All School-owned computers, regardless of the operating system (Windows / Linux / Macintosh), will have a "standard" set of software installed: one or more Web browsers, an SSH / SFTP client, development software, archive utilities, document-processing software, and anti-virus software. The specific titles will vary with the operating system.

If you've just purchased a new computer (with UW funds), or would like your existing School-owned computer re-imaged, there's a software installation request form that helps us to better serve you.

The rest of this page contains information about some popular software titles that aren't in the "standard" set of software we provide by default. If the title you are interested in isn't in this list, send an e-mail to CSE Support and inquire. It's possible that it is available through the University - often at a discount - or through the software manufacturer or a third-party vendor.

The University makes numerous software titles available to students, faculty, and staff, through their UWare portal.

Adobe Software

Faculty and staff who would like Adobe software - Acrobat Pro and/or Creative Cloud - should look at UW-IT's Adobe software page, and work with their grant coordinator or supervisor to make a purchase. CSE Support are happy to assist with the installation of this software.

Students can purchase Adobe products at substantial discounts direct from Adobe.

Two computers - lando in CSE 002 and daniel in CSE 622 - are equipped with Adobe Creative Cloud software, for use by the Allen School community. Anyone with a valid CSENetID can use the computer in CSE 002. The computer in CSE 622 is restricted to faculty, staff, and graduate students. After one logs into one of these computers (with one's CSENetID credentials), one must "sign in" to the Adobe application one wishes to use, with a personal AdobeID (see below for the steps to do this). Make sure to "sign out" of the application before logging out of the computer. Remote access to these two computers has been disabled.

The steps you need to take to "sign in" to a Creative Cloud application are as follows:

  • Start the application.
  • Enter your UWNetID - user@uw.edu at the "Sign in" screen.
  • Select "Company or School Account."
  • Complete the Duo 2FA process. (Select "Other people use this device.")
  • Select the "UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON" profile.

To sign out of the Creative Cloud application(s), select "Help --> Sign Out..."

If you need to make a personal Adobe ID, visit adobe.com, select "Sign In" and then select "Create an account." The username must not be your UWNetID; not "username@uw.edu" in other words.

Autodesk

Many Autodesk titles, including Maya, 3ds Max, and AutoCAD, are available for free to students. More information is available at the Autodesk education site.

MATLAB

MATLAB is available for both research and instructional use on certain CSE managed hosts, and is available for purchase through the UW Bookstore, or through the College of Engineering. More information is available in this document.

Microsoft Development Tools

Microsoft has made software available to students, staff, and faculty through their Azure Dev Tools for Teaching program. Through this program, one can download free copies of Windows (both client and Windows Server), Access, Visio, Project, Visual Studio Code, SQL Server Management Studio, and more.

To obtain this software, visit the Azure Dev Tools for Teaching site, enter your UW e-mail address, select "Work or school account," and then enter your UW credentials at the UW login page.

For Windows OSes, you will need to browse to the following page and click the "Microsoft Dev. Tools program" link and sign up for the program first, before the Windows 10/11 OSes will appear in the Azure Education Hub page. https://itconnect.uw.edu/uware/microsoft-windows/

Microsoft Office

Students, faculty, and staff can obtain Microsoft Office for their personal computing devices through the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus program.

Eligible staff and faculty can obtain Microsoft desktop and server software on their UW-owned computers, as well.

OnTheHub

The Paul G. Allen School has an OnTheHub site where students and faculty can download various software titles. Some titles are free, others are discounted.

TeX Live (TeX, LaTeX, BibTeX, etc.)

A virtual host - texlive.cs.washington.edu - has been set up with TeX Live 2024 installed, for those who wish to use LaTeX outside of Overleaf or their own installation of the software. Rocky 9 does not include a full and up to date set of packages for this software.

Graduate students and faculty can access texlive.cs.washington.edu via SSH, using their CSENetID credentials.

VMware

Customers seeking VMware Workstation Player (Windows) or VMware Fusion Player (Macintosh) may download them, at no cost, directly from VMware's web site. They are free for personal use. The Macintosh software requires the customer to create an account at VMware.com; the account is free, and easy to set up.