UC Berkeley ESRI Consortium

The UC Berkeley Esri Consortium is a group of campus departments and units that support using Esri (GIS) products for academic and research purposes by sharing costs, training, data, and other resources.

Berkeley IT represents UC Berkeley in the annual license contract negotiated between the UC Office of the President and Esri. In addition, Berkeley IT is responsible for the initial payment, allocation of campus licenses, distribution of Esri-provided training and conference materials, and the delivery of systems administration and consortium management services to member divisions.

HOW DO I SIGN UP?

To inquire about joining the consortium, please submit a ticket to the esri-support@berkeley.edu

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE CONSORTIUM MEMBERSHIP?

With a consortium membership, a participating division can:

• Offer Esri software to an unlimited number of students, staff, and faculty in their division.
• Open support tickets directly with Esri through a short list of authorized campus contacts.
• Request free passes to some Esri-sponsored events or conferences.
• Access Esri online training.
• Join a UC Berkeley campus mailing list of fellow GIS administrators.

Membership does not include training or repair services. While Esri provides back-end support to technical staff in member divisions, end-user support is the responsibility of the member division. Some units offer GIS support to all UC Berkeley students, for example, the Geospatial Innovation Facility and D-Lab.

The Esri mailing list is restricted to representatives of member divisions and can be joined upon request through Google Groups. Emails include recent Esri news, breaking developments in GIS on campus, and recommendations.

WHO IS AND WHO SHOULD BE A CONSORTIUM MEMBER?

Any academic or administrative department, research group, or organized research unit associated with UC Berkeley is eligible for membership. Consortium members for 2026-2027 include:

• Archaeological Research Facility (ARF)
• Berkeley Law
• Berkeley Natural History Museum (BNHM)
• College of Environmental Design (CED)
• College of Natural Resources (CNR) – Geospatial Innovation Facility (GIF)
• Division of Equity & Inclusion (E&I) – Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI)
• Facilities Services
• Geography
• Haas School of Business – Core Programs
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) – Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA)
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) – Energy Technologies Area (ETA)
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) – Security & Emergency Services (SES)
• Lawrence Hall of Science – East Bay Academy for Young Scientists (EBAYS)
• Library
• Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC)
• School of Public Health – Academic
• School of Public Health – Research
• School of Public Health – The Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH)

WHAT IS THE ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION COST AND HOW IS IT CALCULATED?

Since its inception, the cost to join the consortium has been in the $1,000–2,000 range. The amount depends on license costs, optional add-ons, administrative costs, and the number of consortium members. The cost is calculated as follows:

Cost of the campus license (negotiated by UCOP and prepaid by Berkeley IT) + Berkeley IT systems administration and management time (calculated at 2 hours per week) + Cost of server equipment maintenance and technical infrastructure (as needed) ÷ Number of consortium members

The license year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. Each April, Berkeley IT polls current member divisions, calculates the cost for the coming license year, and processes each renewal.

HOW DO I PROVIDE ESRI PRODUCTS TO STUDENTS?

All students, staff, and faculty who are affiliated with a member division can use Esri software at no additional cost. Submit a ticket to esri-support@berkeley.edu for details and instructions.

CONTACT:

Please submit a ticket by emailing esri-support@berkeley.edu