Students and Graduates

Students can enjoy free or discounted access to all Foundry products

Foundry VFX software offers for students

Our Education Collective groups Nuke, NukeX, Nuke Studio, Mari, and Katana into one package. This gives you access to all the tools for a production workflow in one license. The products in this package are completely unrestricted; it's the same software you'll use in the industry.

Our tools are used to win Oscars. We’ve packaged them into the Education Collective, which can help students become the artists that studios want to hire, and give them the confidence they need to pursue a career in VFX.

Click the links on the left to learn more about each product or apply for your license below.

Note that the Education Collective comes as a two-part license: Nuke Studio and Mari are set as log-in-based and Katana is node-locked.

Student Licenses

  • See if you qualify for our student license
  • Includes access to Nuke Studio, Mari, and Katana
  • For full-time school or university students
  • Complete your course details to learn more
  • Free or paid at $99/ €89 / £79

Graduate Licenses

  • Discounted access for recent graduates
  • Includes access to Nuke Studio, Mari, and Katana
  • Available for graduates who have completed a full-time course in the past 6 months (proof of course and length are required)
  • Graduate Price: $286 / £173 / €206

Upgrade to Commercial

  • Upgrade to a full commercial license at the end of your student term
  • Upgrade to a discounted subscription commercial license
  • Holders of Student and Graduate licenses are automatically eligible at the end of their term

Education FAQs

What is the student license program and how do I qualify?

The student license program is an opportunity for students to experiment with Foundry products, free of charge. To qualify, you must be enrolled full-time at an eligible school or university. To be considered a full-time student, your program must meet twice a week and run for at least five months. Students enrolled at schools with active Foundry classroom licenses will qualify for a free annual student license. If your program doesn’t have Foundry licenses but you are a student, you’ll be eligible for our discounted student license for $99 / €89 / £79.

If I don’t qualify for a free license, can I purchase a discounted student license instead?

Yes, if your school or university isn’t eligible for free student licenses, and provided you’re a full-time student, you can still apply for a discounted student license for $99 / €89 / £79.

How do I get a student license?

Students can purchase a student license directly from our website. We use a third-party verification application called Proxi.ID to verify your student status. You’ll need to create or log in to your Foundry.com account. Once logged in, you can apply for the student license. For more details on the Proxi.ID verification process, please see our support article.

What do I do when my student license expires?

If your student license expires and you’re still in full-time education, you can apply for a new one-year license. You’ll be able to reapply within 30 days of your current student license’s expiry date. Once you graduate, you can either purchase a one-year graduate license or upgrade to a commercial license.

When am I eligible for a graduate license?

Students are eligible to purchase a graduate license from six months before, until six months after their graduation date. A graduate license gives you the same product access as a student license and is valid for one year. You can apply for a graduate license online.

I graduated more than six months ago. Can I still purchase a graduate license?

Please email us at educationsupport@foundry.com and we can discuss options with you.

When can I upgrade to a commercial license?

To upgrade to a commercial license, students need to have owned a student license or graduate license for at least one year, and you must purchase the update within six months of your current license expiring. You can apply for an upgrade to a commercial license.

How do I upgrade my license to a commercial license?

We offer a 70% discount on the first year of your subscription when you upgrade from a student or graduate license to a commercial license. After the first year, you can renew your subscription license for continued access to the software at the normal commercial subscription price. You can find all the pricing for the upgrade.

What’s the difference between non-commercial and educational licensing?

Non-commercial licenses are for home use only, so they cannot be used in a commercial environment or in schools for teaching. Once a project is started in non-commercial, it cannot later be transferred to educational or commercial versions due to file encryption. Projects would need to be started from scratch in full commercial versions. Our education licenses provide full, non-limited versions of the software. This means students can easily transfer files between home and school machines and take their work with them into the industry. Education licenses also allow students and graduates to upgrade to a commercial subscription license at 70% off the commercial price for the first year when their student licenses expire.

