Land Management and Geospatial Science Technical University of Munich

Courses are held in English only. Participants should write the Master's thesis in English.

Did 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 relationships between people and land in a politically, legally, and socio-culturally sensitive manner.

The Land Management and Geospatial Science programme combines two inter-connected scientific domains: Land Management and Geospatial Science. The aim of the Master’s programme is to train land professionals who can apply land and spatial-related concepts and tools to analyse international contemporary land issues and have the executive soft skills to carry out land administration functions to solve these land issues.

Required modules offered as part of the Master's programme:

• Land management
• Real estate economics
• Photogrammetry and remote sensing
• Geodesy for land management
• International professional practice in land management and geospatial science
• Property rights and land tenure systems
• Land administration and land information systems
• Geoinformatics for land management
• Decision support systems

Elective modules include (amongst others):

• Land management and land policy
• Spatial planning and policies
• Remote sensing in urban planning and development
• Land management international
• Instruments of land mobilisation
• International rural development
• Urban ecology
• Advanced real estate management
• Advanced GIS
• Introduction to earth system science
• Remote sensing – selected chapters
• Acquisition and analysis of photogrammetric data
• Spatial data management and visualisation
• Environment and climate transformation
• Energy transformation
• Urban Water-Energy-Food Nexus
• Big geospatial data analysis and management
• Scientific paper writing

We admit new students every year in the winter semester (October).

To be admitted, you must submit your application for admission between 1 January and 31 May of the respective year you intend to start your studies so that you can commence lectures in October of the same year.

Processing of admission takes time. Therefore, we encourage applicants to apply early within the application window above to receive their admission on time and have a reasonable time for processing visas.

The degree programme comprises four semesters and 120 CP in total. Within the first two semesters, the students gain knowledge and skills in land management sciences, geospatial engineering sciences and policy, governance, management and research sciences. In the third semester, the students choose one of three areas of concentration:

1. Systems of land use and land rights
2. Systems of geospatial engineering for land, water, and forestry management
3. Systems of planning, policy, and governance.

This enables students to select combinations of modules based on their specific interests, which also offers a good opportunity for international mobility. Finally, students finish their studies in the fourth semester by writing their Master's theses.

The programme offers an optional mobility window in the third semester for students at one of TUM partner universities abroad. The TUM School of Engineering and Design offers many opportunities for a study-related stay abroad (https://www.international.tum.de/en/global/going-abroad/). Good reasons for studying abroad are the broadening of one's horizons, the personality-building effect, the improvement of knowledge of the respective language, and getting to know other (subject) cultures and ways of life. Credits of eligible courses taken during a semester abroad can be transferred to the Land Management and Geospatial Science programme. Plans for a semester abroad and transfer of credits must be discussed with the programme coordinator in advance in the first or latest second semester of the programme.

Internships are not mandatory for completing the Master's programme. However, students have the opportunity to take up an internship in the fourth semester of the programme. For instance, a student could decide to write the thesis with a company or an organisation on a topic that is of interest to the company.

No tuition fees

This degree programme does not charge any tuition fees.

You can find current information on tuition and semester fees here: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/fees.

Of course, the cost of living in Munich depends on your needs and your lifestyle. Compared to other German cities, however, living in Munich is relatively expensive. As a rule, you can expect to spend 1,000 EUR a month. Most of this will be for rent.

Average costs per person:

• Rent: For shared living or studio apartment (including utilities) at least 550 EUR
• Food: At least 200 EUR
• Local public transit: 30-50 EUR
• Health insurance: 50-120 EUR
• Phone/Internet/radio and TV fees: 45 EUR

If you are moving to Munich with your family, the costs will increase accordingly. Rent for a two-bedroom apartment ranges from 800 to 1,200 EUR a month. A cheaper alternative to the private rental market is living in a student dormitory at the Munich Student Union. However, rooms in student dormitories are very popular and there are usually long waiting lists.

All applicants need to fulfil the following requirements:

• Bachelor's degree recognised by the TUM in order to study in a Master of Science programme
• English language certificate recognised by the TUM (or finished Bachelor's studies in English language)
• Motivation letter (to be submitted within the online application process)
• Affinity with land matters

As a rule, proof of sufficient English language skills must be submitted before the end of the application period. 

Acceptable English language certificates are as follows:

• Certificate for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum of 88 (Internet-based)
• IELTS: Band Score 6.5; academic module or Cambridge Main Suite of English Examinations
• Proof of English as a language of instruction in a “Diplom” or Bachelor's degree programme

To be admitted, you must submit your application for admission between 1 January and 31 May of the respective year you intend to start your studies so that you can commence lectures in October of the same year.

Processing of admission takes time. Therefore, we encourage applicants to apply early within the application window above to receive their admission on time and have a reasonable time for processing visas.

TUM offers a variety of scholarships and financial aids. More information can be found here: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/fees-and-financial-aid/scholarships/tum-scholarships.

Please refer to the following page for more details: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/during-your-studies/living-and-working/jobs-and-internships.

It's not easy to find a place to live in Munich – but it's not impossible either! The Technical University of Munich (TUM) supports students and staff in their search for accommodation, providing personal advice, listings for housing and useful information to ensure that students can quickly find accommodation. TUM offers support to find accommodation here: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/during-your-studies/living-and-working/accommodations.

TUM supports students, alumni, and doctoral candidates throughout their lives in terms of job search, career entry, and career development in Germany and worldwide. See details here: https://www.community.tum.de/en/career-service/.

TUM offers support to international students. More information can be found here: https://www.tum.de/en/studies/international-students.