Our mission
At the Spatial Sciences Institute, we turn geospatial data into solutions for a healthy, prosperous and safe world. By harnessing the power of geospatial sciences and technologies, we foster collaboration, build consensus and support actions that tackle intractable global challenges.
Through our innovative research and academic programs, we educate and launch today’s and tomorrow’s spatial problem solvers to deploy spatiotemporal perspectives and insights across every possible discipline and industry.
We collaborate with faculty colleagues throughout the University of Southern California and with other prestigious institutions around the world on funded research that provides decision makers and citizens with strategies towards a more sustainable life on Planet Earth.
WELCOME
It’s in our DNA to make a difference with spatial thinking and digital geography.
As front-line researchers and educators, we are dedicated to:
-
- deploying the power of people, place and time;
- presenting information as maps;
- promoting environmental sustainability and human well-being; and
- fostering actionable research and informed decision-making.
Our partners are a cross-cutting array of researchers, businesses, non-profits, NGOs and other entities from a wide range of disciplines and industries that analyze, model and visualize location-based data.Our undergraduate, masters and doctoral students and alumni are change agents, empowered with capabilities to help address global challenges.
Our internationally-recognized faculty are contributors to the rapidly-evolving body of geospatial knowledge.
Join with us as we plumb the depths of data to bring out the compelling stories in search of solutions, answers and decisions for a more sustainable and healthy planet.
With kind regards,
John P. Wilson
Founding Director, Spatial Sciences Institute; Co-Director, Measurement and Modeling Core, Southern California Health Sciences Research Center; Professor, Department of Sociology, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; School of Architecture; Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Computer Science, Viterbi School of Engineering; and Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC; Editor, Transactions in GIS
SSI in numbers
848
Student awards and prizes AY 2010-2024
$16m
SSI’s total FY 23 revenue (instruction, research and gifts)
400
M.S. in Geographic Information Science and Technology degrees awarded AY 2010-2024
326
USC Nu Theta Chapter Gamma Theta Upsilon honors society inducted members AY 2018-2024
44
Affiliated faculty with the Spatial Sciences Institute
5,574
Undergraduates taught in SSI general education courses AY 2010-2024
Life in the Spatial Sciences Institute
Whether it’s in the classroom, in the field or at a conference, our students have boundless opportunities to explore, grow and achieve more than they could have ever imagined.
Areas of focus
Learn more about how we are making a visible difference.