Belgium

Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven)

Leuven, Belgium

The geography program at KU Leuven focuses on the spatial patterns of physical and anthropogenic phenomena on the Earth’s surface and on the interactions between society and the environment. The GIS course in this department offers programs mainly in cooperation with the Free University of Brussels (VUB). Applicants can apply for a 2-year master’s degree and a 4-year doctoral degree after completing their bachelor’s degree. The GIS program focuses on new methods and techniques for acquiring, managing, analyzing and mapping spatial data, with an optional two-month GIS internship.

Professors:

Govers Gerard: Spatial Modeling, Geomorphological Processes, Soil Science, Physical Geography;
Ate Poorthuis: Urban Geography, Geographic Data Science, Visualization, Geocomputation;
Anton Van Rompaey: Socio-ecological Systems, Land Use Change, Rural-urban Migrations.

Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB)

Brussels, Belgium

Units: Cartography and GIS

Geographical research at the VUB focuses on urban, social and spatial change. The GIS department offers programs mainly in cooperation with KU Leuven and ULB. Applicants can apply for a 2-year master’s degree and a 4-year doctoral degree after completing their bachelor’s degree. Its GIS program focuses on new methods and techniques for acquiring, managing, analyzing and mapping spatial data, with an optional two-month GIS internship.

Professors:

Frank Canters: Urban Remote Sensing, Monitoring and modeling of Urban Dynamics, Uncertainty in Spatial Data, Map Projection;
Francesc Baró: Urban Ecosystem Services, Green Infrastructure, Nature-based Solutions, Urban Environmental Justice, Geospatial Analysis;
Benoît Smets: Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, Natural Hazards, Volcanoes.

University of Louvain (UCLouvain)

Leuven, Belgium

Units: Geography

The Geography department at University of Louvain focuses on economic geography and the interactions between society and the environment. The department is open to applications for 1- or 2-year Master’s degrees (taught in French language). The 2-year track is more focused on research. Applicants can apply for a 4-year PhD program if they hold a master’s degree. This program focuses mainly on geographic modeling, GIS and remote sensing.

Professors:

Peeters Dominique: Economic Geography, Spatial Statistics, Localization Theory ;
Isabelle Thomas: Regional Science, Spatial Analysis, Economic Geography, Transport Geography;
Sophie Vanwambeke: High-resolution Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Systems, Multilevel Statistical Modeling, Land Use Change, Epidemiology;
Veerle Vanacker: Remote Sensing, Geomorphology, Mountain Erosion Processes, Human-Landscape Interactions.

Free University of Brussels (Université libre de Bruxelles, ULB)

Brussels, Belgium

Units: Geospatial Analysis Lab

Geographic research at ULB focuses on urban, social and spatial change. The GIS unit carries out collaborative projects with the VUB. It is also a part of the European 4Cities program. Undergraduates can apply for a 2-year master’s degree and master’s students can apply for a 4-year PhD. The GIS program focuses on new methods and techniques for acquiring, managing, analyzing and mapping spatial data.

Professors:

Eléonore Wolff: Spatial Analysis, Mapping, Remote Sensing, Land-use Management.

Ghent University

Ghent, Belgium

Units: 3DDA, CartoGIS

The geography program at Ghent University has a long history and a comprehensive scope, with research interests in 3D data acquisition, cartography and GIS, physical geography, landscape studies, and socio-economic geography. You can apply for a 2-year master’s degree after your undergraduate degree and a 4-year PhD after your master’s degree. The department has two main master programs in GIS, namely a traditional geography program, and a specialized mapping program, both taught in Dutch.

Professors:

Alain De Wulf: 3D data-acquisition Techniques, Land and Hydrographic Surveying, Geodesy;
Rudi Goossens: Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, High-resolution images;
Tim Van de Voorde: Geographic Information Science, Remote Sensing, Land Use Change Modelling, Ecosystem Services;
Philippe De Maeyer: Geographic Information System, Land use, Remote Sensing, Flood modeling, Digital mapping;
Haosheng Huang: Geographic Informaiton Science (GIScience), Cartography, Location Based Services (LBS), Spatial Cognition, Urban Informatics;
Nico Van de Weghe: Geographic Informaiton Science (GIScience), Location Based Services (LBS), Moving Objects and Research.