Civil engineering and architecture students need a lot of software. AutoCAD to draw, Revit to model, Civil 3D for infrastructure, Navisworks to federate models.
Buying commercial licences is out of the question. But there is a legitimate, free route: Autodesk Education.
Autodesk grants entitlements to students and educators at eligible institutions. The software is identical to the commercial release, with nothing removed. The only difference is that files carry an educational stamp, so the licence covers study and coursework, not paid work.
This article covers creating the account and verifying your student status. That is the hardest part and where most applications get rejected. Once it is done, downloading any product works the same way.
What to prepare first
Three things, worth having ready before you start.
A school-issued email address. Students at Hanoi University of Civil Engineering use an address ending in @st.huce.edu.vn. This matters more than anything else. Applying with a personal Gmail address will almost certainly be refused.
Proof that you are currently enrolled. Autodesk accepts three kinds: a transcript, a school-issued confirmation letter, or a student ID card. The document must clearly show your name, the school name and the period of study.
Your school details. Full name of the institution, address, website, and your expected graduation date.
How the education licence differs from the commercial one
This is the point most often misunderstood, so it is worth settling before you start.
Feature-wise there is no difference. Same installer, same tools, same file format. Learning on the education release means nothing to relearn when you move to a commercial licence at work. The Institute's Revit and AutoCAD courses are taught on the education release for exactly that reason.
The difference is in the entitlement. The education release covers study, coursework and research. It does not cover paid work.
And in the stamp on your files. Files created with the education release carry an educational marker. Printed drawings show a line stating they came from an educational version. The marker follows the file: open it in a commercial licence and it is still there, and any commercial file that references it picks the marker up too.
For coursework that marker is harmless. But do not carry files made at university into a professional portfolio submission.
The five steps
The whole process runs through Autodesk Education.
Step 1: Open the site and choose Sign in
Go to the Autodesk Education page and click Sign in at the top right.
Step 2: Create the account with your school email
Choose Create account and enter your school-issued address.
Autodesk sends a verification code to that mailbox. Open your school mail, copy the code, and paste it back into the form.
Next comes your name and a password. The password must satisfy four conditions: at least ten characters, an upper-case letter, a lower-case letter, a number and a special character.
Tick the agreement box and press Create account. You now have an Autodesk account, but not yet the right to use the software.
Step 3: Declare your details and submit documents
This is the step that decides the outcome.
Pick any product to begin with. There is no need to agonise over it, because once the application is approved you can use several products.
Under educational role, select Student. Then enter your date of birth.
Then the school details: country, address, type of institution, name of the school, its website, and your expected graduation date.
Once filled in, tick the box confirming the information matches what your school issued, then press Continue.
The last step is uploading your document. Autodesk sets out the three acceptable kinds and what each must show.
Drag the file into the upload area. For a student ID card, photograph both sides.
Review everything once more, then press Submit.
Step 4: Wait for approval
Applications are reviewed within a couple of days at most. The outcome arrives at your school email.
Once approved, return to the Autodesk Education page and you will see the expiry date of your entitlement.
Step 5: Download and sign in
Once your application is approved, return to the education software page. The top of the page shows your entitlement expiry date, and this is also where the product list lives.
Pick the product you need, press Select, then Select again under Student. After that, go to Products and services in your Autodesk account, scroll to the product, press Install and then Accept to download the installer.
After installing, open the software and choose Sign in with your Autodesk ID. Sign in with the same school email you registered with. The software will ask for a verification code sent to that mailbox, exactly as in step 2.
Downloading and installing differs slightly from product to product, so we cover each one separately below.
Which product to install first
It depends on your discipline and your year of study. Four common paths:
| What you study | Install first | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture, building construction | AutoCAD then Revit | AutoCAD · Revit |
| Roads, bridges, technical infrastructure | AutoCAD then Civil 3D | Civil 3D |
| Structural engineering | Revit then Robot Structural Analysis | Robot SA |
| Multi-discipline coursework, studying BIM | Revit then Navisworks | Navisworks |
Each of those guides includes its own hardware section, because these programs demand very different things. AutoCAD runs on an ordinary machine; Civil 3D and Navisworks want considerably more memory.
Renewing each year
The entitlement runs in one-year cycles, not once for the whole degree.
As expiry approaches, Autodesk sends a reminder to your school email. You sign back in and verify your student status again. The process is lighter than the first time, but you still need a document that is valid at the moment of renewal.
Two things worth remembering. Do not leave it until the last minute, because review still takes time and you could be stuck in the middle of a project. And keep your school email working, because every message from Autodesk goes there. Final-year students should check when the university closes the account after graduation.
Four reasons applications get refused
Using a personal email. Neither personal Gmail nor Outlook will do. It has to be the address your school issued.
Blurred or incomplete documents. The photograph must clearly show your name, the school name and the period of study. If you are using a phone, get enough light and shoot square-on.
The name on the document differs from the name declared. The two must match. Even a single character can get the application returned.
The school name entered incorrectly. Use the name Autodesk suggests in its list rather than typing an abbreviation of your own.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the entitlement last?
Autodesk grants it in one-year cycles. When it expires, verify your student status again to renew, for as long as you remain enrolled.
Which versions can an education account download?
The list of available versions sits in the Products and services section of your Autodesk account. If the product tile has a drop-down arrow next to the version number, you can choose an older release. No arrow means the latest version only.
Can I get Revit 2020, 2021 or AutoCAD 2019?
Autodesk only offers recent releases through the education programme, so versions that old are usually no longer listed. If a course requires one specific old version, ask your lecturer about alternatives before spending time hunting for it.
What happens if I use the education release for paid work?
That is not permitted. The entitlement covers study and research. Files carry an educational marker, and the marker travels with the file even when opened on another machine.
What happens after graduation?
The entitlement ends when you are no longer a student. Add an alternative email address at the outset so you keep access to the Autodesk account itself.
Do students on Institute courses get help with registration?
Yes. Every Autodesk software course at the Institute walks students through activating their education licence in the first session.