Obtaining a Courant Computer Account

Access to Courant's computing resources requires both an active NYU NetID and valid Courant affiliation in NYU's central identity management systems. Below is information regarding who are eligible for CIMS accounts, how they are obtained and the duration for which they are valid. Instructions for obtaining specific kinds of accounts are detailed in the account type descriptions below. In some cases, particularly for visitors, research staff, adjuncts and former students, a Courant affiliation may end and the user will return to Courant at a later date, at which point a previous account can be reactivated based on a new affiliation following the same instructions as for the original account. When accounts are created or reactivated, email is generated and sent to the account holder's NYU email address with instructions on accessing the account. Users will not be permitted to have administrative privileges and are expected to refrain from attempting to gain such privileges on systems managed by the Courant IT group (ie, systems on which their Courant accounts are valid). Access will be subject to periodic review and accounts not meeting eligibility requirements listed here will be deactivated.

Faculty, Research and Administrative Staff

Accounts for new faculty, postdocs and other research staff, and administrators should be created upon appointment at the request of CIMS HR and will remain valid for as long as the user is affiliated with Courant, and expired at the end of employment or extended by arrangement through Courant HR. 

Visitors and Research Collaborators

Computer accounts for visiting members and remote research collaborators are created or reactivated at the request of faculty sponsors through Courant HR. Remote collaborators who wish to use Courant's computing resources are considered visitors for the purpose of account creation. All accounts that fall under this heading should be requested by sponsoring faculty through the Courant visitor request web form.

Courant's HR department will assist in obtaining a new NYU NetID or updated affiliation for visitors, and providing other optional resources mentioned on the form. After acquiring a NetID or updated affiliation you may submit a request to for a new or reactivated account. Accounts will be valid for the duration of the user's affiliation with Courant.

Adjunct Instructors

Adjunct instructors and recitation leaders may request an account or account reactivation using a simple form. These accounts are generally valid for the semester and are deactivated following final exams.

PhD Students

Accounts for Math, CS and DS PhD students are created at the request of the program administrator when you first enter the program and remain active as long as you are a student in your program or research affiliate after graduation. 

Masters Students

All CS, IS, Math, and Data Science masters students are eligible for Courant accounts. Please note that CS students at Tandon (Computer Science & Engineering) are NOT eligible. To get a CIMS account, MS students need to authenticate using their NYU NetID and NYU Home passwords to fill out a simple form. Once you fill out the form, your status will be verified and the account will then be create, usually within one business day. As with all new accounts, once it's created, you will be notified via email to your NYU Home account with instructions about accessing your Courant account. Accounts will remain active as long as you are a student matriculated into one of the Courant programs.

Graduate Class Accounts

Graduate class accounts can be requested by students who are enrolled in Math, DS or CS graduate courses for which access to CIMS computing resources is necessary, but who are not enrolled in a graduate program in any of the Courant-affiliated departments. Such students could be undergraduate students taking a graduate course, or graduate students in other NYU programs. To apply for a graduate class account, please fill out the request form. Accounts will remain active for the duration of the semester for which the student is enrolled in the course.

CS Undergraduate Class Accounts

Class accounts for certain CS Undergraduate major and minor accounts are created for students who are enrolled in select courses for which access to CIMS computing resources is necessary. These accounts will be created for the entire class or section at the request of the instructor at the begining of the semester. These accounts are valid only for the semester in which the course is taken and will be deactivated once the semester ends. Accounts for courses in the minors program are limited to the i6 resources, which your instructor will provide guidance regarding resources used in courses for majors.

Alumni Accounts

Alumni remain eligible for NYU email and certain other university resources, but Courant no longer provides access to alumni except in cases of research affiliates who continue to collaborate with Courant faculty, in which case the faculty member would submit the visitors form above.

Shared Accounts

While there are times when it would be convenient for multiple users in an administrative unit, for example, to access an account to handle queries regarding a particular topic, such as an academic program, NYU generally does not allow the use of shared accounts. As an alternative, we recommend using the collaborative inbox function of  NYU Groups. For sharing files for collaborative purposes, we can set up a Unix group, which can be requested by the prospective owner by email to helpdesk@cims.nyu.edu.