Studying Geoinformatics online

Take your GIS career to the next level with the UNIGIS distance learning programs. For more than 30 years, the UNIGIS programs at the University of Salzburg stand as one of the world’s leading distance-learning programs in Geographic Information Systems. Meeting the highest academic standards of the European Union Higher Education Framework, both our Master of Science degree and UNIGIS Professional Certificate are specifically designed to meet the needs of professionals seeking to enhance their expertise in cutting-edge fields such as GeoAI, spatial data science, GI application development, spatial data management and visualization, advanced spatial analysis, Digital Earth and Remote Sensing.

UNIGIS professional

  • 12 Months
  • Academic Certificate in Geographical Information Systems
  • Next start in October 2026
UNIGIS professional

UNIGIS Msc

  • 24 Months
  • Academic Degree Master of Science (CE)
  • Next start in October 2026
UNIGIS MSc

Become part of the UNIGIS Community!

With UNIGIS being part of the Department of Geoinformatics – Z_GIS, one of the largest Geoinformatics faculty in Europe, our students benefit from an international faculty of experts in GIS and Remote Sensing, as well as personalised support from our academic tutors to help find solutions to their everyday challenges as GIS professionals. As fully online programs, UNIGIS is open to both beginners and advanced GIS professionals. Our programs offer flexible time management, allowing you to balance your UNIGIS studies with your job, family, and personal life.

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Faculty of Geoinformatics

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3000 +

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The benefits
of studying UNIGIS

Flexible Study Environment and Payment Schemes

Benefit from a flexible, self-paced study environment with personalised support from the UNIGIS team, and take advantage of individual payment schemes tailored to your personal financial needs.

Working with GI professionals all over the world, UNIGIS is a fully online study program giving you as much flexibility as possible to combine your personal and professional responsibilities with your life as a UNIGIS student. From day one of your UNIGIS studies, our team is there to support you and help with any organisational questions along the way.

Domain Knowledge and Software Skills

Get familiar with and master the fundamental concepts and methods of geospatial technologies for your everyday work as a GI professional, and work with the latest proprietary and open-source GIS and Remote Sensing software. This will ensure that you keep pace with the latest technological developments and meet the demands of the job market in an era where Artificial Intelligence is transforming the field of GIS, beyond just the use of specific software tools.

Specialisation

Pursue your personal specialisation through a continually evolving offer of elective subjects and optional modules.

After completing the core modules of the UNIGIS curriculum, you can choose from a constantly evolving set of optional modules to acquire and deepen your knowledge in a specific topic, including Spatial Data Science, Advanced Remote Sensing, Automated Data Processing with R, LiDAR in theory and application, 3D GIS with Unity, and more. Credits can also be awarded for workshops, Summer Schools, training courses, or MOOCs acquired through institutions other than UNIGIS Salzburg.

Professional Networks and Career Development

Join an international network of experts in GIS, Spatial Data Science, and Remote Sensing, and advance your career through our academic networks and industry partnerships, which give you access to conferences, summer schools, opportunities for scientific publications, internships, and a growing job market.

Become part of the ClubUNIGIS community, which has grown into a network of about 4,000 students and alumni and join a network of leaders and experts from diverse cultural backgrounds, languages and academic disciplines in institutions and companies worldwide!

Fully Recognised Academic Degrees

Earn internationally recognized academic degrees and certificates, accredited according to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) at Level 7 (Master of Science) and Level 6 (UNIGIS Professional). This will enable you to successfully apply for jobs in both the public and private sectors. Additionally, the 120 ECTS UNIGIS Salzburg Master of Science degree will formally qualify you to pursue a PhD.

A preview of the study program:
Demo-Module

Are you interested what our learning materials look like? What kind of research and training we do? Then get the link to our free Demo Module and have a look. The Demo Module is a subset of our first module “Introduction to Geoinformatics” that we teach in the UNIGIS programs, and it gives insights into the typical structure of our modules, the online exams we do, and the discussion forum that our students and lecturers use for communication.

Launch Demo-Module

Demo Modul & Newsletter (EN)

Studying
Together

You are not on your own in your online studies: the UNIGIS-team supports you through every phase of your studies and provides help with organizational questions, along with personalized feedback tailored to your individual needs as a student. We also actively encourage interaction with your fellow students - for example, through discussion forums, joint exercises, online workshops, and optional online meetings. This way, despite UNIGIS being a fully self-paced academic program that gives you as much flexibility as possible in organizing your studies, social exchange doesn't fall short either.

FAQs

FAQs

Many of our students come from fields or disciplines where spatial data is processed, analyzed, and/or visualized. The range spans from “A” as in Archaeology to “Z” as in Zoology. Among our students are long-time self-taught practitioners looking to put their existing experience on a solid foundation or to broaden their perspective beyond their immediate GIS work, as well as career changers looking to enter this growing industry for the first time. As long as you meet the formal admission requirements (at minimum a completed bachelor’s degree for the UNIGIS MSc / a high school diploma or several years of professional experience in the GI industry for the UNIGIS Professional) and bring the necessary commitment for a part-time distance-learning program, we welcome your application!

With over three decades of experience as a provider of premium academic distance education in GIS, we are deeply committed to ensuring that our graduates have their degrees recognized in their country of origin. Therefore, the programs offered by UNIGIS Salzburg are fully accredited in accordance with the European Qualification Framework (EQF) at Level 7 (Master of Science) and Level 6 (UNIGIS Professional). This recognition will enable you to successfully apply for jobs in both the public and private sectors. Additionally, 120 ECTS Master of Science of UNIGIS Salzburg will formally qualify you to pursue a PhD. Our UNIGIS team will support you by providing all necessary supplementary documentation, such as diploma supplements, apostilles, and more.

As the UNIGIS programmes are fully online, there are no residential events that require your presence at the University of Salzburg. However, you are always very welcome to visit us in person and learn more about our work as the Department of Geoinformatics in research, community outreach, and education!

Both the UNIGIS Master of Science and the UNIGIS Professional are part-time programs that allow our students to perfectly combine work and studies. The UNIGIS MSc takes 2-3 years, while the UNIGIS Professional certificate program takes 12-18 months. For both programs, the average weekly workload is approximately 12-15 hours, depending on the module content and your personal prior knowledge.

UNIGIS Salzburg doesn’t run a single standalone “GeoAI” course. Instead, GeoAI is woven into our broader geoinformatics curriculum by integrating specific GeoAI-related topics, methods, and tools into our core modules and elective subjects. This ensures rapid update cycles in a fast-evolving subject and allows our students to acquire the necessary knowledge step-by-step throughout the program.

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FAQs

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Events
and Dates

Stay up to date about our upcoming webinars, and events at UNIGIS.

UNIGIS Newsletter

The UNIGIS newsletter delivers news in Geoinformatics four times a year: new software, interesting links, featured Master Theses and news from the UNIGIS network. Don’t miss out on UNIGIS events, new modules, and regional activities.
Newsletter (EN)

Upcoming Events

We, the UNIGIS Team, are looking forward to seeing you!

We, the UNIGIS Team, are looking forward to seeing you!