Esri ArcGIS Products

Several UCSB entities contribute to a university-wide site license for the Esri suite of GIS software. Several different options are available, depending on your departmental affiliations and how you want to use the software.

Important:

We have been notified that ESRI will be retiring ArcMap in March 2026. While this gives you ample time to transition to using ArcPro, ESRI will no longer distribute this software to us for student use starting January, 2023. We will still distribute personal licenses this year (July 2022 - June 2023) but will start restricting solely to departments, or for special circumstances afterwards. 

Desktop & Pro

In the DReAM Lab 

  • Ten workstations in the DREAM Lab have ArcGIS Desktop 10.8.2, ArcGIS Pro 2.9.3 and access to our entire Spatial Data Collection.  We also offer QGIS.
  • All Letters & Sciences Collaborate Labs have ArcGIS 10.8  When not scheduled for classes, all labs are open for general student use.  
  • Various teaching labs in Geography, Earth Sciences, Bren, and other departments have ArcGIS.  Inquire with your department.

On your computer

All students, staff, and faculty at UCSB are eligible for a license to ArcGIS for their personal computers.  Fill out this form from a UCSB email address to request your license and download the software. Installation instructions for ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) and ArcPro can be found here. Licenses for ArcMap last until July and need to be renewed annually. ArcPro licenses are tied to users UCSB NetIDs and need to be authorized once before use. 

The 12-month license should not be used on UCSB-owned computers, unless there is a special circumstance. (This license is active from July 1 until Jun 30, of the following year so it may not always be a 12-month license.) 

Within 2-3 business days of submitting the form, we will send you a license file and link to an installer for ArcMap Desktop 10.8.2 or ArcPro 2.9.3

If you have any questions please email dreamlab@library.ucsb.edu. 

For UCSB-owned hardware

If you are affiliated with one of the site-license contributors listed below: please contact your local technical support for access to Esri software. 

  • Bren School: Brad Hill
  • Earth Research Institute: Darla Sharp
  • National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis: Mark Schildhauer
  • Marine Science Institute: Jim Woods
  • Life Sciences: Life Sciences Group Helpdesk
  • UCSB Library: Jon Jablonski
  • Facilities Management: Paul Bartsch

Letters & Sciences Departments:

  • Contact the DREAM Lab for access to Esri software.  

ArcGIS Online

All users with UCSB NetIDs have access to ArcGIS Online, a platform for creating and sharing maps, mapping applications, and data. More infomation.

On the Server

Esri's server-side applications are all available for campus use.  AWS and Azure both support ArcGIS Server products.  Please contact us for information about Esri server software.

Getting support

We have a page of troubleshooting tips for some common issues with ArcGIS Desktop. The Library has a number of GIS training manuals and workbooks available as part of its collection--both print and e-book editions.  Search UC Library Search.

Esri Training

Esri provides access to all of its online training materials as part of our campus site license.  Signing on to ArcGIS Online for the first time gives you access to anything marked "Requires Maintenance" in Esri's catalog.

Contact the DREAM Lab

The DREAM Lab is available for basic Esri support.  We are happy to get you started using ArcGIS Pro on your Windows desktop, help you to choose a Virtual Campus class, or to identify data from our collections or on the Internet to help you complete your mapping and spatial analysis projects.  Please email us at dreamlab@library.ucsb.edu.

Campus GIS Discussion List

We run an email listserv to discuss GIS issues. You may also be interested in our page describing GIS activities in the Library and around campus.

Several UCSB entities contribute to a university-wide site license for the Esri suite of GIS software. Several different options are available, depending on your departmental affiliations and how you want to use the software.