Links to purchase a student license to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite or Adobe Express can be found here.
Yale School of Medicine (YSM) recently announced that it will provide Adobe Acrobat Pro and Adobe Express to all existing Faculty, Student, and Staff license holders. The full text of the message can be viewed here, including information on how to request an upgrade to the full Creative Cloud suite.
License Options for Faculty and Staff: |
Acrobat Pro plus Adobe Express |
$25.77/year |
|
Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (includes Acrobat Pro and Adobe Express, plus Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) |
$41.24/year* | |
License Options for Students: |
Adobe Express |
$5.15/year** |
|
Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (includes Adobe Express plus Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) |
$35.05/year**
|
* Compared to $318/year for a non-enterprise academic license
**Not including applicable taxes and processing fees if not paid by university COA
Staff and Faculty members with an active Acrobat Pro/Adobe Express license who require a Creative Cloud license to support their daily work can purchase a Creative Cloud license from the Software Library using a university COA. Faculty and staff are encouraged to discuss their licensing needs with their planning unit contact listed below.
To start using Adobe products after you have purchased a license, you will need to download the individual Adobe product or the Creative Cloud suite onto your workstation. Users with managed workstations can download Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe Express, and Adobe Creative Cloud onto their computer from the Company Portal. Users with unmanaged workstations/personal devices can download the Creative Cloud suite directly from the Adobe website.
Once the application has been installed on your workstation, you can log in using your yale.edu email address.
How to find your unit: in the Yale Directory, choose ‘Find A Person.’ Search for your name, and your unit will be shown in the directory listing details under 'Unit.'
| Planning Unit | Contact Email |
| ADM Administrative Operations | Ashley.jones@yale.edu |
| ARC School of Architecture | vincent.guerrero@yale.edu |
| ART School of Art | sarah.stevens-morling@yale.edu |
| ATH Athletics | goeun.lee@yale.edu |
| CBA Yale Center for British Art | matthew.bogen@yale.edu |
| DEV Office of Development | carolyn.claflin@yale.edu |
| DIV School of Divinity | john.stachniewicz@yale.edu |
| DRA David Geffen School of Drama at Yale | dgsd.tech@yale.edu |
| EAS School of Engineering and Applied Science | erin.ethier@yale.edu |
| EEI Educational Enrichment Initiatives | bonnie.kramm@yale.edu |
| EEI Educational Enrichment Initiatives | joseph.g.florentino@yale.edu |
| EHS Environmental Health and Safety | stephanie.perry@yale.edu |
| ENV Yale School of the Environment | ysehelpdesk@yale.edu |
| FAC Facilities | cori-ann.campion@yale.edu |
| FAS Other FAS and Academic Departments | mary.magri@yale.edu |
| FBO Finance and Business Operations | susan.crisafi@yale.edu |
| GRA Graduate School | mary.magri@yale.edu |
| HOS Yale Hospitality | michael.vanemmenes@yale.edu |
| HRS Human Resources | kathryn.king@yale.edu |
| ISM Institute of Sacred Music | ben.geertz@yale.edu |
| ITS Information Technology Services | mark.manton@yale.edu |
| JAC Jackson School of Global Affairs | alexa.schlieker@yale.edu |
| LAW School of Law | gerard.armoogam@yale.edu and Stephen.baraquin@yale.edu |
| LIB Yale University Library | library.helpdesk@yale.edu |
| MAC MacMillan Center | john.f.beecher@yale.edu or sayaka.hoak@yale.edu |
| MED School of Medicine | healthsciencesitleadership@yale.edu |
| NHS New Haven Affairs | deborah.pallock@yale.edu |
| NUR School of Nursing | melissa.wojciechowski@yale.edu |
| OGC General Counsel | jennifer.knapp@yale.edu |
| PAS Public Safety | amy.holt@yale.edu |
| PEA Peabody Museum | sarah.morrill@yale.edu and gary.motz@yale.edu |
| PRE President | jennifer.knapp@yale.edu |
| PREINV Investments Office | nicole.cooper@yale.edu |
| PRV Provost Administration | timothy.gomer@yale.edu |
| RES Research Support Administration | harley.pretty@yale.edu |
| SCM School of Music | matthew.lefevre@yale.edu |
| SLS Student Life and Secretary | carolyn.claflin@yale.edu |
| SOM School of Management | kenneth.wieler@yale.edu |
| SPH School of Public Health | ysphoperations@yale.edu |
| UTL Utilities | deborah.pallock@yale.edu |
| UUG University General - Slifka Center | margarita.nieves@yale.edu |
| UUG University General - Yale-China Association | theresa.mcdonald@yale.edu |
| VPC Communications | jennifer.knapp@yale.edu |
| VPG Vice Provost for Global Strategy and International Affairs | john.f.beecher@yale.edu |
| WCA West Campus Units | meghan.dahlmeyer@yale.edu |
| YAG Yale Art Gallery | yer.vang-cohen@yale.edu |
| YCO Yale College Operating Units | mary.magri@yale.edu |
| YHP Yale Health | hema.bakthavatchalam@yale.edu |
| YUP Yale Press | timothy.haire@yale.edu |
| YVE Yale Ventures | elizabeth.dilella@yale.edu |
Licenses obtained before August 30, 2025 will expire on September 15, 2025.
