Field and Methods Courses in MSc Geography and Geoinformatics
Academic year 2026-2027:
Slovenia
Timing: Blok 3-4, 2027
Destination: Slovenia
Themes: Geoinformatics, Land System Science, and physical geography,
Responsible: Stéphanie Horion, Martin Rudbeck Jepsen, Thomas Friborg
Course description: Field and Methods Course in Geography and Geoinformatics - 2026/2027
Information meeting: October 21st 12:15 – 13:00. ‘Green Room’, 3rd floor, building 6, Øster Voldgade 10
Ghana
Timing: Blok 3-4, 2027
Destination: Accra
Themes: Human geography, geoinformatics
Responsible: Lasse Møller-Jensen and Manja Hoppe Andreasen
Course description: Field and Methods Course in Geography and Geoinformatics - 2026/2027
Information meeting: November 9th at 12.15 in classroom 1, Øster Voldgade 10 (basement)
Nepal
Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment (SLUSE, see more below). Separate course that runs every year in block 3 (15 ECTS, full block), jointly with other departments. Read more on the course description at kurser.ku.dk.
Information meeting: TBC
Academic year 2027-2028:
Netherlands and Belgium
Timing: Blok 3-4, 2028
Destination: Bruxelles and other
Themes: Human and physical geography, planning and management of peri-urban and coastal areas
Responsible: Aart Kroon
Course description: To be announced
Information meeting: To be announced
Greenland
Timing: Blok 4-5, 2028
Destination: Disko
Themes: Physical geography
Responsible: To be announced
Course description: To be announced
Information meeting: To be announced
Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment (SLUSE, see more below). Separate course that runs every year in block 3 (15 ECTS, full block), jointly with other departments. Read more on the course description at kurser.ku.dk.
Information meeting: To be announced
Academic year 2028-2029:
Morocco
Timing: Blok 3-4, 2029
Destination: Morocco
Themes: Human and Physical geography - plasticulture
Responsible: Marianne Nylandsted Larsen and Mikkel Fruergaard
Course description: To be announced
Information meeting: To be announced
Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment (SLUSE, see more below). Separate course that runs every year in block 3 (15 ECTS, full block), jointly with other departments. Read more on the course description at kurser.ku.dk.
Information meeting: To be announced
Academic year 2029-2030:
Netherlands
Timing: Blok 3-4, 2030
Destination: Rotterdam
Themes: Human geography - social, political and economic perspectives on urban and regional development processes
Responsible: Christine Benna Skytt-Larsen and Høgni Kalsø Hansen
Course description: To be announced
Information meeting: To be announced
Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment (SLUSE, see more below). Separate course that runs every year in block 3 (15 ECTS, full block), jointly with other departments. Read more on the course description at kurser.ku.dk.
Information meeting: To be announced
About MSc Geography Field and Methods Course
The fundamental goal of the MSc Geography Field and Methods Course is to enable the student to independently organize and carry out larger-scale geographical fieldwork and to be able to analyze, evaluate, document and communicate the results of a scientific study.
The course is designed as preparation for a Master’s thesis and therefore ideally takes place prior to carrying out the Master’s thesis. In this course students will gain hands-on experience on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods that are considered to have a broad application in both research- and industry-related fields.
The course comprises three parts:
- Block N: theoretical and methodological studies, classroom teaching and preparation for fieldwork
- Between block N and N+1: 10 days of fieldwork
- Block N+1: processing of data, report writing, possibly additional classroom teaching and an exam.
The course is generic in the sense that the formal course description is taylored to a range of geographical destinations that change from one year to another. Various teachers participate and various geographical disciplines are in focus.
It is only possible to take part in one Field and Methods course pr. student during the MSc programme.
Please note that prior to the formal course registration via the Self-Service, the Department will arrange information meetings for students who are interested in this course.
Students shall pay for their own travel to and from the field-work area, as well as entry visa (if required), vaccinations (if required) and personal medicine (e.g. malaria medication) and a daily amount for food, lodging and local transport. For destinations outside DK, students are required to take out a private illness and repatriation insurance covering the field period.
About SLUSE
The SLUSE program - or formally the Danish University Consortium on Sustainable Land Use and Natural Resource Management - started in 1998 and was initially funded by the Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development (DANCED), but was taken over by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Danida) in late 2001. The external funding of the program ended in 2003 and the collaboration has since been funded by internal university funds. The consortium was initially composed of University of Copenhagen, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (which later merged with University of Copenhagen) and Roskilde University.
