Land Surveying Degrees: Programs, Licensure, and Careers

Get away from your desk and out into the world! Land surveying is a fascinating profession that requires pinpoint measuring skills and a diehard commitment to accuracy. You’ll find land surveyors helicoptering into the Alaskan wilderness to establish township and section lines; mapping jurisdictional wetland boundaries in Florida; and establishing surface boundaries for oil & gas companies in Texas.

Some aspiring surveyors begin their journey by becoming surveying technicians. Others may decide to pursue Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) licensure. But no matter what your goal, you will require an academic qualification in surveying or a closely related field like geomatics. It’s a hands-on profession that involves serious training. Use our comprehensive directory of surveying certificates & degrees to start exploring your options.

The good news is that you will be in demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is projecting ~3,900 openings for surveyors (on average) each year from 2024 to 2034. Yet according to IPEDS data, universities are not producing nearly enough surveying graduates to keep up. The time is right for education.

What Is Land Surveying?

Land surveying is the process of measuring and mapping physical features to define the precise positions and boundaries of the land. If you need to identify a property line or create a site plan for construction, you need an expert in land surveying. This kind of work has immediate applications in land & property development, real estate & property ownership, civil engineering & infrastructure projects, and environmental protection.

Professionals who are trained in land surveying techniques are called land surveyors. Land surveyors don’t just wander around fields lugging a tripod. They now use modern tools like GPS & GNSS, drones & UAVs, LiDAR scanning, 3D modeling, and geospatial software to create hyper-accurate plat maps and boundary lines. And they are equally comfortable with outdoor work and office-based data analysis.

Land Surveying Job Responsibilities

Here is a list of typical job responsibilities for a licensed land surveyor in the USA on any given day:

• Preliminary Research & Boundary Determination: Land surveyors often research historical deeds, maps, property titles, easements, rights-of-way, and existing survey plans to legally establish where one property ends and another begins. This task is critical when it comes to buying & selling land, resolving disputes, and subdividing property parcels.
• Field Measurements & Surveys: Land surveyors must venture into the landscape to survey areas and capture data. The type of survey required will depend on the project. For example, construction & civil projects may require a construction survey that stakes out the precise locations of structures, roads, utilities, and other improvements. Other common types of surveys include boundary surveys (property boundaries), topographic surveys (natural & manmade features), ALTA/NSPS land title surveys, and subdivision surveys. Hydrographic surveys deal with water & seabeds.
• Data Analysis: Once data has been collected, land surveyors must process their measurements. They may use specialized software such as Computer-Aided Design (CAD) or Geographic Information System (GIS) and survey-specific platforms to produce accurate plats, boundary surveys, and topographic maps for clients and project teams. They might also perform closure calculations & error analysis to verify the mathematical accuracy of their field measurements.
• Legal & Regulatory Compliance: Land surveyors are responsible for creating formal written descriptions of land parcels that can become part of legal documents such as deeds & titles. Surveyors must also comply with their state licensing board’s standards of practice, which govern how surveys are conducted, documented, and stamped. In most US states, surveyors are required to have their plats & subdivision maps recorded with the county recorder or register of deeds.
• Final Reports: Land surveyors are expected to create final reports that serve their clients’ needs. For example, they may be expected to compile & present survey plans, boundary certifications, and construction layouts.

Visit our How to Become a Surveyor guide to learn more.

Land Surveying vs. GIS: What’s the Difference?

Land surveying and GIS are complementary fields with different core purposes. In summary:

• Land Surveying is a field-based profession focused on precisely measuring & establishing the physical and legal boundaries of land. Surveyors are responsible for collecting original, highly accurate spatial data. And their work carries legal authority. A licensed surveyor’s stamp on a boundary survey is a legally binding document.
• GIS (Geographic Information System) is data management & analysis technology that is used to store, visualize, analyze, and interpret data that has a spatial component. That means GIS professionals work mostly with existing data rather than collecting original measurements. Their goal is to explore spatial relationships and generate geographic insights.

However, these two professions frequently overlap. Surveyors can use GIS software to manage and present their data. And GIS professionals use survey data as a foundational layer in their analyses. In larger organizations, surveyors and GIS professionals can work closely together. And some experts are trained in both fields.

