Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

The most commonly used proprietary GIS software at Michigan Tech is Esri's ArcGIS Pro. All students, faculty, and staff at Michigan Tech have access to download and use Esri's ArcGIS Pro desktop software on their own personal computers using their MTU SSO login. If you are interested in installing ArcGIS Pro on your own personal or off-domain computer, please see my guide on Installing ArcGIS Pro Desktop Software. 

ArcGIS Pro is also available on computers in several Michigan Tech Computer Labs through AppsAnywhere. For a complete list of computer labs with access to ArcGIS Pro software, please visit the Computer Labs page at Michigan Tech IT. 

Computers with access to ArcGIS Pro at the Van Pelt and Opie Library can be found in the following zones:

• Library Green Zone
• Library Gray Zone
• Library Purple Zone
• Library Orange Zone
• Library Red Zone
• Library Silver Zone
• Library Yellow Zone

If you need an installation of ArcGIS in your office on a computer that is managed by Michigan Tech IT, please contact the help desk at 7-1111 or email it-help. One drawback of ArcGIS Pro software is that it will only run on the Windows operating system. 
 

• Installing ArcGIS Pro on your own Machine
  Step-by-step insturctions for downloading ArcGIS Pro desktop software on your own personal or self-managed office computer. 
• AppsAnywhere
  Using ArcGIS Pro from an app-based platform without downloading ArcGIS Pro software. AppsAnywhere can be found in several computer labs across campus or installed on Michigan Tech student, faculty, or staff personal computers. 

There are also several free and open source (FOSS) GIS desktop software applications available. These applications typically will need to be installed as they are not available at Michigan Tech Open Computer Labs or through AppsAnywhere. Some FOSS GIS applications require programming knowledge in languages such as Python, R, and SQL. One of the biggest advantages of FOSS GIS is that the software can typically be installed on a variety of different operating systems such as Windows, Mac, or Linux. 

• QGIS
  The leading open source desktop GIS software. QGIS is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac, Windows and Android. QGIS supports numerous vector, raster, and database formats and functionalities.
• GRASS GIS
  GRASS GIS provides powerful vector and raster processing including tools for terrain and ecosystem modeling, hydrology, geospatial data visualizations, spatial data management, and terrain and satellite imagery processing. It also includes a Python API and is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 
• GDAL
  GDAL is a translator library for raster and vector data.
• GeoDa
  GeoDa is a free and open source tool that is focused on spatial analysis. The software is designed to allow the user to facilitate new insights from data analysis by modeling and exploring spatial patterns. 
• PostGIS
  PostGIS is a spatial database extension for a PostgreSQL object-relational database. It provides the ability to store geographic objects in a database allowing for location queries to be performed in GIS. PostGIS is a great option for managing, processing and analyzing large GIS datasets. The spatial database can easily be connected to QGIS or ArcGIS Pro.