Advance Surveying — BTEUP Civil 4th Semester Syllabus 2026-27

Advance Surveying — What This Subject Is About

Basic Surveying taught you the chain, the compass and the level. Advance Surveying takes you further — to the plane table, the theodolite, tacheometry, curve setting, the total station, GPS and GIS. It is one of the two 200-mark subjects of the 4th semester (a theory paper 4.3 and a lab 4.4), and it carries 4 credits — the most in the semester.

You will set out circular curves by Rankine's method of deflection angles, balance a theodolite traverse by Bowditch's rule, measure distances with an EDM and a total station, and locate a station with GPS. The lab has 13 practicals, including plane table surveys by radiation, intersection and resection, theodolite and total station traverses plotted on A1 sheets, and a GPS exercise. (The spelling “Advance Surveying” is as printed in the PDF.)

Subject 4.3 (Theory) + 4.4 (Lab) • Total 200 Marks • 4 Credits • 4th Semester — Civil Engineering • Session 2026–27

What You Will Study

Unit 1 — Plane Table Surveying (4 Periods, 20%)

Principles of plane table survey; accessories of plane table and their use, telescopic alidade; setting of plane table; orientation of plane table — back sighting and magnetic meridian method, true meridian method; methods of plane table surveys — radiation, intersection, traversing and resection (two point and three point methods); merits and demerits of plane table survey.

Plane table surveying — its accessories, setting and orientation, and the radiation, intersection, traversing and resection methods.

Unit 2 — Theodolite Surveying (6 Periods, 20%)

Types and uses of theodolite, components of transit theodolite and their functions, reading the vernier of transit theodolite; technical terms — swinging, transiting, face left, face right; fundamental axes of transit theodolite and their relationship; temporary adjustment of transit theodolite; measurement of horizontal angle — direct and repetition method and reiteration methods; measurement of magnetic bearing of a line, prolonging and ranging a line, deflection angle; measurement of vertical angle; theodolite traversing by included angle method and deflection angle method; checks for open and closed traverse, calculations of bearing from angles; traverse computation — latitude, departure, consecutive coordinates, independent coordinates, balancing the traverse by Bowditch's rule and transit rule, Gale's traverse table computation; errors and precautions in theodolite surveying.

Theodolite surveying — the transit theodolite, measuring horizontal and vertical angles, traversing, and balancing the traverse by Bowditch's rule.

Unit 3 — Tacheometric Surveying and Curve Setting (6 Periods, 20%)

Principles of tacheometry, tacheometer and its component parts, anallactic lens; tacheometric formula for horizontal distance with telescope horizontal and staff vertical; field method for determining constants of tacheometer, determining horizontal and vertical distances with tacheometer by fixed hair method and staff held vertical, limitations of tacheometry; simple circular curve: basic definitions, designation of curves, types of curves used in roads and railway alignments; transition curves: definition and requirement; setting simple circular curve by offsets from long chord, tangent and Rankine's method of deflection angles; introduction of vertical circular curve.

Tacheometry and curve setting — the tacheometric formula, and setting out simple circular curves by offsets and by Rankine's method.

Unit 4 — Advanced Surveying Equipments (6 Periods, 20%)

Principle of Electronic Distance Meter (EDM), its component parts and their functions, use of EDM; use of micro optic theodolite and electronic digital theodolite; use of total station, use of function keys; measurements of horizontal angles, vertical angles, distances and coordinates using total station, traversing, profile survey and contouring with total station.

Advanced equipment — the electronic distance meter, micro-optic and electronic theodolites, and the total station.

Unit 5 — Remote Sensing, GPS and GIS (6 Periods, 20%)

Remote sensing — overview, remote sensing system, applications of remote sensing in civil engineering, land use / land cover, mapping, disaster management; use of Global Positioning System (G.P.S.) instruments; Geographic Information System (GIS): overview, components, applications, software for GIS; introduction to drone surveying.

Remote sensing, GPS and GIS — how they work, their uses in civil engineering, and an introduction to drone surveying.

Practical Work

• Use plane table survey to prepare plans of a plot of seven sided closed traverse by radiation method.
• Use plane table survey to prepare plans, locate details by intersection method and resection method (two point problem and three point problem).
• Use plane table survey to prepare plans, locate details by traversing method.
• Use plane table survey to carry out survey project for closed traverse for minimum five sides around a building.
• Use transit theodolite to measure horizontal and vertical angle by direct method.
• Plot the traverse on A1 size imperial drawing sheet for the collected data from preceding theodolite survey project.

