As an NC State student, faculty or staff member, you can download and install a free copy of the full MS Office suite (includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint), and you also have access to the cloud versions of these products (Office 365).
Meet Microsoft 365. Premium Office apps, 1TB of cloud storage, advanced security and more, all in one convenient subscription. Learn more and shop Microsoft 365 ›. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Every Office 365 subscription comes with security capabilities. The goals and actions that you can take depend on the focus of these different subscriptions. In Office 365 security, there are three main security services (or products) tied to your subscription type: Exchange Online Protection (EOP). Tip: Office 365 is now Microsoft 365. New name, more benefits. New name, more benefits. Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that makes sure you always have the most up-to-date modern productivity tools from Microsoft. Before you can install Microsoft 365 or Office 2019 you need to associate it with a Microsoft account, or work or school account. If you have an Office for home product and bought Office at a retail store or online store, but don't have a Microsoft account, it's possible you haven't redeemed your product key yet (if you got one), or you missed the step for linking your recent purchase with an account.
Your free copy of Office 365 can be installed on multiple devices and comes with online file storage space in OneDrive.
NOTE: G Suite is the university’s primary collaborative application suite. OIT recommends that you use G Suite for collaboration instead of Office 365.
Contents
Get your copy
- Go to:
office365.ncsu.edu. - Sign in with your Unity ID and password.
- Choose one of these two options for working with Office 365:
- Option 1 – To download and install MS Office and work locally:
- On a personally-owned computer:
Choose the product to install and follow the instructions on the screen. - On a university-owned computer:
Contact your local IT staff before attempting to install Office on it.
- On a personally-owned computer:
- Option 2 – To work in the cloud without downloading and installing MS Office:
Be aware that you’ll be using limited versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Option 1 – To download and install MS Office and work locally:
Install on multiple devices
You can install the Office suite on up to ten devices, including personal ones:
- five PCs or Macs
AND - five smartphones or tablets (see Help below for links).
![Office 0365 Office 0365](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118512470/906402746.jpg)
![Office Office](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118512470/891384222.png)
Mobile Setup
Office 365 features that are not available at NC State
- Exchange, including email and calendar
Keep your Office copy activated
If you downloaded and installed the full Office suite on your PC or Mac, be sure to keep it activated by connecting to the internet at least once every 30 days.
Working online
- Use newer browsers:
- Be aware that features are limited in online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- You have 1 TB (1000 GB) of personal space in OneDrive, the online space connected with Office 365.
- Documents you create online will be stored online.
Storing sensitive data
- In general, Cloud storage space (e.g., OneDrive) may not be secure.
See Storage Locations for University Data for details. - DO NOT store any sensitive information in the Cloud;
e.g., Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, passwords. - University employees who handle sensitive data:
See “Cloud service” in the table of Storage Locations for University Data
Collaboration
- Be sure to use G Suite instead of Office 365 to share documents and work collaboratively.
- G Suite remains OIT’s primary collaboration and communication tool for campus.
When you leave NC State
Office 0365 Admin
You will lose access to your Office 365 account and any data or information stored within. This information may not be retrievable after your access is lost.
- Disposition of files stored in OneDrive
- Students
- Transfer personal data to other locations; e.g., local computer, a personal G Suite account, or a personal Office 365 account.
- Only graduating students who complete a degree program with NC State will maintain access to their NC State G Suite account as a potential transfer location. See Extended access for new graduates for more information.
- Employees
- Transfer any university or department data and files to your supervisor or any other appropriate department file storage location.
See the Separating Employee Guide. - Transfer personal data to other locations; e.g., local computer, or a personal G Suite account, or a personal Office 365 account.
- Transfer any university or department data and files to your supervisor or any other appropriate department file storage location.
- Students
- Additional Resources
Help
- For PC: Office Quick Start Guides
- For Mac: Office for Mac Quick Start Guides
- For mobile:
Welcome to Office 365!
Office 365 is a suite of cloud-based services and applications that can be accessed from anywhere or downloaded on multiple devices. It’s way more than Microsoft Office – Office 365 is made of productivity tools dedicated to making communicating, collaborating, and sharing of ideas easier with classmates and colleagues.
Office 365 combines applications like Excel and Word with services like Teams and OneDrive to enable you to create and share content from anywhere. Most applications are offered at no cost, while applications like Visio and Project Online must be requested and purchased.
Office 365 Free Download
Office 365 services and applications are available to current or future university faculty and staff, and current students. You can find knowledge articles, and tools to help you learn how to use Office 365 applications and services available to you throughout this site.