Adobe♯
Acrobat Pro♯
Adobe Acrobat Pro is licensed for all full time faculty and professional staff, and can be installed via Software Center in Windows or Self Service in MacOS. The freely available Acrobat Reader is also available via Software Center, and is installed by default on most computers managed by the university.
Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc)♯
Working with images and illustrations is an integral part of preparing research papers, homework assignments, and other day-to-day deliverables for Engineering students, faculty, and staff. Like many other software companies, Adobe has shifted away from permanent licenses and instead now offers their software via subscription. Drexel's Westphal College of Media Arts and Design has negotiated a license agreement that allows any faculty, staff, and students to obtain subscriptions for considerably less than the standard academic pricing that's generally available.
For Faculty, Staff, or Student Employees♯
License subscriptions for the entire Adobe Creative Cloud Suite are available under the university's license agreement and can be requested via this form. Subscriptions are currently $110/year and can be assigned to a specific user (allowing installation on multiple devices) or to a specific computer (allowing multiple users to run it on that computer). Please note that a valid university fund/org must be provided to purchase a license subscription, which will be automatically renewed until a request is made to cancel the subscription.
For Students♯
Students may purchase personal/academic use subscriptions at a substantial discount via Drexel's OnTheHub software site. Subscriptions are available by term ($25/3 months) or annually ($75/year). Please note that no refunds or exchanges are available for software licensed via this method.
Alternatives♯
While Adobe products are generally considered industry standards when it comes to image editing, there are freely available open-source projects that are able to fulfill most needs. This is not an exhaustive list, but below are a few alternatives to Adobe products that can be explored to see if they're a good fit for what you need before purchasing a license subscription.
| Adobe Software | Alternatives |
|---|---|
| Photoshop | GIMP |
| Illustrator | Inkscape |
| InDesign | Scribus |
| Acrobat Pro | OpenOffice Draw |