Master in Geography and Geoinformatics

Geography and Geoinformatics at the University of Copenhagen is a two-year MSc taught in English. The programme lets you work across climate change, landscape development, urban planning and economic change, and you pick a specialisation when you enrol.

What you study

You choose between three specialisations: Geoinformatics, Physical Geography and Human Geography. You can also study geography with a minor subject.

In the Geoinformatics specialisation, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Earth Observations (EO) are central. You go into the theory and concepts behind GIS and EO and how they are used in environmental monitoring and modelling at local and global scales. The page lists these competences for graduates:

• understanding GIS and EO tools for applications in human and physical geography
• programming, customisation and automation in GIS
• using GIS and EO technologies and software
• environmental monitoring algorithms within optical and thermal infrared remote sensing
• processing data from registers and digital maps
• working with big data

The final part of the degree is the Master's Thesis. You can build it from literature reviews, desk analyses of data or fieldwork, and you can write it with a company or organisation. The programme can be structured in two ways depending on thesis size, for example a 45 ECTS thesis with 15 ECTS of compulsory courses.

How the programme is organised

Teaching comes as classroom teaching, project work, and field and methods studies. Compulsory and elective courses plus your own projects give you academic and practical knowledge and theoretical, analytical and methodological qualifications.

You can use elective courses for a project in practice in Denmark or abroad, for example with a company or institution. You need a supervisor who approves the host company and guides you, and you finish with a written take-home report and an oral examination. You can also study abroad for one or two semesters or a shorter period such as a summer school, with passed courses credit transferred.

Who it suits

It suits someone who wants to work across several academic fields rather than one narrow track, and who is comfortable with both data and fieldwork. If you like GIS, remote sensing and spatial analysis, the Geoinformatics specialisation is the direct route. If your interest is climate, landscape or urban and economic change, the Physical Geography and Human Geography tracks cover those.

Admission, language and next steps

You apply through the application portal. A bachelor's in Geography and Geoinformatics from the University of Copenhagen gives you a legal right of admission, guaranteed if you apply by the deadline, and you can wait up to three years to use it. Several other Danish degrees automatically meet the academic requirements, including Natural Resources from UCPH, Geography and Surveying and Mapping from Aalborg University, and Geography specialisations from Roskilde University. Other Danish or international degrees need at least 60 ECTS matching courses from the UCPH bachelor's programme.

You must meet the English B language requirement. Applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland apply by 15 January for a September start. EU, EEA and Swiss applicants apply by 1 March. Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland study free of charge; other students pay a fee set by the institution.

Master’s applications go straight to University of Copenhagen, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. The register shows 15 January 2027 as the next deadline for this programme. Intake, as the register states it: Starts 1 September 2027 (apply by 15 January 2027). Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.