Service overview
McGill's campus software program centrally licenses and distributes software used in teaching, research and administration at the University. This enables McGill to:
- Obtain the best possible price for software widely used for research, teaching and administration.
- Reduce the burden on lab managers, units and individuals in negotiating and purchasing site licenses at the unit level.
- Reduce software piracy.
- Promote the use of preferred or mandated software on campus.
See the list of software available.
NOTE:
For products that are not currently available in the campus software program, visit Le James Institutional Sales website.
Current McGill students, faculty and staff have free access to the latest version of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus (available directly from the Microsoft Office portal).
Who can use it
This campus software program is for McGill students, faculty (including Professors Emeriti with an HR appointment) and staff.
Some licensed software may be intended for specific users. See the list of software available, which includes information about who is eligible and how to obtain each product.
How to request & access the service
View Software available at McGill to find out how to obtain each software.
Cost
Costs vary, depending on the software. Most are offered at no charge, as indicated in the Software available at McGill article.
If a software is offered at a charge, the price will be indicated during the ordering process, after you select the specific package. In some cases, there is also a charge for maintenance.
The purchase of a software's License right-to-use (RTU) allows McGill University staff and/or students to use it under the conditions of the site license agreement. The license remains the property of the University, and the user must relinquish their copy of the software should they cease to be a member of the McGill community. As well, all licenses held by McGill are to be used for McGill-related purposes only. If you wish to employ the software for personal use, you must purchase a personal copy of it.
Availability
Software that is available for download and installation can be downloaded 24 X 7. Note that some software products are distributed through a partner site, which provides an online shopping cart experience, although most products are free. This site may undergo occasional planned maintenance, at which time an announcement will be posted on the IT Support website.
Some software is only available through computer labs on campus, but may also be accessed remotely by classes which require it. See Remotely accessing computer labs for additional information.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What software is available to me?
- How do I order new software from the software site?
- How do I reinstall software obtained from the software site?
Best practices & policies
- For a reliable and fast download use a wired, high-speed connection rather than a wireless connection.
- If you are using a Firewall other than the Windows built-in firewall, you may need to change the settings to "Low" to allow downloads.
- Make sure that you have the serial number or product key (available on the download page or in the download package) handy, before you start the installation process.
- To obtain some software products, you will need to create an account on a vendor's site using your McGill email address; please be sure to create a new password that is DIFFERENT from your McGill password. Your McGill password should only be used to sign into McGill's systems and those that use McGill's Single Sign On authentication.
Training & documentation
Not applicable.
Support
Contact the IT Service Desk