the university consortium for geographic information science (ucgis) is a non profit organization of over fifty universities and other research institutions dedicated to expanding and strengthening geographic information science. during the last decade rapid growth has occurred in the field of geographic information. with this growth have come diverse notions concerning which direction the field should take. to ensure that a coherent view emerges, a broad representation of universities and professional associations have come together to form the university consortium for geographic information science (ucgis).