The department is primarily involved in the process of developing human resources adept in the holistic management of land resources. Papua New Guinea is endowed with enormous land resources (vis-à-vis population); which are grossly under-utilized. Here is the relevance of the department that produces the entire gamut of land professionals – starting from the discipline of „Surveying‟, Geographical Information Science / Systems to the property management /valuations experts.

The human resources developed in the department have a wide exposure to the state of the art technology (e.g. recent developments in the field of Remote Sensing, GIS, GPS, use of latest Total CREDIT Stations and allied implements of the digital era) in their respective disciplines. The application of technology is emphasized, as is the role of the professionals in the development of PNG. The Department has been producing graduates for about four decades and many graduates occupy senior positions in Government and the private sector in PNG and the Pacific Region.

The courses of the Department are specific but considerable overlapping of discipline areas is encouraged with the aim of producing broader based graduates. The Department has good facilities including a comprehensive digital mapping, geographic information systems and remote sensing laboratory, state of the art global positioning systems technology and software, a spatial information science/cartographic processing laboratory and automated surveying systems in addition to the traditional surveying and mapping facilities.

The department is also involved in a number of research programs including measuring crustal deformation to establish a geocentric datum in PNG, GIS, remote sensing, and cartographic communication through development of thematic maps for PNG, property valuation and land management research programs as well as student projects.

The Department prides itself on its involvement in 2 Community Development Projects and student projects often are geared to supporting these projects.