If you are trying to decide which role would suit you better, here is the summary of the key differences between land surveying and GIS:

	Land Surveying	GIS
Primary Focus	Measure & establish boundaries	Analyze & visualize spatial data
Work Environment	Field & office	Mostly office
Legal Authority	Yes—licensed & legally binding	No
Data Role	Creates original, precise data	Manages & analyzes existing data
Licensing	Required in all US states	Generally not required
Accuracy Level	Centimeter/millimeter precision	Varies
Common Tools	Total stations, GPS, drones	ArcGIS, QGIS, spatial databases
Typical Outputs	Plats, boundary surveys, topographic maps, legal descriptions	Thematic maps, spatial analyses, dashboards, geodatabases

Land Surveying Degree Options

Land surveying qualifications from colleges & universities in the USA are available in the form of associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, certificate programs, and degree minors. Because land surveying carries legal obligations, many surveying certificates & degree programs are designed to prepare graduates for specific state licensure requirements.

Surveying is usually a skill that is taught at the lower undergraduate level. Approximately 40% of the land surveying programs in our degree directory are associate degrees and 36% are certificate programs. Only 23% are bachelor’s degrees.

Certificate in Surveying

Land surveying certificates are widely available through US community colleges and universities. They are usually focused on technical tools & practical skills for field work. Many students pursue a certificate in surveying in order to qualify for entry-level job openings as a surveying technician. However, a number of these certificates can also be used as stackable credentials towards an associate or bachelor’s degree. And a few will help prepare you for state licensure.

Entry-Level Certificate

An entry-level certificate in land surveying can serve as a useful stepping-stone in your professional journey. As a surveying technician, you can build up the field experience hours that most states require for licensure before earning a degree and taking the FS (Fundamentals of Surveying) and PS (Principles and Practice of Surveying) exams from the NCEES.

Here are some of the most popular kinds of land surveying certificates for entry-level technicians that appear in our directory:

• Career Certificates: Metropolitan College’s Career Certificate in Surveying (CESSD) is a good example. It’s a short, 32.5-credit certificate that provides a pathway to an associate degree as a Civil Engineering Technician (CETA2).
• Surveying Fundamentals / Basic Certificates: For instance, Midlands Technical College’s Online Surveying Fundamentals Certificate is designed for candidates who aspire to work as surveying technicians OR applicants with a four-year technical or science degree who wish to pursue licensure as a Professional Surveyor.
• Certificates of Proficiency: An example would be Clark College’s Certificate of Proficiency in Surveying Geomatics Technician – Boundary, which features courses in AutoCAD, field surveying, route surveying, boundary surveys, and boundary law. (Note that Clark College offers a separate specialty track in GIS.)
• Certificates of Achievement (CA) / Completion (CC): You’ll frequently see CAs and CCs being offered by California community colleges. In California, they are the standard format for sub-associate credentials in surveying, which are stackable towards an AS degree.
• Technical Certificates / Diplomas: Unlike short, 1-semester programs, technical certificates & diplomas in surveying may take 1-2 years. For instance, Milwaukee Area Technical College has a Surveying and Mapping Diploma that is spaced out over three semesters.

We recommend looking for qualifications that are stackable. This will give you the option to continue the path to a bachelor’s degree and licensure.

Undergraduate Certificate for Licensure

Our directory also includes undergraduate certificates in surveying that are designed to supplement a bachelor’s degree and prepare students for surveying licensure in their state. For instance:

• Columbus State Community College offers a 16-credit Land Surveying Certificate that can be combined with a BS in Civil Engineering to fulfill State of Ohio Board of Registration for Engineers and Surveyors Education Requirements for professional surveyors.
• The University of Wyoming offers a 30-credit Online Cadastral Survey Certificate that emphasizes boundary law in the Western United States. The coursework meets licensing requirements from the Wyoming Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveying for the state’s Land Surveyor in Training (LSIT) qualification.
• Louisiana Tech University has a Professional Land Surveyor Undergraduate Certificate that is designed to fulfill Louisiana’s 30-hour surveying coursework requirement for the PLS licensure pathway. However, it still requires a separate bachelor’s degree to satisfy state law.

Graduate Certificate

Land surveying certificates at the graduate level are rare, but they do exist. For example, the University of Maine’s Online Graduate Certificate in Surveying Engineering Technology (12-14 credits) is aimed at licensed engineers or professionals who would like more exposure to advanced surveying coursework.

