Frequently asked questions
We welcome you to get into contact for any open question. The staff at the UNIGIS office is happy to give advice or put you into contact with the relevant contact person. However, you may find some answers already below, in our collection of most frequently asked questions.
People choose to learn from home for a number of different reasons. Some enjoy the independence, some are homebound, some find it an easier way to balance education and life, and some appreciate the ability to learn at their own pace.
You can access our eLearning environment using any Internet connection, anytime, anywhere. Choose the time and place that works for you! Participate in group discussion, post your exercises and assignments, and review feedback. Much of your course work can be done offline, too.
Not at all. Using the eLearning environment is similar to using e-mail, your computer at work, or any software program.
UNIGIS Salzburg occasionally offers scholarships for selected students in the English language program with specific financial needs and excellent academic success. In addition, you might qualify for financial support through your employer, national agencies, or various scholarships provided by other institutions besides UNIGIS Salzburg. There is no reduced tuition fee for groups.
The tuition fee includes the registration fee at University of Salzburg and all related services, like issuing of certificates or library access.
However, additional costs involve:
- Communication during the study time (e.g. fax, telephone, Internet).
- Purchase of hardware and software (see How to study online for details).
- Fees for credit card payment.
- Travelling costs to attend workshops, summer schools, or UNIGIS update conferences.
- You may want to invest in buying (text) books or attend a seminar on a topic of interest to you.
- Your UNIGIS student status will come in handy as it entitles you to possible discounts on participation fees for seminars offered by UNIGIS partner institutions.
Registration depends on available study places. The maximum number of admitted students is to be set by the Program Director, taking into account educational and organisational considerations. Allocation of study places are arranged in the order of binding registration according to evidence of the provision of all admission requirements. In case of a late registration UNIGIS Office will clarify if there are available study places
The scheduled workshops are online hence you don’t need to travel to Salzburg. The performance assessment (“exam”) consists of a set of assignments that will be handed in via the learning platform. However, in the rare case of a student retaking an exam for a third time, his/her presence is required in Salzburg (oral exam in front of a committee – see also the Statues of the University of Salzburg, §21).
Like any other online courses, UNIGIS requires that students participate in web conferences, view streaming videos and work with multimedia channels. Thus it is essential to have access to broadband internet, a webcam, a headset and have the related software installed.
Please ask UNIGIS Office about the system requirements.
The use of an Apple Computer instead of a PC is principally possible but a specific support for this platform cannot be offered. However, ArcGIS and many GIS programs are based on Windows as operating system.
In general, you may use any GIS-software products you are familiar with to solve the assignments. Nevertheless, we encourage you to work with the suggested software in order to avoid dealing with any possible technical issues.
Both study programs are designed to be completed earlier than the maximum study period*, i.e. 3 years for UNIGIS MSc and 1,5 years for UNIGIS professional.
In the exceptional case a student exceeds the study period, the right to receive further mentoring and assessment by University of Salzburg is terminated. It is possible however to agree on the continuation of the study with the university course leadership. In this case an additional fee will be due to extend the studies.
The University of Salzburg will award graduates of the UNIGIS MSc (CE) program the academic degree Master of Science (CE). “CE” stands for “Continuing Education”.
Graduates of the UNIGIS professional program will be awarded with the “Academic Certificate in Geographical Information Systems”.
The decision lies with the respective educational institution. University of Salzburg issues an international transcript and diploma supplement. The grading scale in the transcript complies with the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) scale. Before you start your UNIGIS studies, please clarify any accreditation issues with your educational institution.
Yes, provided that the entry requirements for the UNIGIS MSc program are fulfilled.
Although the qualifications, the competencies, and sometimes the study materials of these programs differ, the credits of completed modules can be awarded for the UNIGIS MSc study program. This depends on the currently valid curriculum, though.
As a result, the duration of the UNIGIS MSc study program reduces to 18 months and the tuition fee corresponds to the second instalment of the tuition fee that is currently valid.
Please contact your employer to clarify any financial impacts of the academic Degree.
According to the Universities Act § 56. (2) the academic Degree UNIGIS Msc (CE) is equivalent to any other university master’s program.
The “MSc (CE)” Degree qualifies for admission to PhD studies
However, admission to the PhD study is always a decision of the respective university and, for example, also a question of adequate supervision capacities. It is therefore not possible to give a general answer as to whether admission will take place in a specific case, regardless of the academic background. With the completion of the UNIGIS MSc program, you have the same admission requirements as with any other university master’s course that comprises 120 ECTS.
As UNIGIS alumnus you will continue to benefit from the global UNIGIS community and knowledge base. The ClubUNIGIS network has exclusive access to life-long learning offers of the University of Salzburg, like u_lectures and optional modules, but also through select partner universities and industry partners.
An important aspect of GIS advanced education is the development of independent solutions and the implementation thereof within a specific product. Typical GIS training courses aim to teach a specific GI software or at least some of its functionalities. Nevertheless, they often provide neither advanced software skills, nor the ability to develop alternative approaches to a problem.
This is exactly the difference of our study program in Geoinformatics: it offers a sound theoretical, methodological and application-oriented background in this field. In other words, it explains the GI concepts and instructs their application considering the state-of-the art GI software architecture, it enables the development of a conceptual toolkit for solving complex spatial problems and teaches how to ask the right questions. In combination with the acquired software skills our graduates posses competences and they are qualified to collect, manage, analyse, and visualise spatial data within the scope of their professional activities.