Joint teaching programmes were set up with partners in Malaysia, Thailand and Southern Africa and a number of joint courses and teaching was developed, including the 'Joint basic field course' (now entitled 'Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment') and 'Environmental Impact Assessment', both of which are still running. MSc Programmes were also set up in Thailand and Malaysia, and the Malaysian SLUSE programme at University Malaysia Sarawak is still running, see SLUSE-M (unimas.my).
The courses developed by SLUSE
Practicing Interdisciplinary Field Research on the Environment or 'the SLUSE Course', remains one of the most prominent legacies of the SLUSE programme and numerous new international partnerships have been developed over the course of time, including changing field destinations. Besides the initial partners, universities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya, Poland, Italy, and Nepal have been (or still are) key partners. Today, it is a field-based MSc course offered jointly by three departments at the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen.
The video below is from a field trip to Thailand, when the course had a different title. The content is very similar to the current course:
The course is compulsory for two MSc educations at University of Copenhagen (Environment and Development, Global Environment and Development) and restricted elective for students in Geography and Geoinformatics. The full course description is found on University of Copenhagen - Courses (search the course code NIFK23006U for the most current version). Students can register for the course through the regular course registration at KU.
The field course has taken place in the following countries and years:
- Botswana 2005
- Cambodia: 2009
- Denmark: 2021-2022 (due to COVID-19 travel restrictions)
- Indonesia: 2010
- Kenya: 2012-2024 (except 2013), 2026
- Malaysia: 1998-2026 (except 2007, 2021 and 2022)
- Nepal 2025
- Poland: 2024
- South Africa 2001-2003, 2007
- Swaziland 2004
- Thailand: 1999-2019
Reports from past years' courses are stored in the University of Copenhagen data storage platform ERDA. Please contact one of the course coordinators listed in the course description for access to previous reports.
The Environmental Impact Assessment course is also still in operation since its creation in 1999 and caters to a multiple educations due to its interdisciplinary nature. Read more about the course on University of Copenhagen - Courses (search the course code LNAK10010U for the most current version).
Publications about SLUSE and an alumni Linked-In group
Sithole B, Birch-Thomsen T, Mertz O, Hill T, Bruun TB, Thenya T. 2016. Collaborative education across continents: lessons from a partnership on sustainable resource management education. Pp 58-82 in Adriansen HK, Madsen LM, Jensen S (eds.) Higher Education and Capacity Building in Africa: The geography and power of knowledge under changing conditions. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Birch-Thomsen T, Mertz O, de Neergaard A, Juul K. 2011. SLUSE – an innovative fieldbased learning and research approach. Pp 141-146 i: Christiansen FV, Horst S, Holm C, Laursen KB (eds.) Forskningsbaseret undervisning – realiteter og potentialer. Proceedings fra 10. majkonference i naturvidenskabsdidaktik, København 18-19. maj 2010. INDs Skriftserie nr. 21, Institut for Naturfagenes Didaktik, Københavns Universitet, København
SLUSE - WHAT WORKED? By C.H. Traynor, A. de Neergaard & J. Magid. 2007, SLUSE, Dept. of Agricultural Sciences, KU-LIFE.
Treue T, Mertz O, Oksen P. (2004): Teaching interdisciplinary land use and natural resource management. Pp 192-214 in: Fincham R, Georg S, Nielsen EH (eds.) Sustainable Development and the University. New strategies for research, teaching and practice. Brevitas, Howick, South Africa
Feldballe, L., Mouritzen, H. (2002): En Verden til Forskel (A World of a difference). A documentary film providing information on the field course and interdisciplinary collaboration in the DUCED-SLUSE project (18 minutes) and a series following four students from preparation to exam in the DUCED SLUSE field course (3 x 28 minutes) shown on Danish Television channel DK4 in 2004.
Mertz, O., Triantafillou, P., Aalbaek, A., Agergaard, J., Birch-Thomsen, T., Buch-Hansen, M., Gausset, Q., Magid, J., Mueller, T. and Oksen, P. (1999): Danish University Consortium on Sustainable Land Use and Natural Resource Management (SLUSE). Methodology Workshop on Environmental Services and Land Use Change: Bridging the Gap between Policy and Research in Southeast Asia, Chiang Mai, Thailand 31 May - 3 June 1999.