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This course uniquely prepares the next generation of data scientists in social and geographic fields with expertise in social science, spatial data science, and computing.
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About this degree
The programme is both an ideal and rigorous introduction to the key elements of social and geographic data science. Alongside core modules looking at a range of topics from spatial analysis, social and spatial data science and data politics and society, you will have a range of optional modules to cater your learning to your interests.
The degree allows you to develop expertise in, among other areas, advanced methods of knowledge discovery and data mining, urban analytics, cartography, remote sensing, urban studies, citizen science and machine learning. In addition, you will have the opportunity to take modules in subjects related to urban policy, ensuring you graduate with skills and knowledge to enter the sector or continue with further education.
Who is this course for?
You will be best suited for the MSc in Social and Geographic Data Science if you have a social sciences undergraduate degree that has a quantitative component.
The programme is also cross-disciplinary in nature, so we encourage passionate students from related fields with quantitative components to apply. In particular, students from urban planning, computing, arts and humanities backgrounds would be well suited to this course.
Alternatively, you may be an academic or professional in a related field with experience in data science, geographic information science, social data science, smart cities, or computing.
MSc Open Event
Hear more about the course from Dr Stephen Law:
- Academic Staff
Dr Stephen Law (Convenor)
Dr Stephen Law joined the UCL Geography Department after completing a research fellowship at the Alan Turing Institute. His research interests including the use of machine learning, image analysis, and street network analysis to tackle urban planning and design challenges.
Professor James Cheshire
James is the Director of the UCL Q-Step Centre and Deputy Director of the ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre. His research interest includes the analysis and visualisation of spatially-referenced population datasets. His co-authored, best-selling books London: The Information Capital and Where the Animals Go were published in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Professor Paul A. Longley
Since joining UCL in 2000, Paul supervised over 50 PhD students and co-authored four editions of Geographic Information Science and Systems (with translations in Czech, Korean, Mandarin, Polish and Portuguese). He is the Director of the UCL Consumer Data Research Centre, taking the lead in its development of geo-temporal demographics.
Dr Rory Coulter
Rory joined the UCL Geography Department after completing an ESRC Future Research Leaders project on the rates of homeownership among young people. His research uses longitudinal datasets to analyse the different types of homes and neighbourhoods people move to throughout their lives.
Dr Anwar Musah
Anwar joined the UCL Department of Geography after completing UKRI-NERC project on mosquito-borne arboviruses and infestation burden in the Global South at the UCL Institute of Risk and Disaster Reduction. His research interests focus on the application of statistical modelling, geospatial analysis, and data science mainly to areas of infectious disease epidemiology and medical entomology.
Dr Justin Van Dijk
Justin joined UCL in January 2018 as a postdoctoral researcher in the Geospatial Analytics and Computing Research Group. His research interests include Big Data applications in scarce data environments, urban transport and human mobility, and data linkage of large dataset.
Funding
Visit the Prospectus for information on Fees:
News from MSc Social and Geographic Data Science
 | UCL Geography Women in Physical GeographyTo mark International Women's Day, we are hosting a series of short talks centred on career journeys of women in geosciences. |
 | Professor Henry Wai-chung Yeung Discusses New Book on Theory and Explanation in GeographyWe were very pleased to host a talk by Professor Henry Wai-chung Yeung (National University of Singapore) on his latest book, "Theory and Explanation in Geography." |
 | Housing Inequality Research: Insights and Policies for a Fairer BritainRory Coulter explains what his research tells us about housing and inequality in Britain, and discusses what housing policies he’d like to see on the table ahead of the 2024 General Election. |
 | Mapping the Capital's Demographic DiversityExploring London's Geodemographic Landscape with the London Output Area Classification (LOAC) |