What this subject area covers
GIS, geomatics and surveying is about measuring the position and shape of things on, above and below the Earth’s surface, and then storing, analysing and presenting that spatial information. Course titles in this area include geographical information science and systems, geoinformatics, geomatics, surveying, geodesy, cartography, remote sensing and hydrographic surveying. They overlap, but they lean in different directions. Your statement is more convincing when it shows you understand which direction you are applying for.
A useful way to separate this subject from its neighbours: geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and oceanography study processes and places. This area is concerned with how location is measured, represented and reasoned about. A geographer might ask why flooding affects one district more than another. A GIS or geomatics applicant should also show interest in how the flood extent was mapped, how accurate the elevation data was, and how the map could mislead. If your evidence is entirely about the environmental issue and never about the data, the statement will read as a geography statement.
How the branches differ and what evidence suits each
Geographical information science, GIS and geoinformatics
These focus on spatial data: databases, analysis, coordinate systems, spatial statistics, and increasingly programming and automation. Good evidence shows you have handled real data and thought about method. Examples include joining a dataset to boundaries, noticing that results changed with the choice of areal unit, or discovering that two layers would not align because they used different projections. Geoinformatics titles often sit closer to computing, so scripting, data structures or database work carries more weight there.
Surveying and geomatics
These emphasise measurement in the physical world: control networks, levelling, total stations, GNSS, laser scanning and the handling of error. Strong evidence involves measuring something and caring about how wrong the measurement might be. Fieldwork where you recorded heights or distances, a physics practical on uncertainty, or construction-site work where you saw setting-out can all connect if you reflect on accuracy, checking and tolerance. Do not imply you did professional surveying if you only watched it happen.
Geodesy
Geodesy deals with the Earth’s shape, gravity field, reference frames and precise positioning. It is the most mathematical branch. Relevant evidence is interest in why a GPS position needs a datum, why heights above an ellipsoid differ from heights above sea level, or how satellite orbits are used. Mathematics and physics work, such as vectors, mechanics and trigonometry, is directly relevant here and should be named specifically.
Cartography
Cartography concerns the design and communication of maps: generalisation, symbolisation, projection choice and how readers interpret visual information. Evidence can come from making maps and critiquing them. You might redesign a confusing bus map, compare how two news outlets mapped the same election, or examine how a choropleth’s class breaks change the story. Art or design work becomes relevant here only if you tie it to the accurate communication of spatial information.
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is about obtaining information from satellite, aerial or drone imagery: spectral bands, resolution, image classification and change detection. Accessible evidence includes working with freely available satellite imagery, comparing true- and false-colour composites, or calculating a vegetation index for a familiar area. Physics topics on the electromagnetic spectrum are a genuine link. Explain what the sensor actually measured, rather than simply saying that the images were impressive.
Hydrographic surveying
Hydrographic surveying measures water depth and the seabed, riverbed or lake bed for navigation, engineering and charting. It combines positioning with acoustic methods such as echo sounding, plus corrections for tide and vessel motion. Relevant evidence might include boating or sailing where you used charts, interest in why charts carry survey dates, or physics work on sound waves. Treat leisure on the water as a reason for interest, not as surveying experience.
Interests that work well in a statement
Interests are most useful when they are specific and point towards a problem of measurement or representation. Examples:
- Accuracy and uncertainty: why a phone’s location jumps in a city centre, and what multipath or satellite geometry has to do with it.
- Projections: why area comparisons on a Mercator map mislead, and which projection you would choose for a particular purpose.
- Open and volunteered data: how OpenStreetMap is edited, where its coverage is patchy, and why that matters for anyone relying on it.
- Change over time: comparing historical maps or imagery of a coastline, quarry or new housing estate, and the difficulties of aligning sources.
- Data and decisions: how a spatial analysis behind a planning, transport or flood decision depended on assumptions about data resolution or boundaries.
Pick one or two interests and follow them through. A single example where you can explain what you tried, what went wrong and what you learned about the data is worth more than a list of technologies you have heard of.
Preparation and activities you could consider
None of these are prerequisites. They are possible ways to produce evidence you can reflect on.
- Free GIS software: use QGIS with open data, such as local authority datasets or census boundaries, to answer a small question about your area. The value lies in what you learn about joins, projections and classification, not in the finished map.
- Satellite imagery: use freely available imagery from viewers that provide Sentinel or Landsat data to compare seasons or years for a place you know.
