GIS Software offering at Brown includes a Site License for Esri’s ArcGIS Suite (Desktop & Web GIS Applications) available to the Brown Community.
Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4)
GIS Software
Desktop Applications included in the Brown Site License
ArcGIS Pro (3.x) are designed to run on a Windows Operating System.
For Windows users: You may install ArcGIS Pro from the Brown Software Catalog and follow the instructions here to gain access using your Brown credentials. As of July 31, 2025, all access to the software must be through a "Named User" license. (More details)
For Mac users: Please consider using Boot Camp or Parallels to install Windows on your Macs, if you do not currently have it installed. If you can get this set up, then you can install ArcGIS Pro from the Brown Software Catalog and follow the instructions here to gain access using your Brown credentials. As of July 31, 2025, all access to the software must be through a "Named User" license. (More details). While ArcGIS Pro can be run on Macs with a Windows partition, many users experience problems.
Note: If you’re unable to install ArcGIS Pro locally on your machine, you can use the MyApps instance of ArcGIS Pro ( MyApps Overview | For Windows | For macOS ).
Web GIS Applications included in the Brown Site License
Brown University ArcGIS Online Organization (AGOL)
Several other software as service applications (SAAS) are included with the Brown University Site License. Some main examples include: ArcGIS Collector, Dashboards, Insights, StoryMaps & Survey 123.
Each of these applications have very specific purposes, but are tightly integrated with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro. These applications are included in each Named User License as part of Brown's ArcGIS Online Account. In case of any issues, users can send an email to Software_Services@brown.edu.
Important Note from Brown's Office of Information Technology (OIT), published July 31, 2024: "If you use the legacy ArcGIS suite of mapping tools from ESRI, you must immediately upgrade and start using the modern ArcGIS Pro suite. As part of a recent contract renewal with ESRI, Brown’s access to the legacy tools including ArcMAP and ArcGlobe is no longer available. ESRI previously announced that this software was reaching the end of its useful life. Legacy ArcGIS projects are compatible with ArcGIS Pro. If you use ESRI's legacy ArcGIS tools and have not yet converted to ArcGIS Pro, please follow the instructions in our IT Help article. Your existing data should be compatible for usage in the new application."
Ready to upgrade from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro? Learn More