Eligibility

Cornell faculty, staff, PhD students, and Weil Cornell Medicine staff and faculty will be able to request a Claude account after completing an AI Literacy course (schedule for release in November). Students will have access to free Claude accounts in the spring semester.

Claude (Chat)

Claude chat mirrors a public Claude subscription, but with enterprise security, as well as data protections and privacy through a contract negotiated specifically for the Cornell community. If you use Claude for Cornell-related business, you must use Cornell's Claude account to enjoy these protections.

Claude Cowork

According to Claude itself, Claude Cowork is an agentic desktop app for non-developers. You delegate knowledge-work tasks to Claude, and it works on them autonomously, using tools like files, Claude in Chrome, Excel, and other connected apps. It’s also accessible remotely through the Claude mobile app.

Learn how to use Cowork from Anthropic.

Claude Code

Claude Code is an agentic coding tool that lets developers delegate coding tasks to Claude from the command line, the desktop app, or the mobile app. Educate yourself about Code here.

Data and Use Limitations

Claude is expected to be approved for low- and moderate-risk data, with specific limitations for FERPA data.

Fees and Billing

You will use Claude tools under Cornell's account. The initial Cornell Claude account will have limits that are expected to meet most individual needs. More details about limits and how to monitor your account will be available when access to Claude opens.

How to Create your Claude Account

Access to Cornell's Claude accounts is expected to start in November 2026. To claim your Claude account, you will need to take an AI Literacy course designed by the AI Strategy, Enablement & Innovation team (anticipated in early November). Once you complete the course, you will receive an email from OpenAI with instructions to activate your account within approximately 24 hours. 

Once the tool is available, instructions to set up your Claude account will be shared on IT@Cornell.

Claude allows you to have two different accounts with your NetID email. To switch between the Cornell Claude account and your original Claude account you need to log out of one, then log in to the other. Specific information about how to do this will be provided once Claude becomes widely available.

Connectors

Connectors that connect to other apps (such as Microsoft 365 or Google) are currently under review.

Learn to Use Claude 

Self-paced learning resources are available:

• Get Started with Claude
• Claude Cowork
• Claude Code
• Claude Desktop

Responsible Use of AI

All members of the Cornell community that use AI tools are expected to use AI responsibly and in accordance with the university's policies and procedures.