A Geographic Information System (GIS) "integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information. (ESRI)" What is GIS used for? There are many applications, spanning a wide variety of disciplines. Some examples include:

• Biological Sciences: migration patterns, species diversity, fisheries management
• Health Sciences: epidemiology, noise pollution
• Historic Geographic Analysis: slave revolt in Jamaica, Stanford Geospatial Network Model of Ancient Rome
• Digital Humanities
• Emergency Services: wildfire spread, missing person location, least-cost paths to accident sites
• Environmental Sciences: soil/groundwater contamination, drainage networks, erosion, pollution
• Social Sciences: crime rates, food deserts, population dynamics, education

NU-affiliated faculty, staff and students can install ArcGIS Desktop on their personal computers and access desktop, mobile, server and web-based mapping applications. Use the Access GIS tab of this guide for more information.​

• ArcGIS Desktop software available from NUIT
  • NU NetID required
  • Faculty and staff may install on university-owned computers for teaching, research and administrative uses.  Installation on personal computers is allowed but only for academic, non-commercial uses.
  • Students may install on personal computers, but the software must be uninstalled when they leave the University.
  • ArcGIS Desktop will be installed with the necessary software license. Licenses will expire in February of each year and the software will cease to function.  Users must download and reinstall the latest version of ArcGIS which will then be licensed through the end of the next license period (1 year maximum).
  • ArcGIS Desktop System Requirements
  • ArcGIS Desktop Installation FAQ

• ArcGIS Online
  • Use to create and share web-based maps. To request access to Northwestern University’s ArcGIS Online Organizational Account send an email using your Northwestern University email (@u.northwestern.edu; @northwestern.edu etc.) to gis@northwestern.edu with “ArcGIS Online Access Request” in the subject heading

If you are in need of assistance with a GIS project, please fill out the GIS Support Request Form. We look forward to working with you!