- OpenStreetMap editing: mapping paths or buildings near you shows attention to detail and makes you think about data standards and verification.
- Simple measurement projects: measure a sports field or a garden with tape and compass, then compare your result with an online map or phone GPS. Account for the differences.
- Programming: a short Python script that reads coordinates or processes a CSV of locations is relevant, especially for geoinformatics.
- School fieldwork and coursework: geography NEA, environmental science or biology fieldwork often involves sampling locations, transects or mapped results. Reflect on the spatial method, not only the findings.
- Reading: choose something about maps, measurement or spatial data, and in your statement engage with one argument from it.
Using experience that is not directly in the subject
Many applicants have no placement. Ordinary experience can be relevant if you make the spatial or measurement link explicit and stay honest about its limits.
- Delivery driving or cycling couriering: this connects to routing, address data and the gap between map and reality, such as missing entrances or mislabelled roads. It shows you have noticed data quality problems. It does not show any knowledge of network analysis.
- Construction, labouring or trades work: you may have seen levels, setting-out pegs or a surveyor at work, and learned why small errors compound. Describe what you observed and why it mattered. Do not claim you performed the survey.
- Retail or warehouse work: store layouts, stock location systems or catchment-based promotions can introduce spatial thinking. This connection is weaker, so use it only if you can name a concrete spatial question it raised.
- Caring responsibilities: planning accessible routes for someone with limited mobility can show how maps often omit steps, dropped kerbs or gradients. That is a real insight into what data gets collected and for whom. It is not technical experience.
- Volunteering: footpath surveys, litter or tree surveys, wildlife recording and humanitarian mapping all involve recording location systematically. Discuss how positions were recorded and how reliable they were.
- Hobbies: orienteering, hillwalking, geocaching, sailing, drone flying, flight simulation and strategy games with maps can all connect. Orienteering builds map reading and an understanding of contours and scale. Geocaching shows GPS error in practice. These show interest and practical familiarity, not formal skill, so say what they made you want to understand properly.
What useful reflection looks like
Reflection in this subject usually means explaining a decision or a discrepancy. A weak sentence says that you made a map of local crime and enjoyed using GIS. A stronger version explains that mapping by ward made one area look worst, but that the pattern largely disappeared once you used smaller units. That led you to the problem of how spatial units shape conclusions.
Useful questions to answer for yourself before writing, not to put in the statement as questions:
- What was the data, where did it come from, and how accurate or current was it?
- What choice did you make, such as projection, classification, resolution or method, and what would have changed with a different choice?
- Where did your result differ from reality or from another source, and why?
- Which part of the course you are applying for would help you do this properly?
Tie the reflection to the branch you are applying for. A surveying applicant should end up talking about measurement and error. A cartography applicant should talk about communication and design choices. A remote sensing applicant should talk about what the sensor records and how it is interpreted.
Using school subjects
Mention subjects only where they contribute something specific. In mathematics, trigonometry underpins surveying calculations, while statistics underpins spatial analysis and accuracy assessment. In physics, waves and the electromagnetic spectrum relate to remote sensing and echo sounding, and uncertainty in practicals relates to measurement error. Geography contributes fieldwork and spatial patterns, but add the method. Computing contributes data handling and programming. Design subjects contribute visual communication for cartography. One precise link is better than a list of subjects.
Pitfalls specific to this subject
- Writing a geography statement with a map attached: keep the focus on how spatial information is measured, analysed or shown.
- Naming software as evidence: saying you have used ArcGIS or QGIS says little. Describe what you did with it and what it taught you.
- Treating technology as magic: describing GPS, drones or satellites as amazing without engaging with how they work or where they fail.
- Overclaiming exposure: watching a surveyor, flying a hobby drone or using Google Earth is not professional experience. Present it as a starting point.
- Ignoring the branch: a geodesy or surveying statement with no mention of mathematics or measurement, or a cartography statement with no attention to design, will seem mismatched.
- Confusing the degree with a job: career aims such as becoming a chartered surveyor can be mentioned, but the statement should mainly show interest in what you will study. Do not assume a course leads to a particular professional status.
- Mixing up surveying meanings: land and engineering surveying are different from quantity surveying and building surveying. Make sure your evidence matches the geomatics sense if that is what the course covers.
For general advice on planning, structure and editing, read our personal statement writing guide.