GIS Lab
Geographic Information Systems
College of the Atlantic
Mapping place, data, and ideas
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Lab at College of the Atlantic fuses the arts and sciences through mapping, analysis, and planning. Established in 1988—the first of its kind at a small college—our GIS Lab serves as a technical and creative hub for the entire academic program.
Experiential learning
Learning by doing
The GIS program is built on experiential, project-based learning. Through research, service, and community partnerships, students develop spatial thinking and technical skills that give them a marketable edge for jobs, internships, and graduate study.
Students collaborate with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations. Projects range from ecological research to land use planning and community mapping.
Student impact
Student projects and recognition
The GIS Lab supports a broad portfolio of student-led work, like the Vision for Town Hill project, which helped guide local planning efforts in Bar Harbor.
The lab is a recipient of the Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award, recognizing its innovation and community impact.
Connect with the GIS Lab
Get involved with hands-on mapping projects. Access training and technical support. Partner on community research initiatives.
Gordon Longsworth
glongsworth@coa.edu
207-801-5677
Stories from the Field
Lamb-ageddon! Crowd goes wild as baby sheep frolic on the field
COA Peggy Rockefeller Farm’s Leaping into Spring event is a sweet tradition that signals the turning of the season on Mount Desert Island. Via Bar Harbor Story. Read More
Endowment and innovation keep Bar Harbor college viable, new interim leader says
Incoming interim president Lynn Boulger highlights the $95 million endowment and unique academic focus keeping COA secure, via Bangor Daily News. Read More
From rare visitors to regular sightings, the bears in Acadia National Park
College of the Atlantic students and faculty will collaborate with the National Park Service and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries on a multi-year study of the local bear population, the Bangor Daily News reports via Bar Harbor Story. Read More
Student Resources
Thorndike Library
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