This master’s programme focuses on recording and representing the human-altered environment using surveying and geospatial information. You will learn to acquire, process and visualise geodata with instruments ranging from theodolites, laser scanners and cameras to modern satellite systems and digital remote sensors. The course highlights the full spectrum of surveying work — from global satellite campaigns and airborne surveys to on-site terrestrial measurements — and shows how geoinformation underpins land administration, planning, legal clarity and decision-making. Geodetic methods are increasingly important for disaster response, environmental-risk monitoring and the scientific exploration of the Earth and other planets.
Building on undergraduate fundamentals, the programme deepens technical and theoretical knowledge across construction surveying, photogrammetry and remote sensing, higher and satellite geodesy, cartography and geoinformation science, and land regulation and development. You will also train in automated, computer-based procedures for collecting, processing, analysing and visualising spatial information. Students may choose to specialise in one of three tracks: (1) higher geodesy and satellite geodesy, (2) photogrammetry, remote sensors and cartography, or (3) geodesy, geoinformatics and land management. For a full, official description of the curriculum and study regulations, consult the programme’s degree documentation (PDF, German).
Admission / entry requirements (summary)
The programme begins with a concentrated first semester that builds a firm foundation across all core areas of geodesy and geoinformation. You will study classical and satellite geodesy, photogrammetry, remote sensing, cartography, engineering surveying, geoinformatics and land management, ensuring a broad and interconnected understanding of the field.
During the second and third semesters you move into more technical and methodological training within your chosen study lines. The curriculum requires you to follow the compulsory modules of the three selected study lines while also taking courses from other chosen lines, allowing both depth and cross-disciplinary breadth. Supplementary electives and research-oriented project work give you the chance to specialise further and gain hands-on experience with contemporary tools and methods.
The fourth semester is devoted to the Master’s thesis, where you bring together theoretical knowledge and practical methods learned earlier to investigate a focused research question or applied problem. By the end of the programme you should be able to apply advanced geodetic and geoinformatics techniques, conduct independent research or project work, and communicate technical results effectively.
Key modules and programme requirements (at a glance)
Admission is decided through a formal aptitude assessment that takes place after you submit an official application. The relevant TUM school uses this procedure to check whether you meet the programme’s specific entry requirements.
The assessment is carried out in two parts. In the first stage your Bachelor’s grades and the written documents you provided are scored using a point system. Based on the points you receive, applicants are either directly admitted, rejected, or invited to the second stage — an admissions interview. The final admission decision is made on the basis of the complete aptitude assessment.
For full, official details consult the programme’s Aptitude Assessment description (Appendix B2) and the application/admission overview.
Winter Semester (International)
31 May 2026
Winter Semester (EU/EEA)
31 May 2026
Graduates are prepared for technical and analytical roles that require expertise in spatial data acquisition, processing and interpretation. Typical employers include surveying and engineering firms, mapping and geoinformation companies, municipal and national planning authorities, and organisations involved in environmental risk assessment and disaster management.
The skillset is also relevant to research institutions and space/earth-system agencies involved in satellite geodesy and planetary exploration, as well as private sector roles in remote sensing, photogrammetry, GIS development and land management services.