Faculty and staff license holders who have not been administratively assigned a new license by their planning unit will have until September 15 to obtain a new Adobe license through the Software Library to maintain continuity of service. Faculty and staff must provide a university COA for payment. A departmental or individual COA may be used. Users should discuss the appropriate COA with the contact for their planning unit listed above. Individual student licenses may be purchased with a credit card only.
Any user who does not obtain a new Adobe license during the grace period will lose access to Adobe products on September 15. The user may elect at any point thereafter to obtain a new Adobe license by visiting the Software Library.
If you have Acrobat Pro installed on your workstation, it will automatically switch to the free Adobe Reader version when you no longer have an active license. You may see a Subscription suspended message, or a Subscribe button. Choose Dismiss, if it appears, to continue using Reader.
If you have the Adobe Creative Cloud suite installed and your license expires, the Creative Cloud app will show which programs are still available. Programs you no longer have access to will indicate Free trial or Use for free.Your PDFs will remain accessible — you just won’t have the advanced editing features from Acrobat Pro. Please refer to the application charts in this FAQ to compare the functions available in each of the application options.
Creative Cloud provides access to a large collection of desktop applications, including:
Information on all the products found in the Creative Cloud suite can be found on the Adobe website.
You are not required to obtain an Adobe license at the start of the new licensing period. However, you should plan ahead to avoid any interruption in your daily work.
If you choose to purchase a license, you can visit the IT Software Catalog at any time after the new licensing model starts to obtain a license for your selected product(s). The IT Software Catalog will be updated in August with the new licensing options, and existing license holders will be notified.
Adobe Sign is a cloud-based service that allows users to send, track, and manage electronic signature processes and is not required to digitally sign PDF files.
Earlier this year, the university replaced Adobe Sign with Docusign. The Docusign service is intended for us when the university is requesting signatures from another party, providing enhanced security, tracking capabilities, and legal validity where needed. DocuSign does not require a specific type of PDF file generated by a particular software for electronic signing and supports the following file formats:
Please visit the Digital Signatures Service Page for more information on DocuSign.
For Yale faculty and staff who digitally sign internal business documents (e.g., Sole Source forms) or other documents that do not require University signatory authority, there are several free products available that support viewing, annotating, form filling, printing, and converting to and from PDF, and digitally signing PDF files.
Under the new licensing model, users have the flexibility to select a license for Acrobat Pro (plus Adobe Express) to meet their PDF needs. The table below shows functionality available in alternative PDF tools compared to Acrobat Pro. Please note, these suggested alternatives are not supported by ITS and are not approved for use with PDFs containing PHI.