How do I install a student activation key or graduate license?

Please visit our support article for install instructions for your student or graduate activation code.

How can I update my product version?

As long as you have active maintenance, you will have access to all the latest versions of the software by re-downloading the product from the Product Downloads page here.

Can I use my license on commercial work?

You may not use a Student license for commercial work. You are permitted to use a Graduate or upgraded commercial license for commercial projects.

Can my Education license be used on multiple machines?

The Nuke, NukeX, Nuke Studio, and Mari licenses are set as log-in-based. Log-in-based licenses are tied to a single foundry.com account and can be activated on up to two machines simultaneously. There is no need for license transfers - users can deactivate from one machine if they want to use the license on a different machine. Log-in-based licenses require an internet connection for initial activation and refreshing of licenses (max 37 days offline).  The Katana license included with the Education Collective is node-locked and can only be installed on a single machine. If you have a node-locked education collective currently and would like to change to log-in-based to access on a second machine, please complete the license migration request here.

What if I only want a single product, not the full collective? Can I buy them individually?

No, educational licenses are only available as the full Education Collective bundle.  

I need Nuke or NukeX but the Education Collective says it includes Nuke Studio. How do I get Nuke or NukeX?

Nuke and NukeX are part of the license for Nuke Studio. If you want to use Nuke or NukeX, you can use the Nuke Studio license for access to those two products as well.

What should I do if I can’t find my school using the search field?

If your school doesn’t appear in the drop-down when using the school search, then you can still verify your academic status by requesting a verification code. To request a verification code, click on the ‘Can’t find your school?’ link below the search field and enter your school email address.

Why do I receive an error when verifying my status using my email address?

If you receive an error stating that your email address is not recognized as coming from an eligible organization, please submit proof of eligibility via Proxi.id or contact the Proxi.id support team.

How do I submit proof of eligibility for an offer?

If you cannot automatically prove your affiliation by using your organization credentials or email domain, you can submit documents to prove your eligibility.

I submitted a request for a license and haven't heard back. Do I apply again? How long is the application approval process?

No. Please only submit your request once. If you submit multiple times, it flags your recent request as the newest one and can delay the response time. You can submit a support request form with Proxi.ID if you have questions on your application. 

How long is the student license? Is there a monthly or multi-year option?

Currently, there is only a 12-month option for our educational licenses. We do have 30-day trials available if you need a shorter-term license. The trials can be found on the product pages.

My graduate license expires soon. Can I renew it?

No. The graduate license cannot be renewed. You are eligible for our 'Upgrade to commercial' discounted license.

Where can I find advice for my VFX career?

Start building your professional network by gaining access to people you might not have met otherwise and get your foot in the door at 30+ award-winning VFX, animation and games studios through our partner ACCESS: VFX. Find out more and sign up for the free mentoring program.

I completed my order for the student license. How do I get my license now?

After you have completed checkout, your student license will be added to your account online. Please login to your Foundry.com account, navigate to ‘My Account’ then the ‘My Orders” tab on the side bar menu. Click on ‘view order’ and you will find your activation key. To install the education collective license, please use your activation key and follow these instructions: How to install an education collective licenses

I have a node-locked license. Can I change it to log-in-based?

Yes, please complete the license migration request here.
 

Can I request a node-locked license instead of log-in-based?

Yes, please email us at educationsupport@foundry.com to request a node-locked license

I changed from node-locked to log-in-based but received a Katana activation key while the rest of my license is log-in-based. Why?

Katana is not currently available as log-in-based. As it is included in your education collective license, we wanted to ensure you still have access to Katana. We issue a Katana activation key and Katana render key with your license so you can still access it.
 

What is the difference between node-locked and log-in-based licenses?

Details on our different license styles can be found here.

I have a nodelocked license and want to change it to a new machine. How do I change it?

Please complete the license transfer form and submit it to educationsupport@foundry.com.  If you are changing to log-in-based, please complete the license migration request here.
 

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