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 |
| GEOG0125 | Advanced Topics in Social and Geographic Data Science | 15 credits |
| GEOG0163 | Data, Politics and Society |
15 credits |
COMPULSORY MODULES (TERM TwO)
| Module code | Module title | UCL Credit value |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| CEGE0092 | Reality Capture and Precision 3D Sensing | 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. |
|---|
 Jo Wilkin Jo completed her ESRC-funded PhD on mining Call Detail Records in 2020. She used the data to evaluate social connectivity for Disaster Resilience Estimation while based at the Worldpop Research team at the University of Southampton. Her academic interests include the creation and use of innovative geospatial datasets to gather insights into Disaster Risk Reducation. |
 Mirco Musolesi Mirco leads the Intelligent Social Systems Lab at UCL and is a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. Before joining our community, Mirco held research and teaching positions at Dartmouth College, the University of Cambridge, the University of St Andrews and the University of Birmingham. His research has focused on designing next-generation intelligent systems based on computational and mathematical models of human behaviour and social dynamics. |
 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. |
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.
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.