Áù¾ÅÉ«ÌÃ : Engineering, Geomatics

Engineering, Geomatics - ENGO

Contact Information

Location: Schulich School of Engineering, Room E228
Faculty number: 403.220.4979
Fax: 403.284.1980
E-mail address: graduate@geomatics.ucalgary.ca
Web page URL:

1. Degrees and Specializations Offered

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Master of Science (MSc), thesis-based
Master of Engineering (MEng), thesis and course-based

Areas: Positioning, navigation and wireless location; Earth observation; Digital imaging systems (Biomedical Engineering); and GIS and land tenure.

See â€œEngineering Programsâ€ for further degree specializations.

2. Admission Requirements

See "Engineering Programs."

3. Application Deadline

Complete applications may be submitted any time up to and including January 1 for January admission, May 1 for May admission, July 1 for July admission and, September 1 for September admission, but applicants should allow up to four weeks for processing of their application. Shorter processing times may be possible if a potential supervisor has been identified.

In addition, international students should allow for the time required to apply for, and be granted, a Canadian student permit prior to their arrival. Please note that the time needed to obtain a Canadian study visa varies largely between country of origin and applicants are therefore encouraged to contact the Canadian Embassy in their respective countries to determine conservative processing times for this, including any necessary medical examinations that may be necessary. At the discretion of the supervisor, successful applicants who are unable to obtain a study visa in time may be allowed to defer their start date to a later time.

4. Advanced Credit

See "Engineering Programs."

5. Program/Course Requirements

In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements and the Schulich School of Engineering, the Department requires:

Students in all thesis programs must complete a Technical Report Writing course. In consultation with the Supervisor and the Graduate Director, this requirement can be waived for students with prior experience and skills in technical report writing.

Master of Engineering (course-based)

See â€œEngineering Programs.â€

Master of Engineering (thesis-based)

a) A minimum of five half courses, of which at least four must be graduate courses.

b) After satisfactory progress in the student's own research work, enrolment in the Geomatics Engineering 605 Research Seminar course.

c) A thesis related to original engineering analysis or design.

Master of Science

a) A minimum of five half courses, of which at least four must be graduate courses.

b) After satisfactory progress in the student's own research work, enrolment in the Geomatics Engineering 605 Research Seminar course.

c) Attend six seminars (Geomatics Engineering 605, 607, and/or 609) in total. One page report should be submitted for each seminar.

d) A thesis related to original engineering research.

Doctor of Philosophy

a) A minimum of three graduate half courses beyond the Master of Science course requirements. For students who transfer from a Master of Science to a doctoral program, a minimum of two graduate half courses beyond the Master of Science course requirements.

b) After satisfactory progress in the student's own research work, enrolment in the Geomatics Engineering 607 and 609 Research Seminar courses, normally not to be taken in the same term.

c) Attend six seminars (Geomatics Engineering 605, 607, and/or 609) in total. One page report should be submitted for each seminar.

d) A written and an oral candidacy examination based on the graduate course work.

e) A thesis related to advanced original engineering research.

Independent Study Courses

Course-based Master of Engineering students can have no more than three independent study courses count towards their degree requirements.

Thesis-based Masters students and Doctor of Philosophy students can have no more than one independent study course count towards their degree requirements. Students who transfer from the Master of Science to the Doctor of Philosophy program can have no more than two independent study courses count towards their degree requirements.

6. Additional Requirements

None.

7. Credit for Undergraduate Courses

Only where appropriate to a studentâ€™s program may graduate credit be received for courses numbered 500-599, which are considered undergraduate courses.

8. Time Limit

See "Engineering Programs".

9. Supervisory Assignments

For thesis-based Masters, or Doctor of Philosophy programs, see "Engineering Programs". For course-based Masters programs, all students will be assigned an advisor at the time of registration.

10. Required Examinations

Masterâ€™s Programs

See â€œEngineering Programs.â€

Doctoral Programs

Doctoral Candidacy Examination
The candidacy examination has a written and an oral component. The studentâ€™s background knowledge in the field of Geomatics Engineering and in-depth knowledge in his/her chosen research specialization is examined.

The written examination is an open book examination of no longer than 6 cumulative hours. It consists of a comprehensive examination in the candidateâ€™s field of specialization and of a general examination in at least one of the other graduate streams in Geomatics Engineering, referred to as major and minor parts in the following. The major part will usually be of three hours duration and will count for 2/3 of the mark of the written component. The minor part will last one-andâ€“a-half hours and will count for 1/3 of the mark of the written component. Passing marks in both the major and the minor parts are required to pass the written examination. A recommended reading list for the written examination will be made available to the student upon request.

The oral examination will further test the candidateâ€™s knowledge of his/her field of study in particular, and of geomatics in general, in addition to providing an opportunity to clarify, defend and extend answers in the written examination. Although the purpose of the candidacy exam is not to examine or approve the studentâ€™s research proposal, questions on the research proposal may be included in the oral candidacy exam to assess the background knowledge and preparedness of the student to conduct doctoral research of high quality in his/her field of study.

Doctoral Final Oral Examination
See â€œEngineering Programs.â€

11. Research Proposal Requirements

Master of Engineering (thesis-based)

A preliminary thesis proposal, consisting of five to eight pages, accepted by the supervisor, is required no later than 16 months after initial registration. Contents of the thesis, reflecting an applied approach to a problem, should contain new elements of engineering principles and applications.

The thesis proposal should include the following:

1. Statement of the problem.
2. Research objectives.
3. Literature review.
4. Methodology and procedures.
5. Outline of thesis contents.
6. Proposed time schedule.
7. Bibliography and references.

Master of Science

The Master of Science thesis proposal requirements, including the outline of the proposalâ€™s contents, are the same as those for the Master of Engineering (thesis-based). The thesis topic, however, should deal with original theoretical or practical research in Geomatics Engineering.

Doctor of Philosophy

The doctoral thesis proposal requirements, including the outline of the proposalâ€™s contents, are the same as those for the Master of Engineering (thesis-based). The thesis, however, must demonstrate the candidateâ€™s ability to pursue original research at a high level and represent a distinct advance in knowledge on the subject. The research should be of the recognized standard of technical journals requiring critical review. The supervisor and supervisory committee will normally require progress reports every six months during the doctoral program.

12. Special Registration Information

None.

13. Financial Assistance

Candidates are not admitted unless self-funded or with financial support provided by an interested supervisor. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial AssistanceÂ section of this Calendar.

14. Other Information

See â€œEngineering Programs.â€

In addition, the Department offers a designated set of graduate half-courses in each of the five specialization areas. Additional graduate courses are offered as Special Studies and Project courses. The Department also offers a Distinguished International Lecturer Series, which consists of approximately four to five courses offered annually by invited professors and researchers.

15. Faculty Members/Research Interests

Information about the Departmentâ€™s research areas may be found at .

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