Undergraduate Minor in Surveying

Students who are enrolled in undergraduate degree programs in adjacent fields such as civil engineering, forestry, natural resources, and GIS have the option to add an undergraduate minor in surveying to their plan of study. For instance, Montana State University offers a rigorous, 30-credit Land Surveying Minor that includes coursework in surveying, photogrammetry, legal principles of surveying, the U.S. public land survey system, and more.

An undergraduate minor in surveying can give you a strong taste of the field, but it may not have enough coursework to to satisfy your state’s surveying licensure requirements. So talk to your academic advisor about your goals and verify the coursework with the state licensing board for surveying. You may wish to opt for a dual major or an additional certificate in surveying.

Associate Degree in Surveying

An associate degree in surveying is a 2-year undergraduate program offered by US community colleges and universities. Like a certificate in surveying, an associate’s degree can be used to apply for entry-level survey technician roles. But it’s also the classic first step in a path towards a bachelor’s degree. Examples from our directory include:

• Associate of Applied Science (AAS): An AAS is the workhorse credential in the world of surveying. It’s designed for direct workforce entry as a survey technician. You’ll find 40+ AAS programs in surveying or closely related fields in our directory.
• Associate of Science (AS): AS programs in surveying are not as popular as AAS offerings, but they are available. Because the AS is generally more transfer-oriented than the AAS, we would recommend it to students who are strongly interested in a BS.
• Associate of Engineering (AE): Vermont State University has created an unusual Associate of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering Technology with a strong engineering focus. See the curriculum for proof.

You may find that a university offers both an AAS in Civil Engineering Technology and a separate AAS in Surveying. So it’s worth comparing the curricula side-by-side to see which qualification suits your career goals.

Bachelor’s Degree & ABET Accreditation

A bachelor’s degree in surveying or a closely related field is a 4-year undergraduate program offered by US colleges and universities. A dedicated Bachelor of Science (BS) in Surveying Engineering or BS in Geomatics is the most straightforward path to meeting state education requirements for Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) licensure—it’s required for licensure in most states.

• Bachelor of Science (BS): Most bachelor’s programs in the field of surveying are offered as BS degrees. These come in a wide variety of majors, but surveying, geomatics, and civil engineering with a surveying emphasis are usually the most common options.
• Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS): You will occasionally encounter BAS programs that are designed as completion pathways for working technicians who are seeking upward mobility. The University of Cincinnati’s BAS in Land Surveying is a classic example. Graduates are prepared to take NCEES exams for professional licensure in land surveying in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET): BSET programs often have an applied engineering focus. See New Mexico State University’s BSET – Civil Engineering Technology and Fairmont State University’s BS in Surveying and Geomatics Engineering Technology for examples.

As a general rule of thumb, we strongly suggest looking for a bachelor’s degree in surveying that has been accredited by ABET. Most state licensing boards use ABET accreditation as a benchmark for evaluating whether a degree program meets their educational standards. If you don’t choose an ABET-accredited bachelor’s degree, the board may have to review your academic transcript course-by-course to see if it meets their educational standards.

You can check ABET accreditation through the ABET-Accredited Program Search Tool.

Master’s Degree in Surveying

Because surveying licensure in the US usually involves a bachelor’s degree + exam + fieldwork experience, US colleges & universities have been reluctant to offer a dedicated master’s degree in surveying. Instead, you will typically find advanced surveying and geomatics coursework covered in degrees such as:

• The University of Maine’s MS in Engineering Technology – Surveying Engineering Technology (SVT).
• The University of Colorado Denver’s MS in Geomatics and GIS and MEng in Geomatics and GIS.
• Georgia Southern University’s Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE) – Surveying-Geomatics.

You will need to examine the curriculum section to learn how much surveying coursework is included in the degree. MS programs with surveying concentrations may give you more room to explore your interests than a generic MS in Civil Engineering.

Common Land Surveying Majors

The most common majors for land surveying degrees & certificates in the USA are land surveying, geomatics, civil engineering technology, geospatial engineering/science, surveying & mapping, civil engineering, and construction management.

• Land surveying, surveying, and survey & mapping programs comprise more than 45% of the offerings in our directory.
• Majors in geomatics and civil engineering technology are hovering around 18-19% each.
• The remaining majors fall below 10%.

For students who are focused on PLS licensure, ABET-accredited surveying programs and geomatics programs are the safest bets. Undergraduate degrees in civil engineering and construction management with surveying concentrations may or may have enough surveying-specific credit hours—it depends on state requirements. So you will need to check with your state licensing board for surveying if you have any doubts.

