidemics and Emergencies in the Era of Big Data | 15 credits |
OPTIONAL MODULES (TERM TWO)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG0035 | Environmental GIS | 15 credits |
| GEOG0051 | Mining Social and Geographic Datasets | 15 credits |
| GEOG0112 | Climate Change Impacts to Hydro-Ecological Systems | 15 credits |
| GEOG0149 | Urban Policy | 15 credits |
| GEOG0152 | Introduction to Citizen Science & Scientific Crowdsourcing | 15 credits |
| GEOG0162 | Cartography and Data Visualisation | 15 credits |
| CASA0023 | Remotely Sensing Cities and Environments | 15 credits |
| 1 x 15 credit module may be taken from other Geography MSc programmes or from outside Geography subject to availability and approval from the MSc programme convenor | 15 credits |
In Term 3 you will carry out a Dissertation project worth 60 credits.
People
|
James is the Director of the UCL Q-Step Centre and Deputy Director of the ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre. His research interest includes the analysis and visualisation of spatially-referenced population datasets. His co-authored, best-selling books London: The Information Capital and Where the Animals Go were published in 2014 and 2016 respectively. |
|---|
 Paul Longley Since joining UCL in 2000, Paul supervised over 50 PhD students and co-authored four editions of Geographic Information Science and Systems (with translations in Czech, Korean, Mandarin, Polish and Portuguese). He is the Director of the UCL Consumer Data Research Centre, taking the lead in its development of geotemporal demographics. |
 Rory Coulter Rory joined the UCL Geography Department after completing an ESRC Future Research Leaders project on the rates of homeownership among young people. His research uses longitudinal datasets to analyse the different types of homes and neighbourhoods people move to throughout their lives. |
 Stephen Law Stephen is an Alan Turing Institute EPSRC Fellow. His research interests include spatial network analysis, space syntax, house price modelling, machine learning and computer vision. |
|
Anwar joined the UCL Department of Geography after completing UKRI-NERC project on mosquito-borne arboviruses and infestation burden in the Global South at UCL Institute of Risk and Disaster Reduction. His research interests focus on the application of statistical modelling, geospatial analysis, and data science mainly to areas of infectious disease epidemiology and medical entomology. |
|
Justin joined UCL in January 2018 as a postdoctoral researcher in the Geospatial Analytics and Computing Research Group. His research interest include Big Data applications in scarce data environments, urban transport and human mobility, and data linkage of large datasets. |
Fees and funding
Fees and scholarships information can be found on the main UCL website.
Applications
You can apply for a place on this Programme via UCL Admissions.
In the application form, please select 'Geography' as the Department and 'Postgraduate Taught' as the Programme Type.
International applicants will need a Level 4 or equivalent recognised English language qualification. Visit the UCL Graduate pages for information on UCL’s English Language Requirements.
Please email geog-masters@ucl.ac.uk for more information.
Careers
Across a wide range of industries, businesses are interested in understanding spatially referenced datasets. With the skills you learn in this course, you will be a prime candidate to work in areas as diverse as GIS, marketing and business intelligence, location planning, digital health and epidemiology, data science, resource management and exploration and much more. The MSc Social Geographic Data Science course Programme will also give you the ideal foundation to pursue PhD research.
Take a look at our Careers page to see where some of our students have gone on to work.