Registration for this workshop is closed.

This workshop will be offered in person on the UMass Amherst campus.

This two-day (12-hour) in-person workshop will introduce you to the basics of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) using QGIS, a free and open-source software platform.

GIS is a spatial analysis tool with wide-ranging applications, including navigation, unmanned aerial vehicle surveys, satellite remote sensing, data visualization, and location analytics. The content of this workshop is geared towards beginners with little to no experience with GIS, but people with an intermediate skill level are welcome to attend for a refresher on the core concepts or to learn how to use QGIS.

Topics covered include:

• Installing QGIS software and add plugins
• The basics of GIS (map layers, data types, file formats)
• Coordinating systems
• Finding and creating geospatial data
• Visualizing data in different ways
• Performing spatial queries
• Conducting raster-based spatial analysis
• Crafting an aesthetically pleasing map

The workshop will be heavily participatory, with dedicated time for practicing using the software. Attendees should have a computer that meets the minimum hardware specifications for similar visualization software programs (e.g. see Adobe Photoshop or ArcGIS). QGIS works on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines.

***Note: There is limited funding available on a first-come, first-served basis to support UMass Amherst graduate and undergraduate students who wish to attend this workshop. If you are a UMass Amherst student and would like to register for this workshop, please contact Sue Falcetti (sfalcetti@umass.edu) instead of using the registration link.***

Instructor: Rebecca Seifried

Rebecca Seifried joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019 as the Geospatial Information Librarian. She earned a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2016 and went on to complete a two-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellowship in Europe. Broadly, her research applies geospatial technology to the study of archaeological landscapes in the eastern Mediterranean. Her current project is using least-cost analysis to model the routes of historical travelers in Greece, which she and her team assess by walking the routes in person. She has published on least-cost analysis, viewshed analysis, and landscape archaeology more broadly in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Levant, and Hesperia, among others. At UMass, she provides consultations and instruction to support GIS across the entire campus community.

Questions? For more information about this or any of the ISSR Summer Methodology Workshops, please contact ISSR's Director of Research Methods Programs, Jessica Pearlman (jpearlman@umass.edu).

REGISTRATION IS FOR THIS WORKSHOP IS CLOSED. 

Important: If you are registering for more than one workshop, please verify that all workshops are in your cart with the correct institutional and career status selected, for accurate pricing.

Five College Students and Faculty

• Five College Undergraduate and Graduate Students:  $150/person
• Five College Faculty & Staff:  $250person

Non-Five College Students and Faculty

• Non-Five College Undergraduate and Graduate Students:  $275/person
• Non-Five College Faculty, Staff & Other Professionals:  $400/person

Registration note: The Five Colleges include: UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College. Registration closes for each workshop 2 full business days prior to the start date. If paying with departmental funds or personal checks, contact Sue Falcetti (sfalcetti@umass.edu).

Cancellation note: In cases where enrollment is 5 or less, we reserve the right to cancel the workshop.  In cases where the registrant cancels prior to the workshop, a full refund will be given with two weeks notice, and 50% refund will be given with one week notice.  We will not be able to refund in cases where registrant does not notify us of cancellation at least one week prior to the beginning date of the workshop.