Surveying / Land Surveying / Surveying & Mapping

The most popular major for anyone looking to become a licensed surveyor remains surveying or land surveying. Coursework in these programs will be built around topics such as surveying field methods, boundary law, legal principles of land ownership, and exam preparation for PLS licensure.

You could also consider a major in surveying & mapping. Many of these programs are offered in the South and Midwest and feature a dual emphasis on both field surveying and cartographic/mapping production. See East Tennessee’s ABET-accredited BS in Surveying and Mapping Science for an example.

Geomatics

The second most popular major for aspiring surveyors is geomatics. Geomatics encompasses traditional surveying training plus work in GIS, remote sensing, photogrammetry, geodesy, and spatial data management. That means geomatics programs tend to be a bit broader in scope than pure surveying programs.

Most geomatics programs still include preparation for surveying licensure, but they also equip you for careers in GIS, mapping agencies, and spatial data industries where a PLS is not required. They’re becoming increasingly dominant at the bachelor’s level.

Geospatial Engineering / Science

Geospatial engineering and science programs often place a heavier emphasis on GIS, remote sensing, spatial databases, and emerging technologies like LiDAR and drones than traditional surveying degrees. These kinds of programs tend to be popular in states like Texas and California where the geospatial industry is thriving.

Examine the directory to get a feel for their coursework. Programs like Stephen F. Austin University’s interdisciplinary BS in Geospatial Science – Land Surveying are licensure-oriented; others will be more focused on technology-related careers.

Civil Engineering Technology

You’ll find a number of civil engineering technology programs being offered at the associate level. In these kinds of majors, surveying is just one component of a broader civil & construction curriculum that also covers highway design, structural basics, materials testing, and construction management.

You will gain some surveying training in a civil engineering tech program but you will need to verify that enough of the surveying-specific hours meet your state board’s requirement for licensure.

Civil Engineering

At the bachelor’s level, surveying or geomatics may appear as a track, concentration, or embedded option within a full civil engineering degree. Instead of simply surveying the land, civil engineers are trained to plan, design, construct, and maintain built and natural environments.

With an ABET-accredited civil engineering degree, four years of progressive engineering experience, and passing scores on the FE & PE exams, you have the option to earn a Professional Engineering (PE) license. However, you could also consider combining your civil engineering degree with required surveying credit hours to earn PLS licensure. A number of professionals are dual licensed.

Not sure whether surveying or civil engineering would suit you best? When in doubt, talk to the academic advisor about your career aspirations.

Construction Management

Our directory even includes construction management degrees where surveying appears as a concentration or specialization. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s BS in Construction Management – Land Surveying is a useful example. These kinds of degrees are designed to prepare graduates for construction industry roles where surveying knowledge is a valuable commodity.

Construction management degrees can provide a pathway to surveying licensure, depending on state requirements and how surveying hours are counted. Having said that, these programs are generally less optimized for PLS licensure than dedicated surveying degrees.

Can You Earn a Land Surveying Degree Online?

You can earn a land surveying degree online, but they are less popular than online GIS degrees due the physical nature of surveying. Surveyors need to know how to occupy points on the ground, operate total stations and GPS receivers in the field, interpret terrain, set monuments, and make legal determinations about boundaries. In contrast, GIS is almost entirely software-based.

In addition:

• Programs seeking ABET accreditation must demonstrate that students are receiving hands-on field experience.
• Most state licensing boards for surveying expect that an academic program will include fieldwork.

You will find surveying certificates & degrees in our directory that are marketed as being “online”, but it pays to read the fine print. Most of these programs operate on a hybrid model, with a combination of online coursework and in-person fieldwork, often supplemented by local internships.

Online degrees & certificates in geomatics are more widely available, especially for anyone looking to build on their associate degree or certificate. For example, North Carolina A&T State University’s Online BS in Geomatics is a degree completion program. Idaho State University’s Online BS in Surveying and Geomatics Engineering Technology operates on similar lines—incoming students first complete an AAS Degree in Civil Engineering Technology (or the equivalent).

If you’re on a budget, consider starting with an in-person, 2-year associate degree in surveying at your local community college and then transferring those credits to an online degree completion program at a partnering university. Land a job as a surveying technician and you may even be able to convince your employer to help subsidize your online bachelor’s degree.