Graduate Certificate or Diploma of Surveying overview
Graduate certificates in surveying offer entry-level knowledge of planning processes, soil mechanics and others depending on the course. These take six to eight months of full-time study to complete, or longer if part-time. Bond University’s program is focussed on building surveying, whereas others may have entirely different focusses, making these certificates a versatile entry point into a specialised career.
Graduate diplomas offer a similar experience, with institutions like the University of Tasmaniaproviding units in spatial sciences and practical projects to better equip students for a career in surveying. These take a year of full-time study to complete, or two years part-time.
Employment options
Graduate certificates and diplomas do not provide the necessary education to become a registered surveyor, but they do assist in technical roles and tangentially related fields. These qualifications can lead to a career as a surveying technician employed by companies like Landair Surveys. This role has graduates take measurements and plot graphs in order to present data for decision-making processes. Other positions such as topographic surveyor, geodetic surveyor and the specialisations mentioned here also sound areas to explore.
Scholarships and funding
Dedicated scholarships for surveying certificates and diplomas are very hard to find, but offerings like the Brenton J Burford Scholarship are available to students of the closely-related geospatial sciences. General scholarships like the ECIG Scholarship Program and Endeavour Scholarships and Fellows are still available, however, but their requirements can often be quite specific. The ECIG Scholarships are an example of this, requiring students to partake in a competition via a written essay. Partial funding is normally to be expected from these, so interested students ought to examine what they stand to gain carefully.
Prerequisites and selection process
Most courses require students to have completed bachelor degrees in related programs to take part in either certificates or diplomas. These include geospatial sciences, civil engineering, surveying, construction or others at the discretion of faculty. GPA will often be looked at during competitive periods, with many institutions preferring or requiring a credit average (65%).