The first Master's Degree is Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System was officially established in 1997 in response to a demand for human resources in the field of Remote Sensing and GIS. This need stemmed from the growing awareness and concern in Thailand with regards to sustainability and the environment. With the establishment of the Northeast Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Centre (an affiliation of the Computer Centre) in 1988, research activities have focused on environmental issues. The degree training in Remote Sensing and GIS is a collaborative effort between the Department of Computer science and the Northeast Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Centre. The central theme of the course is the application of Remote Sensing and GIS technology on natural resources and environmental issues. Graduates of the course are knowledgeable in the technology and in project management.

Research Activities and Community Outreach

Staffs of the Program direct their research activities towards understanding the problems with natural resources and the environment in the Northeast of Thailand. Areas of interest include land resources, forest ecology and wildlife habitat modelling, etc. The Centre has established on extensive spatial database on natural resources with the area of interest being the Northeast.

More specifically, research topics are Spatial Analysis on Drought-risk Areas, Wildlife Sanctuary Management, Land Evaluation for Economic Crops and A Provincial Spatial database for the Management of Natural Resources and the Environment. This research is conducted with the relevant agencies.

Outreach activities focus on the transfer of knowledge to the scientific community, local government officials and NGO's in the Northeast. Such activities include workshops and training in the application of Remote Sensing and GIS, both at basic and advanced levels. Staff style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black; font-size: 13pt; 'Angsana New';">s also provide consultation to interested parties.

Teaching and Research Facilities

The program has been affiliated with the Northeast Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS; the facilities were also provided by the centre. The centre is equipped with Remote Sensing and GIS facilities to support advanced research and training and houses a terminal room with 15 Pentium based PCs with KKU network capabilities. The Remote Sensing and GIS software includes Arc/Info, ArcView, SPANS, PAMAP, PCI-EASI/PACE, ILWIS, ENVI, etc. In addition, a Global Positioning System (GPS) base station has been installed to provide a reference service for differential GPS surveys. The operating radius form the base station in about 500km. GPS data can be downloaded from http://www.kku.ac.th/gps.html.

Head of the Program: Associate Professor Dr. Charat Mongkolsawat

Duration of application: February of every year

The number of students admitted per year:    15

Admission Requirements

1. Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree in either Physics, Biology, Environmental Science, Agriculture, Public Health, Geography, Geology, Meteorology, Engineering, Architecture or any science based degree acceptable to the Department and Dean of Graduate School, Khon Kaen University.
   
   
2. Applicants for program A type A (1) must have a Bachelor's degree and GPA not less than 3.00.
   
   
3. Applicants for program A type A (2) must have a Bachelor's degree and GPA not less than 2.50.
   
   
4. Exceptions may be granted for those whose qualifications are below the minimum requirements but have experience in related fields of more than 3 years with the acceptance from the Department and Dean of Graduate School, Khon Kaen University.
   
   
5. Applicants must have good physical and mental health.
   
   
6. Applicant qualifications must meet Khon Kaen University's regulations on graduate education since 2000.

Curriculum in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System

The MSc. in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System has two variants of program A and these are A(1) and A(2)

Program A type A(1) students are required to complete at least 38 credits by doing only a Thesis.

Program A type A(2): students are required to complete at least 38 credits: a Thesis not less than 12 credits and the courses not less than 26 credits.

Program A type A (1)

320 898

Thesis

38 credits

 

Program A type A (2)

The MSc. program A type A (2) consists of the following courses:

Core Courses - 11 credits

Subject Code	Subject Name	Credits
320 761	Principles of Remote Sensing	3(2-3-0)
320 762	Digital Image Processing	3(2-3-0)
320 781	Geographic Information System	3(2-3-0)
320 891	Seminar I	1(1-0-0)
320 892	Seminar II	1(1-0-0)

 

Compulsory Elective Courses - 12 credits

The students have to pass the compulsory elective courses for the Master of Science program A type A (2) not less than 12 credits.

The students can choose the courses from the two groups of courses for 6 credits of each group with the acceptance from the advisors.

 

Group I
Subject Code	Subject Name	Credits
320 763	Microwave Remote Sensing	3(3-0-0)
320 780	C Language Application in Geographic Information Systems	3(3-0-3)
320 782	Resource Management Information System	3(3-0-0)
320 783	Database Management System and Geographic Information Systems Standard	3(3-0-0)
Group II
112 736	Land Classification	3(3-0-0)
112 738	Landuse planning	3(3-0-0)
320 772	Land Resources and Environment	3(3-0-0)
320 894	Special Problems	3(3-0-0)
Free Elective Courses		3 credits

Students can select any subjects that are offered in Khon Kaen University.