Admission and Eligibility
Academic qualification
Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent first-cycle higher education qualification from a recognised higher education institution.
The qualification must:
1. comprise at least 180 ECTS credits or the equivalent of at least three years of full-time university study; and
2. give access to Master’s-level studies in the country in which the qualification was awarded.
As a general guideline, the awarding institution should be ranked within the top 10,000 universities worldwide according to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.
- Applicants in the final year of their Bachelor’s degree may apply, provided they submit an official statement from their university confirming their current status and expected graduation date.
- The qualifying degree and final transcript must be obtained and submitted before 31 July 2027.
- Qualifications and institutions must meet the recognition and country-specific requirements of the GEM partner universities.
- Where requirements differ between partner institutions, the more stringent applicable requirement may be applied.
Academic performance
Applicants must have achieved a First Class or Upper Second Class (2.1) Bachelor’s degree, or an internationally recognised equivalent.
- A Lower Second Class (2.2) degree or equivalent does NOT meet the minimum academic requirement.
- Assessment of equivalence will take into account the grading system, academic standards and higher education system of the country in which the degree was obtained.
- Country-specific minimum grades or GPA requirements imposed by the GEM partner universities must also be satisfied. The country-specific requirements can be found here.
Meeting the formal minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) does not automatically establish academic eligibility. The Consortium will also assess the level, content and results of courses relevant to GEM.
Relevant academic background
The Bachelor’s degree must provide an academic background relevant to the objectives and content of the GEM programme and the GEM tracks.
- Relevant disciplines may include, but are not limited to:
- Geography
- Geoinformatics
- Geomatics
- GIS
- Earth Observation
- Remote Sensing
- Environmental Sciences
- Earth Sciences
- Ecology
- Natural-Resource Management
- Agriculture
- Forestry
- Land-use Planning
- Urban and Regional Planning
- Spatial Planning
- Civil or Environmental Engineering
- Computer Science
- Data Science, or
- Another discipline with a demonstrable connection to Geospatial Analysis, Environmental Modelling or Human- Environment Interactions. - Applicants from other academic backgrounds may be considered if their previous studies, research, or professional experience demonstrates sufficient preparation for the programme.
- Previous GIS or Remote Sensing courses are advantageous, and especially for track 3 Geospatial Developer and track 4 Geospatial Modeller, a minimum of 15 EC is highly recommended.
- Relevant professional, research or field experience is considered an advantage but is not a formal eligibility requirement.
English-language proficiency
Applicants who are not eligible for an exemption must demonstrate a high level of proficiency in academic English by submitting one of the approved English-language tests.
The minimum standard for GEM is:
- IELTS Academic
an overall band score of at least 6.5 with a minimum sub-score of at least 6.0 on each section - TOEFL iBT (internet-based)
- For tests taken under the previous 0–120 scoring scale, an overall score of 90 and a minimum sub-score of 21 on speaking and writing. By exception, you can also take the TOEFL iBT (Special) Home Edition test (only valid for the September 2027 intake). This is only the case when you cannot use a regular language test as listed in this table, because the on-site language test centre is closed due to unsafe situations in your country.
- For tests taken under the TOEFL scoring scale introduced in January 2026, an overall score of 4.5 and a minimum sub-score of 4.0 on speaking and writing. By exception, you can also take the TOEFL iBT (Special) Home Edition test (only valid for the September 2027 intake). This is only the case when you cannot use a regular language test as listed in this table, because the on-site language test centre is closed due to unsafe situations in your country. - Cambridge C1 Advanced, formerly known as Cambridge English Advanced (CAE)
obtained with an overall score of at least 176 and a minimum score on each section of at least 169. Both the ‘digital or paper-based’ are accepted. - Cambridge C2 Proficiency, formerly known as Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE)
obtained an A, B or C grade, with an overall score of at least 176 and a minimum score on each section of at least 169. Both the ‘digital or paper-based’ are accepted. - PTE Academic certificate
an overall score of at least 63, and a minimum score on each section of 59 (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking). - LANGUAGECERT Academic (in-person) certificate
an overall score (band score/minimum score) of 70, and minimum sub scores of 65 in Reading and Listening, and 70 in Speaking and Writing.
English-language test results must be valid at the application deadline and, where the test provider applies a validity period, must normally be no more than two years old.
The following language tests are NOT accepted:
- IELTS Online test
- IELTS General Training
- IELTS Indicator test
- IELTS One Skill Retake
- Institutional TOEFL tests
- TOEFL MyBest scores
- PTE Core
- PTE Academic online
- Duolingo English test, or
- Unofficial university language assessments.
The official English-language certificate must be available by the application deadline (15 January 2027). Applications that do not meet the English requirement by the deadline will be considered incomplete and will not be assessed.
English-language exemption
An exemption from submitting an English-language test may be granted only under the exemptions formally recognised by the GEM Consortium.
To maintain a consistent and stringent consortium-wide standard, completion of a degree merely stating that the medium of instruction was English is not, by itself, sufficient for an exemption.
- Check here to see if you qualify for an exemption.
- An exemption may normally be considered where an applicant has successfully completed at least three years of higher education, physically attended and taught in English, in one of the following countries:
- Australia,
- Canada,
- Ireland,
- New Zealand,
- United Kingdom or
- United States of America. - For Canadian qualifications, the programme may require evidence that at least 50% of the programme was taught in English.
- If you obtained your higher education degree in
- Austria,
- Belgium,
- Botswana,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Finland,
- Germany,
- Gambia,
- Ghana,
- Hungary,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malawi,
- Namibia,
- Nigeria,
- Norway,
- Papua New Guinea,
- Romania,
- Singapore,
- Slovakia,
- Surinam,
- Sweden,
- the Netherlands,
- Zambia, or
- Zimbabwe
you may also be eligible for an exemption. Please complete the self-check here to find out if you qualify. - Distance-learning programmes, offshore campuses and programmes delivered by an institution outside the qualifying country do not automatically confer an exemption.
- No individual English-language waivers will be granted outside the formally approved exemption categories.