And more — the complete list of 13 practicals is inside the PDF.

Complete Syllabus

The full examination scheme, the complete practicals list and the reference books from the official syllabus. The unit-wise topics are in the “What You Will Study” section above.

Examination Scheme

Units at a Glance

Complete Practicals List

This is the complete list of practicals from the official syllabus.

• Use plane table survey to prepare plans of a plot of seven sided closed traverse by radiation method.
• Use plane table survey to prepare plans, locate details by intersection method and resection method (two point problem and three point problem).
• Use plane table survey to prepare plans, locate details by traversing method.
• Use plane table survey to carry out survey project for closed traverse for minimum five sides around a building.
• Use transit theodolite to measure horizontal and vertical angle by direct method.
• Plot the traverse on A1 size imperial drawing sheet for the collected data from preceding theodolite survey project.
• Set out a circular curve by Rankine's method of deflection angles.
• Use EDM to measure horizontal distance.
• Use total station instrument to measure horizontal distances.
• Use total station instrument to measure vertical angle.
• Use total station instrument to carry out survey project for closed traverse for minimum five sides.
• Plot the traverse on A1 size imperial drawing sheet for the collected data from preceding total station survey project.
• Use GPS to locate the coordinates of a station.

Reference Books

As listed in the syllabus:

• Kanetkar, T. P.; Kulkarni, S. V., Surveying and Levelling Part I and II, Pune Vidyarthi Gruh Prakashan, Pune.
• Basak, N. N., Surveying and Levelling, McGraw Hill Education (India) Pvt. Ltd., Noida.
• Duggal, S. K., Survey I and Survey II, Tata McGraw Hill Education Pvt. Ltd., Noida.
• Saikia, M D.; Das. B.M.; Das. M.M., Surveying, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
• D.V. Gupta, Vikram Singh, Land Surveying-II, Asian Publishers, Muzaffarnagar, ISBN: 978-93-91541-59-0.
• Subramanian, R., Surveying and Levelling, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
• Punmia, B.C.; Jain, Ashok Kumar; Jain, Arun Kumar, Surveying Vol. I and Surveying Vol. II, Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
• Rao, P. Venugopala Akella, Vijayalakshmi, Textbook of Surveying, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
• Venkatramaiah, C, Textbook of Surveying, Universities Press, Hyderabad.
• Anderson, James M and Mikhail, Edward M, Surveying theory and practice, McGraw Hill Education, Noida.
• De, Alak, Plane Surveying, S.Chand Publications, New Delhi.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many marks is Advance Surveying worth in the 4th semester?
200 marks in total and 4 credits. Advance Surveying: 100 marks (internal Theory 40, external Theory 60 (3 hrs)); Advance Surveying Lab.: 100 marks (internal Practical 60, external Practical 40 (3 hrs)).

Which units carry the most weightage in Advance Surveying?
Every unit carries the same weightage — 20% each — so none of them can be skipped.

What practical work is there in Advance Surveying?
13 experiments, including Use plane table survey to prepare plans of a plot of seven sided closed traverse by radiation method.; Use plane table survey to prepare plans, locate details by intersection method and resection method (two point problem and three point problem).; Use plane table survey to prepare plans, locate details by traversing method.. The complete list is in the Complete Syllabus section above.

Is Advance Surveying a theory subject or a practical subject?
Both: Advance Surveying is theory (L–P 2 – 0); Advance Surveying Lab. is practical (L–P 0 – 4).

Why is the subject spelt “Advance Surveying” and not “Advanced Surveying”?
That is how it is printed in the official syllabus — “Advance Surveying” is the subject name as given in the PDF, and that is the spelling used here and in the PDF.

How can I download the Advance Surveying syllabus PDF?
The PDF is free to download — use the download link in the Download section below. It is prepared by KAMALDNP Academy from the official BTEUP syllabus.

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Download the Advance Surveying Syllabus PDF

Download the complete Advance Surveying syllabus PDF below — prepared by KAMALDNP Academy, with the full topic list, practicals and reference books.

Download the Advance Surveying Syllabus PDF

Source: BTEUP 2nd Year curriculum (IIMT mirror of the official curriculum), approved in C.D.C. meeting held on 16.07.2026. Topic lists follow the official syllabus; short explanations are the author's own plain-English summaries, not syllabus text. Please confirm with your own polytechnic for any local changes.