Campus Adobe options

Where to find the software

W Store

• W Store is the official retailer of Adobe Creative Cloud licenses for UWaterloo students, faculty and staff on behalf of the Arts Computing Office.

• Your UWaterloo username is used to give you access to your CC license.

• To ensure that you can access your license, please sign-up/log in before placing your order.

OnTheHub

• For students and teachers requiring the Creative Cloud software, please refer to OnTheHub -- Adobe Creative Cloud Student & Teacher Edition for discounted pricing. Purchase by credit card only. 

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (for full-time employees permanent and temporary employees)

The University now has a site license for Acrobat Pro which allows all full-time employees to use the software free of charge.

• For full-time permanent employees, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC licenses no longer needs to be purchased through the Adobe VIP program. For more information see Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - IST Knowledge Base - Confluence (atlassian.net)

• For full-time temporary employees (e.g. contract, co-op students), Adobe Acrobat Pro DC licenses can be requested through the IST Jira Help Portal by selecting ‘Adobe Acrobat Requests’.

• If non-full-time employees require an Acrobat license, you will still need to purchase it through the VIP program. For more information see Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - IST Knowledge Base - Confluence (atlassian.net).

Adobe Canada Online Store

• The Adobe online store also offers an educational discount. Individuals can purchase any of the products from the Adobe Canada Online Store. Purchase by credit card only. 

Adobe VIP 

• The University of Waterloo has an agreement with  the reseller Softchoice  to allow staff and faculty to be a part of  an Adobe VIP consortium that receives discount  prices on Adobe software. Adobe software can be assigned to the end user or device through a Faculty or Academic Support Department's Adobe VIP. Purchase options are pcard or department account (i.e. Purchase Order). 

• Each  Faculty/Academic Support  department  will be responsible for managing the Adobe  VIP  accounts associated with their area. 

Cost for software 

Pricing is similar but varies depending on which of the above programs you choose. Please refer to the websites for OnTheHub and the Adobe Canada Online Store. For the Adobe VIP prices, please contact the Adobe VIP in your department/faculty or refer to the list below.   

Staff and faculty that need to purchase Adobe VIP software should connect with their Adobe VIP contact. Please refer to the list of current VIPs for your area's contact. If your department is not listed, please contact your IT support rep.  

Cost comparison as of June 2022 (subject to change)

W Store

• Adobe Create Suite $89 (term license), $244.00 (license until Sept. 2023)

OnTheHub 

• Adobe Acrobat Pro DC not available at OnTheHub​

• Adobe Creative Cloud ~$350.00 CAD/year ​

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (for full-time employees)

• Available to full-time employees at no cost

Adobe online store – individual and educational pricing​

• Adobe Acrobat Pro DC ~$250 CAD/year (varies by US exchange rate)​

• Adobe Creative Cloud ~$350 CAD/year (varies by US exchange rate) 

Adobe VIP prices - Level 4

• Adobe Acrobat Pro DC $156.99 CAD/year​

• Adobe Creative  Cloud $329 CAD/year​

Information for Waterloo Adobe VIPs 

How to request to be an Adobe VIP 

To request to be an Adobe VIP, please submit a request via Jira Help Portal with the following information: 

• Account Name – “University of Waterloo – name of department”   

• Name and UWaterloo email (preferably the IT contact) 

  • It is recommended to provide a second/backup name and email 

  • A generic account is permitted and recommended so that the requests can be monitored by more than one person 

Instructions for Adobe VIPs

Please see the Adobe VIP Instructions support article for more information, including how to add users and assign licenses.

List of University of Waterloo Adobe VIPs

IST KB resources that may be related to this service entry