The New School partnership in the AWS Educate program provides an opportunity for you to apply for a grant that may be applied to Amazon Web Services. For students, there are two different types of accounts to choose from, AWS Educate and AWS Starter Kit.

AWS Educate Account Overview

With the AWS Educate Account faculty will receive a $200 credit and students a $100 credit, that renews annually. To apply for a grant you must first have a personal Amazon Web Services account. With your account you must agree to terms of service that exist between you and Amazon. While it is suggested that you register for an Amazon Web Services account using your New School email address, The New School does not manage or control your individual user account. Your Amazon Web Services account is a stand alone account that you create at Amazon.

With your Amazon Web Services account, you may purchase a range of cloud-based web services. Once you have an Amazon Web Services account, you may apply for a grant (issued on the basis of your affiliation with The New School). Once approved, you may apply this credit to your personal account, and charge Amazon Web Services against its balance.

AWS Starter Account Overview

The AWS Educate Starter Account offers you free access to a specified, capped amount of AWS cloud resources ($75) without requiring a credit card for payment. The AWS Educate Starter Account is run and managed by a third party, qwikLABS, and the Starter Account runs in the third party’s environment. To register for the AWS Educate Starter Account, click here. You will receive login details once you successfully register. The AWS Educate Starter Account does not require a credit card or payment option, and usage is capped with a specific amount of AWS credits. Here are details on how to set up your AWS Starter Account.

Phase One: Create an Amazon Web Services Account

If you already have an Amazon Web Services Account, you may skip the account creation process and move to Phase Two: AWS Educate Grant Application.

1.

Navigate your web browser to the Amazon Sign In or Create an AWS Account page

2.

Enter New School email address in "email or mobile number" field

We recommend entering your New School email address, however, a personal email address is also permitted.

3.

Select radio button labeled “I am a new user”

4.

Click the button labeled “Sign in using our secure server”

5.

Complete the “Login Credentials” form and click the button labeled “Create Account”

6.

Select the radio button labeled "Company Account?/Personal Account?"

7.

Complete the rest of the “Contact Information” form

8.

Complete the security check

Agree to the AWS Customer Agreement terms, and click the button labeled “Create Account and Continue.”

9.

Enter Credit Card Information

IMPORTANT NOTE:

While this information is required to complete your registration, you will not be charged for any services. You may cover any expenses incurred through your use of Amazon Web Services with an AWS Educate grant available to you through your affiliation with The New School. This will require you to submit a formal application. The application process is outlined in the second phase of these instructions.

10.

Verify your identity

This will require you to provide a phone number to which you have immediate access. You will be provided a PIN, which you will then have to provide to the automated caller. Once verified click the button labeled, "Continue to select your Support Plan."

11.

Select a support plan

The Basic (Free) plan is sufficient for the purposes of academic use.

12.

Confirm account information

Note that account activation could take up to three hours. When you launch the Management Console, you are presented with a full list of Amazon Web Services.   

Phase Two: Apply for an AWS Educate Grant

1.

Click Billing Management Console link below

Click this link to access the Billing Management Console . If you are in an unauthenticated browser session, you may be prompted to login with your personal AWS account. This time you will select the "I am a returning user" option.

2.

Copy the Account ID number

The page you see is called the Billing Management Console. Under the heading 'Account Setting,', labeled 'Account Id" is your account number (a 12-digit number). You will need this for your AWS Education Grant application. Copy it somewhere so you have it handy.

3.

Go to AWS Educate grant application form

4.

select either “Educators” (for faculty) or “Students” (for students) as appropriate

5.

Enter the information required for 'Step 1

On the application form enter the information required for 'Step 1: Fill out Application'. Where it reads Institution Name, enter The New School. Include your AWS Account ID, and be sure to use your New School email address. Click “Next.” You may leave the "Promo Code" field blank.

6.

Verify Email Address

The 'Step 2: Verify Email Address’ window will be displayed. To complete this step you will need to enter a 'Verification Code' sent to the email address you provided. Then check the box to confirm you are not a robot, and click the button labeled "Next."

7.

Read the carefully the AWS Educate Terms & Conditions

At the bottom of the page check the box labeled, "Accept the terms," and click the button labeled 'Submit.'

8.

The AWS Educate Team will then review your AWS Educate grant application. You will receive an email once the review is complete. Note that it can take up to 3 days for your application to be reviewed and approved.

Phase Three: Redeem your AWS Educate Grant

When your grant application review is completed and approved, you will receive notification via email. This email will include a 'Credit Code.' Be sure you save this email as you will need to credit code to redeem your grant.

1.

Click AWS Billing Management Console below

Click AWS Billing Management Console.

2.

Input your AWS Credit Code in the Promo Code box and click Redeem

Your credit details will then be displayed in a table below the Security Check, including a link to all applicable AWS production.

Phase Four: Using AWS and Managing Your Credit

You can get started by accessing the AWS Management Console, launching an Amazon EC2 Instance, or exploring popular software optimized for Amazon EC2 on AWS Marketplace. You will also receive an email from Amazon providing you with some Getting Started Resources, including Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Deploy Your Application, Quick Start Tutorials for Developers, Tool Downloads, and Billing Alerts.

The two best practices for managing your credits are AWS are:

  1. Turn off all AWS instances when you are not using them

  2. Set up CloudWatch alarm to monitor usage  

Additionally you will find below a guided tour of AWS, and instructions on how to get started.