Postgraduate Education in Geodesy

Postgraduate education in geodesy is an important part of the Geodesy Division's activities. It is often directly related to the Division's research projects at the time. Postgraduate studies in geodesy are offered at two levels, accordingly leading to two types of degrees: Technology Licentiate (Tech.Lic) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Both types of degree requires theoretical course studies as well as individual thesis work. Upon the start of postgraduate studies each postgraduate student together with the supervisor will work out an individual study plan which can be updated later successively. Normally, it takes about 2,5 years full-time studies to obtain the Tech.Lic. degree and about 4 years for the PhD degree.

A PhD student in geodesy is required to study 50 credits courses, of which at least 25 credits should be obtained from geodesy courses while at most 20 credits from courses at undergraduate level. In addition, the PhD candidate will carry out his/her own research project under the guidance of the supervisor. The research results will be documented in a doctoral dissertation. Dissertation can be written either as a monograph or as a collection of several separate papers/reports (some of which may have already been published in journals after expert review). Doctoral dissertation will be examined by an external academical opponent and must be defended in a public disputation.

A Tech.Lic degree comprises courses of 30 credits, of which at least 20 credits are obtained from geodesy courses while at most 10 credits from courses at undergraduate level. A licentiate thesis based on the student's own research will be presented in a seminar and examined by an external opponent. Not necessarily but most commonly, a PhD student will carry out the Tech.Lic. studies before he/she proceeds to PhD studies.

Persons who are interested in PhD studies at KTH are encouraged to directly contact professor Lars Sjöberg. At present there are no PhD scholarships available for foreign students. They are advised to apply for scholarships from e.g. the Swedish Institute or other institutions before they come to KTH. For general information on higher education in Sweden, please visit www.studyin.sweden.se.

The following table lists postgraduate courses in geodesy. A short description of the course contents is given in a PDF file.