NGEN06
Syllabus for
Algorithms in Geographical Information Systems 7.5 ECTS credits
1. Course details
Ratified by the Education Committee of the Faculty of Science 14-06-2007. The syllabus is
valid from 01-07-2007. The course is at the 2nd cycle.
2. General information
The course is part of the main field of study in Physical geography and ecosystem analysis at
the Faculty of Science. The course is compulsory in a Master’s degree in Science, with a
major in Geomatics. The course is also offered to students at the Faculty of Engineering and
as a single subject course. The language of instruction is English if necessary.
3. Learning outcomes
On completion of the course, the students shall have acquired the following knowledge and
understanding:
Knowledge and understanding
In order to pass the course, the students must be able to:
 explain the theory underlying the basic algorithms (for rasters, vectors and graphs)
used in geographical information processing,
 analyse spatial concepts and describe their definitions,
 suggest suitable ways to solve geometrical problems in geographical information
processing,
 describe ways in which geographical data can be stored in a database and how an
extended version of SQL can be used to retrieve geographical data,
 give detailed descriptions and derivations of empirical transformation in the plane,
 describe spatial data structures, and
 describe methods of spatial indexing.
Skills and abilities
In order to pass the course, the students must be able to:
 programme basic algorithms used in geographical information processing,
 structure and solve geometrical problems, and
 communicate with a database designed for geographical data.
Approach and evaluative abilities
In order to pass the course, the students must be able to:
 reflect on the possibilities and limitations of a GIS programme.
4. Course content
In previous, more basic courses, the students will have familiarised themselves with basic
theories of GIS and learned to use GIS as a tool in geographical analysis. The aim of this
course is to provide the underlying mathematical and technical theory of GIS. This knowledge
is necessary to evaluate the results of an analysis and to perform more advanced analyses
which exceed the capabilities of a standard GIS programme. The lectures cover the basic
theory of storing geographical data in databases, and the most important algorithms in GIS.
The practicals mainly centre on using geographical databases and programming algorithms.
The course concludes with an individual project.
5. Teaching and examination
Teaching consists of lectures, practicals and individual project work. Practicals and project
work, and the course elements associated with these, are compulsory.
Examination takes the form of a written test and the oral and written presentation of the
project.
Students who fail the ordinary tests will have an opportunity to take another test in close
proximity to the ordinary test.
6. Grades
Students are awarded one of the following grades: Distinction, Pass or Fail.
To be awarded a Pass on the whole course the student shall have passed the written test, have
acceptable hand-in exercises and project presentations and have participated in all compulsory
course elements.
The final grade for the course is determined by the aggregated results of the different parts of
the examination.
Students who wish to supplement the ordinary grade with an ECTS grade should request this
from the responsible teacher no later than one week after the start of the course.
7. Admission requirements
The following are required for admission to the course: courses corresponding to a bachelor’s
degree in physical geography, including 30 ECTS credits in GIS, or three years’ study at a
faculty of engineering.
8. Literature
According to a list established by the department, available at least five weeks before the start
of the course.
9. Further information
The course cannot be credited as part of a degree along with NGE612 Algorithms in
geographical information processing 5 credits, GIS418 Algorithm theory in GIS 5 credits or
GISN07 Algorithm theory in GIS 7,5 credits.