What software is available to Faculty, Staff, and Students for Free or at an Educational Discount?

Bates provides access to well over a hundred different software applications in support of teaching, learning, research, and the administration of the college. While our licenses for most applications are limited to use on Bates-owned machines, a few licenses allow installation on personal machines for faculty, staff, and students.

Free Software:
The following is a list of software that is available to members of the Bates College Community at no cost:

• ChemDraw/ChemOffice
  • Scientific Software
• Endnote
  • Research and Reference Manager (you must be logged into your Bates Google account to access this)
• JMP
  • Data Analysis Software
• Mnova
  • Software Suite Designed for Combined NMR and LC/GC/MS Techniques
• Microsoft Office for Students
  • As a Bates Student, you have access to the Microsoft Office 365 for Education Suite (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, as well as access to Microsoft's Cloud Apps).
  • To access and sign in to your account, please use the following link https://www.office.com/?auth=2. 
    • When signing in to this site, use your Bates username, appended by: @bcis.bates.edu (username@bcis.bates.edu), and use your network password. 
• Microsoft Office 365 for Education
  • Bates Staff Working from Home
• SensusAccess
  • Allows students, faculty, and staff to automatically convert documents into a range of alternate media 
• Read & Write
  • Text-to-speech capabilities for eBooks, websites, emails and documents
• Wolfram Alpha Pro 
• Wolfram Mathematica
  • Software for Technical Computing for R&D and Education 
• Zoom Video Conferencing Platform
  • Video and Web Conferencing
  • All Faculty, Staff, and Students are eligible for a Zoom Professional account. Just sign in to the Bates Zoom Portal, and click on the "Just login to your account" button to get started and set up your account.

Any licensed application not listed is limited to use on Bates-owned machines. Access from off-campus on Bates-owned machines requires the Bates VPN software - contact the Help Desk for installation. VPN software is limited to use on Bates-owned machines for faculty and staff only. 

Remember that most of our licenses expire on or around July 1. While most licenses renew automatically, some require a bit of intervention. Contact the IT Help Desk should this prove to be the case.