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Geospatial engineer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a geospatial engineer. Geospatial engineers usually study geography, engineering, or business. 53% of geospatial engineers hold a bachelor's degree, and 23% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 419 real geospatial engineer resumes to see exactly what geospatial engineer education sections show.
The most common colleges for geospatial engineers are the American University and the American University.
There are also many online geospatial engineer courses to help get the education required to be a geospatial engineer.
What education do you need to become a geospatial engineer?
What degree do you need to be a geospatial engineer?
- Bachelor's, 53%
- Associate, 23%
- High School Diploma, 11%
- Diploma, 6%
- Other Degrees, 7%
What should I major in to become a geospatial engineer?
- Geography, 19%
- Engineering, 10%
- Business, 9%
- General Studies, 8%
- Other Majors, 54%
Most common colleges for geospatial engineers
| Geospatial engineer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| American University | 14.81% |
| University of Arizona | 7.41% |
| Texas A&M University - Central Texas | 7.41% |
| University of Colorado at Colorado Springs | 5.56% |
| Ohio State University | 5.56% |
Best majors for geospatial engineers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geography | 18.8% |
| 2 | Engineering | 9.7% |
| 3 | Business | 9.0% |
| 4 | General Studies | 7.6% |
| 5 | Criminal Justice | 6.3% |
Best colleges for geospatial engineers
The best colleges for geospatial engineers are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Dartmouth College.
A geospatial engineer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for geospatial engineers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become geospatial engineers.
1. Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH • Private
In-state tuition
$55,453
Enrollment
4,312
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$14,184
Enrollment
30,845
4. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$53,740
Enrollment
5,567
5. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$13,226
Enrollment
31,568
6. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-state tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
8. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
9. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,308
Enrollment
6,819
10. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI • Private
In-state tuition
$10,555
Enrollment
30,360
20 best online courses for geospatial engineers
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Prepare for a data science career by learning the fundamental data programming tools: R, SQL, command line, and git...
4. Full Stack Web Developer
Design and develop modern web applications.Students will also learn how to deploy a Flask-based web application to the cloud using Docker and Kubernetes...
5. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an increasingly sought after skill in industries from agriculture to public health. This Specialization, offered in partnership with ArcGIS developer Esri, will teach the skills you need to successfully use GIS software in a professional setting. You will learn how to analyze your spatial data, use cartography techniques to communicate your results in maps, and collaborate with peers in GIS and GIS-dependent fields. In the final Capstone...
6. Geospatial and Environmental Analysis
Apply your GIS knowledge in this course on geospatial analysis, focusing on analysis tools, 3D data, working with rasters, projections, and environment variables. Through all four weeks of this course, we'll work through a project together - something unique to this course - from project conception, through data retrieval, initial data management and processing, and finally to our analysis products. In this class you will learn the fundamentals of geospatial and environmental analysis during...
7. Spatial Analysis & Geospatial Data Science in Python
Learn how to process and visualize geospatial data and perform spatial analysis using Python...
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Learn how to process and visualize geospatial data and perform spatial analysis using Python...
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Create robust predictive models with statistics and Python programming. Build confidence and credibility to tackle complex machine learning problems on the job. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
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13. Geospatial Big Data Visualization with Kepler GL
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14. Climate Geospatial Analysis on Python with Xarray
By the end of this project, you will be able to load, visualize, manipulate and perform both simple and grouped operations over geospatial multidimensional data through Xarray and Python. We'll explore an dataset containing temperature, vegetation density and total precipitation over the Brazilian Amazon for the 1979-2019 period while the concepts are developed. This will enable the learner to handle and extract knowledge from complex datasets such as the ones from satellite and climate...
15. Geospatial Analyses & Remote Sensing: from Beginner to Pro
Learn Remote Sensing, QGIS & GIS , main concepts, machine learning, QGIS classification, change detection, Earth Engine...
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17. Front-End Web Development (Part Time)
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18. JavaScript Development (Part Time)
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19. Data Engineer
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20. iOS Developer
Master the Swift programming language, and create a portfolio of iOS apps for iPhone and iPad to showcase your skills!...
Top 10 most affordable universities for geospatial engineers
The most affordable schools for geospatial engineers are California State University - Long Beach, university of south florida, and florida international university.
If the best universities for geospatial engineers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for geospatial engineers.
1. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
2. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
3. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
4. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
5. California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,886
Cost of attendance
17,645
6. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
7. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
8. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,140
Cost of attendance
14,430
9. California State University - Northridge
Northridge, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,893
Cost of attendance
18,870
10. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for geospatial engineers
The hardest universities for geospatial engineers to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Dartmouth College.
Some great schools for geospatial engineers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for geospatial engineers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,488
4. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
5. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
7. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,448
8. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
9. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
10. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,407
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for geospatial engineers
The easiest schools for geospatial engineers to get into are Oregon Institute of Technology, pennsylvania state university - dubois, and old dominion university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a geospatial engineer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for geospatial engineers.
1. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
2. Pennsylvania State University - DuBois
DuBois, PA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,079
3. Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,093
4. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
5. Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX • Private
Admissions rate
89%
SAT average
1,035
6. San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA • Private
Admissions rate
72%
SAT average
1,054
7. Portland State University
Portland, OR • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
1,111
8. University of Southern Maine
Portland, ME • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,050
9. Wright State University
Dayton, OH • Private
Admissions rate
95%
SAT average
1,100
10. Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
1,019
Average geospatial engineer salary by education level
| Geospatial engineer education level | Geospatial engineer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $100,198 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $90,480 |
| Doctorate Degree | $110,196 |
Geospatial engineer education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025