Land Management and Geospatial Science M. Sc.
Do you know that ninety percent of land holdings in developing countries are not documented, administered, or protected? Yet, land administration systems and practices do not cater to the complexity of land issues, including urban sprawl, land tenure insecurity, and climate change.
Deriving solutions to these challenges requires a combination of contextual insights, technical-methodological instruments, and communication skills to accelerate land rights documentation, land tenure security, and sustainable land use. It requires responsible governance of land tenure and fit-for-purpose land information systems to document people-land relationships in a politically, legally, and socio-culturally sensitive manner.
The Land Management and Geospatial Science program combines two inter-connected scientific domains: Land Management and Geospatial Science. The aim of the master’s program is to train land professionals who can apply land and spatial-related concepts and tools to analyze international contemporary land issues and have the executive soft skills to carry out land administration functions to solve these land issues.
What you'll learn for your future?
Students explore land management from a multidisciplinary perspective, applying methods and techniques from geospatial engineering and land management sciences to evaluate and implement spatial development and land policy responsibly and sustainably.
Graduates of the Land Management and Geospatial Science program are specialized generalists with a broad overview of land management and geospatial science topics and approaches. They work at the interface of politics and technology, applying existing land tools or designing new policies and interventions for documenting, administering, or protecting land tenure in specific socio-legal contexts. Their expertise is crucial in developing creative, innovative, and sustainable solutions to complex and contextual spatial problems. They also contribute their technical-methodological expertise to developing land and geospatial information systems that can capture, monitor, store, and query multi-dimensional information on land use, land tenure, and natural resource rights. Finally, they apply their interrelated geospatial, social, and legal skills to reconcile different and competing stakeholder interests in land.
You can find more information about the M.Sc. Land Management and Geospatial Science in our TUM Land Management and Geospatial Science Wiki.
Type of study: Full-Time
Standard period of study: 4 Semester
Credits: 120 ECTS
Main location: Munich
Type of admission: Aptitude test for Master's programs
Start of study: Winter semester
Application period: Winter semester: January 1st - May 31st
Required proof of language skills: English
Tuition fees: No tuition fees for international students from third countries are charged for this degree program. Please note: The semester fee as a contribution to the student union must still be paid.
Specializations:
In the first two semesters, students acquire knowledge of land management, geoengineering, political, administrative, management and research sciences.
In the third semester, students choose one of three specializations (Systems of land use and land rights/Systems of geospatial engineering for land, water, and forestry/Systems of planning, policy, and governance).
They can choose module combinations according to their specific interests. The third semester also offers a good opportunity for international mobility.
In the fourth semester, students complete their studies by writing their Master's thesis.
The course is divided into compulsory and elective modules that enable students to acquire the basic concepts, theories, methods, systems, and fundamentals of land management and geospatial sciences.
In the first semester, students must take the following compulsory modules:
- land management
- real estate economics
- photogrammetry and remote sensing
- geodesy
- international professional practice in land management and geospatial science
- one additional elective module
In the second semester, students must also take the following compulsory modules:
- property rights and land use systems
- land administration and land information systems
- geoinformatics
- decision support systems
- two additional elective modules
The third semester is a specialization semester, which students can design freely by selecting module combinations from a catalog of elective modules. Together, these reflect the central theme of one of the three focus areas.
The language of instruction in the program is English. German is not a prerequisite for enrolling in the master's program. For everyday life in Germany, we recommend the free German courses at TUM.
The TUM School of Engineering and Design offers many opportunities for a study-related stay abroad. Good reasons for studying abroad are to broaden your horizons, to have a personality-building effect, to improve your language skills, and to get to know other (professional) cultures and ways of life.
Internships are not mandatory for completing the Master's degree. However, students have the opportunity to complete an internship in the 4th semester of their studies. Students can also choose to write their thesis at a company or organization in the form of an internship on a topic that is of interest to the company.
Apply via the TUMonline application portal and upload your documents for admission there.
The following requirements must be met:
- Bachelor's degree recognized by TUM to be able to study a Master of Science program
- English language certificate recognized by TUM (or completed Bachelor's degree in English)
- Letter of motivation (to be submitted during the online application process)
- affinity with land and spatial issues
The application deadline for the beginning of the academic year (October) is May 31 of the same year.
Prospective students who have acquired their Master's entrance qualification (e.g. a Bachelor's degree) outside the EU / EEA must usually request preliminary examination documentation from uni-assist in advance.