Install the Office apps
Sign in, then choose Install and more → Install Microsoft 365 apps. That is the page with the actual installer on it.
Go to the Microsoft 365 apps page ↗cmc.edu/getoffice gets you to the same place if that is easier to remember.
Before You Begin
- Your CMC username and password, and your phone for Duo
- Administrator rights on the computer you are installing on — this is your own laptop, not a lab machine
- About 4–10 GB of free disk space, and a connection that will tolerate a large download
- On a CMC-managed computer? Office is normally installed for you already. Do not install a second copy — contact the Help Desk instead
Go to the Microsoft 365 Apps Page
Open m365.cloud.microsoft/apps, or use the shortcut cmc.edu/getoffice. Sign in with your CMC account — that is username@cmc.edu, your username plus the CMC context, not a personal Microsoft account. Approve the Duo prompt.
Students: your email lives on Google at @students.claremontmckenna.edu, but the account you sign in to Microsoft with is your CMC account. If you are unclear on the difference, see Username, email, and context.
Choose "Install and more"
In the upper-right of the page, select Install and more, then Install Microsoft 365 apps. That opens your account's Apps & devices page — the one place Microsoft still keeps the desktop installer.
Click Install Office
Under Office apps & devices, pick your language and version if offered, then click Install Office. Windows downloads OfficeSetup.exe; macOS downloads a .pkg installer. Both land in your Downloads folder.
Run the Installer
Open the downloaded file and let it run. It pulls the apps down as it goes, so it takes a while on a slow connection — leave it alone until it says it is finished. Close any Office apps that are already open if you are prompted to.
Open Word and Sign In to Activate
Launch any of the apps — Word is fine — and sign in with the same CMC account. That activates the license. If it asks you to buy a subscription, you are signed in to the wrong account: sign out and sign back in with your CMC account.
How many devices? Microsoft 365 licenses cover installation on up to five PCs or Macs, plus tablets and phones, for as long as your CMC account is active.
What You Get
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams, installed locally and working offline. Access and Publisher are Windows-only. If you would rather not install anything, the same apps run in a browser at office.com — the web versions are lighter, but they cover most everyday work.
A note on Outlook for students: installing Office gives you the Outlook app, but your CMC mail is on Google. Read it in Gmail, signed in the normal Google way with your @students.claremontmckenna.edu address, or add your Google account to Outlook if you prefer a desktop client. See Google Workspace.