Surveying · Massachusetts
Surveying colleges in Massachusetts
Surveying program coverage in Massachusetts is being verified. Use the filter-first search at /results to find related programs offered in the state.
Surveying trains you to measure and map land, boundaries, and features with precision instruments, and to prepare the maps, plats, and reports that define property and guide construction.
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What you'll study in a Surveying program
- Plane and geodetic surveying principles and coordinate systems
- Operating and calibrating total stations, levels, and GPS/GNSS receivers
- Running and adjusting traverses, leveling loops, and control networks
- Boundary surveying, land descriptions, easements, and property law fundamentals
- Coordinate geometry, mensuration, and survey computations
- Photogrammetry, photointerpretation, and basic cartography
- Preparing maps, plats, legal descriptions, and survey reports
- Computer-aided drafting and geographic information systems for survey data
- Construction staking, topographic mapping, and field-to-finish data collection
Where a Surveying degree can lead
- Surveyor
- Surveying and mapping technician
- Cartographer
- Photogrammetrist
- Geospatial or GIS technician
- Construction surveyor
Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 surveyors median $72,740).
Surveying applies mathematics and applied science to determining and recording the position, shape, and boundaries of land, water, and built features. Coursework moves through plane and geodetic surveying, traversing and leveling, boundary and land description, mensuration and coordinate geometry, and the legal principles behind property lines and easements. Students learn to operate and calibrate total stations, GPS and GNSS receivers, levels, and data collectors; to apply photointerpretation, photogrammetry, and basic cartography; and to reduce field measurements into maps, plats, legal descriptions, and survey reports, often with computer-aided drafting and geographic information systems. Where Geographic Information Science focuses on managing and analyzing spatial data and building digital maps from many sources, this field focuses on collecting precise field measurements and establishing the legal and physical positions those datasets depend on.
Most students enter through a certificate or associate degree as a surveying technician, and many states require a bachelor's degree plus supervised experience to become a licensed professional land surveyor. Licensure typically follows a path through the Fundamentals of Surveying exam, a period of work under a licensed surveyor, and the Principles and Practice of Surveying exam, with specific requirements set by each state's licensing board. Graduates work for surveying and engineering firms, construction companies, mapping and GIS providers, and federal, state, and local government agencies. A program is preparation for the field and the licensing path, not a guarantee of a job or a license, and pay and demand vary by employer, region, experience, and the local pace of construction and land development.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of surveyors, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $72,740 and projects employment to grow about 4.4% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
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