Microsoft Office - Installation and Activation

Body

Summary

Microsoft Office is the KU application suite for word processing, spreadsheets, note taking, and slide deck presentation creation.

Microsoft Project & Visio Access Information

Microsoft Project and Visio are not included in this installation. Students who require access to Microsoft Project can use the Windows App (formerly Microsoft Remote Desktop) or purchase a personal license directly from Microsoft.

Visio is available through our Virtual Desktop environment. Users can access this service here.

Employees interested in purchasing a licensed copy of Visio should contact their technical support team. Please note that Visio licensing incurs an annual cost, which will be charged back to the respective department.

O365 Installation

Mac

Go to https://office365.ku.edu to access the Office website with your KU account.
Sign in with your KU Online ID and password if prompted.
Click Install Office and select Office 365 apps. This will prompt a download of the Microsoft Office installer package.
On the screen that follows, under Office app & devices click Install Office.
Click Allow.
Navigate to the file's download location (usually in Downloads) and double-click to run the installer.
Click Continue and follow the installation prompts.
Click Continue.
Click Agree.
Click Continue.
Click Install.
Enter the username and password you use to log in to your computer when prompted. Click Install Software and allow the installation to continue until it is finished. Do not turn off your computer during this installation.
Click Close.
You will no longer need the installer package. If you don't want to keep the .pkg file, select Move to Trash.

When prompted to activate Office, enter your KU email address and click Next. This will take you to KU single sign-on to activate the product. If you have trouble with this process, check the instructions in the Activation panel below.

Windows

In a web browser, navigate to https://office365.ku.edu.
Login with your KU Online ID and password to Single Sign-On if prompted.
Click the Install and more button, then Microsoft 365 apps.
.
Click Install Office under the Office apps & devices section.
An installer will be downloaded. Navigate to where the file was download and open the file.

(The photo above shows the download in Microsoft Edge. If you are using a different browser or cannot see this download box, you can find it in your Downloads folder)
If a UAC box appears on your screen, click Yes.
You will see a screen that looks like the following:
Click Close.
Open an Office application, we are using word in the example. If you can't see it on you desktop, search for it in the search bar.
Click Sign in or create account.
Type your KU email in the format j123h456@ku.edu in the Activate Office box and click Next.
Login with your KU Online ID and password to Single Sign-On if prompted.
Click OK. This will sign you into the other Office applications downloaded with the 365 Suite.
Click Accept.

O365 Activation

You can use any Microsoft Office Application to sign-in with. Note that per the terms of KU's agreement with Microsoft, these programs will only work as long as you have an active affiliation with the University.

Open a Microsoft Office product such as Word. Click the Sign in or create account button.
Enter your KU email address in the following format j123h456@ku.edu, then click Next.
Login with your KU Online ID and password to Single Sign-On if prompted. You will be redirected to the Microsoft application once the sign-in process is complete.

If you receive an unspecific 401 error after signing in to a Microsoft product and authenticating with Duo, this indicates a password error. If you are certain that you are typing in your password correctly, i.e. you have confirmed that you are typing in your password correctly at https://profile.ku.edu, Please see related article for Office Suite Troubleshooting.

Article Changelog

4/13/2026

All image alt-text updated.

1/24/2026

Article updated to basic visual standard.

Details

Article ID: 18815

Created

Mon 10/7/24 12:46 PM

Modified

Mon 4/13/26 10:34 AM

Microsoft Office - Installation and Activation

Body

Summary

Microsoft Project & Visio Access Information

O365 Installation

Mac

Windows

O365 Activation

Article Changelog

Details

Details

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