GIS (Geographic Information Systems) & Remote Sensing: Tools

QGIS - A leading free, open source desktop GIS program. Create, edit, visualize, analyze and publish geospatial information. Runs natively on many operating systems, including Windows and Mac.

Esri ArcGIS Pro - The leading commercial software for desktop GIS mapping and analysis. Licenses are available to all UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff. Note: ArcGIS only runs natively on Windows machines.

To install:

1. Download .NET Desktop Runtime 8.0.x and install it before you install ArcGIS Pro.
2. Download and install ArcGIS Pro by logging into ArcGIS Online and then following the instructions under the heading "Download ArcGIS Pro from ArcGIS Online" on this webpage
3. The first time you launch ArcGIS Pro, you'll see a "Licensing" prompt. Learn how to sign into ArcGIS Pro at UC Berkeley »

Note: You must be a fully registered student or employee. Students who are not fully registered will see an error when trying to sign into ArcGIS Pro, and will not be able to run the software. Log into CalCentral to view your registration status and consult your advisor for guidance on how to resolve any registration issues.

Note: We no longer have licenses for Esri products ArcMap/ArcGIS Desktop as of June 2024. We continue to license ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.

After graduating or separating from the university, you will no longer be able to access UC Berkeley’s instance of ArcGIS Online. Although we will not immediately delete your content (like Web Maps and StoryMaps), it will not be stored indefinitely, and you and your collaborators should not expect to be able to access it after your graduation / separation date. Note: Access for continuing students with valid CalNet IDs persists between terms, as usual.

What do I need to do?

Be proactive! If you will be graduating / separating from the university, and you and your collaborators want to maintain access to ArcGIS and/or your content, then you need to transfer that content from your ArcGIS Online account at UC Berkeley to another location.

You have several options for preserving your content:

1. Transfer to another user -- If you own content that you created in collaboration with others at UC Berkeley, and they are still dependent on it (and they are still eligible to use ArcGIS), then you should transfer the ownership of that content to them. For instance, if you created a StoryMap or Web Map for a faculty member to use in their research or teaching, then you should transfer ownership of those items to them. (How to transfer ownership)
2. Transfer to an “ArcGIS for Personal Use” subscription -- This is a fully functional environment, just like you have been using at Cal, but just for you. You can transfer your content and continue to work on it and share it with others, such as potential employers, to highlight your skills.  It is for professional development purposes and cannot be used in for-profit activities. The cost is $100 per year. (Personal ArcGIS info)
3. Transfer to another ArcGIS Online organization -- If you will be heading off to a job or enrolling elsewhere, and your new organization has their own ArcGIS Online subscription, you could transfer your content to their organization, if they permit this. For assistance with this, reach out to the administrators of both the source and destination instances of ArcGIS Online.
4. Export your items to your computer/laptop – You can export your content to your computer, if you haven’t saved it there already. If you need additional disk space, consider purchasing an external storage device or subscribing to a personal cloud storage service such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or Dropbox. For advice, contact Student Tech Services or your local IT personnel.

If you have questions about these options, contact your UC Berkeley ArcGIS license administrators at cedhelpdesk@berkeley.edu.