As noted above, the free Adobe Reader tool can be used to digitally sign PDF documents.
|
|
Adobe Acrobat Free Reader |
Apple Preview |
Microsoft Edge |
Adobe Acrobat Pro |
|
View PDFs |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
|
Annotate / Highlight |
✅ Basic tools |
✅ Basic tools |
✅ Basic tools |
✅ Advanced tools (comments, stamps, etc.) |
|
Fill Forms |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
|
Sign Forms |
✅ Yes (including digital signatures after certificate creation) |
✅ Yes (limited) |
✅ Yes (limited) Draw/type/ upload signature |
✅ Yes (including digital signatures) |
|
Edit Text & Images |
❌ No |
❌ No |
❌ No |
✅ Yes (full editing suite) |
|
Merge / Split PDFs |
❌ No |
✅ Merge only |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
|
Remediate for Accessibility |
❌ No |
❌ No |
❌ No |
✅ Yes (Accessibility Checker) |
|
OCR (Scan to Text) |
❌ No |
❌ No |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
|
Export to Other Formats |
❌ No |
✅ Limited (e.g., JPG) |
❌ No |
✅ Extensive (Word, Excel, etc.) |
|
Add / Remove Pages |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
❌ No |
✅ Yes |
|
Platform Availability |
Windows, macOS, mobile |
macOS only |
Windows, macOS |
Windows, macOS, mobile |
|
Cost |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Subscription Fee |
Users can save and export Microsoft Word documents to PDF directly from the desktop application. Outlook email messages can be saved or printed as a PDF file in the desktop and web applications.
When distributing PDF files, users should consult Yale's accessibility resources.
Under the rate-based enterprise model, annual licenses are valid for the duration of each contract year (August–August). Because enterprise licensing is purchased at the start of each contract year, annual licensing fees cannot be prorated.
Each Adobe license is assigned to an individual named user. If a user moves within Yale from one department to another, their Adobe license will remain with them and active for the remainder of that contract year.
Departments may elect to cover the cost of Adobe licensing for faculty, staff, and/or students in their units at the start of each contract year in August. In the alternative, departments may direct users to assess their individual licensing needs and, if needed, to obtain an Adobe license for Creative Cloud or Acrobat Pro/Adobe Express by visiting the Software Library.
If your department is interested in bulk provisioning, please submit a ticket to the Software at Yale team
Each Adobe license is assigned to an individual named user. Concurrent use of a named-user license by multiple users is not permitted under Adobe's licensing terms.
Shared device licenses are available to IT administrators for installation on shared computers (e.g., computers in a student lab). Please submit an inquiry to the Software at Yale team for additional information.
For shared computers, such as those used in labs and classrooms, Adobe provides the Shared Device Licensing scheme; this is currently in use on a number of shared computers around the Yale campus. Computers that currently use Shared Device Licensing can continue to do so. Any lab/classroom/etc. Administrators who want to use Shared Device Licensing on their shared devices should reach out to ITS to request access to installers that use this licensing. Please note that Shared Device Licensing should not be used on single-user computers. Users will still need to log in with their own account when using a shared device to sync any saved work to their account.
Shared Device Licensing has a different and somewhat more limited user experience compared to Adobe's standard Named User Licensing. For more details, please see the Shared Device Licensing: Overview and User Experience article.
Faculty and staff must provide a university COA for payment. A departmental or individual COA may be used. Users should discuss the appropriate COA with their business office.
Students at the School of Art and the School of Architecture should reach out to their school’s IT department to discuss licensing needs.
All other individual student licenses may be purchased with a credit card only.
Departments or schools that wish to cover the cost of Adobe licensing for their students may pay for licenses annually via university COA. Please submit an inquiry to the Software at Yale team for additional information.
|
|
Adobe Express |
Creative Cloud |
| Create visual, audio, and video content |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
| Collaborate with colleagues in-app |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
| Use templates, design elements, and stock photos to build designs |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
| Incorporate your organization's branding, logo, and colors |
✅ Yes |
✅ Yes |
| Remove backgrounds on photos | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Animate text | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Use the specialist capabilities of different apps | ✅ Yes | |
| Use Lightroom's presets and granular adjustments to edit photos | ✅ Yes | |
| Design and publish books, magazines, and interactive PDFs, incorporating elements from other Creative Cloud apps | ✅ Yes | |
| Design visual elements from scratch | ✅ Yes | |
| Create virtually signable PDFs | ✅ Yes | |
|
Create motion graphics, original animations, and expressive animated characters | ✅ Yes | |
|
Make use of industry-standard video editing tools, suitable for social media posts all the way up to feature-length films | ✅ Yes | |
|
Create and mix sound effects for videos or podcasts | ✅ Yes | |
|
Design websites, games, and apps | ✅ Yes |