To help you navigate the IT website, we've done our best to group things by category.

Answers to your most common questions like, "what kind of computer should you buy," "how do I access my UMass email account," or "how can I reach the IT Service Desk" can be found in the dropdowns below!

If you cannot find what you are looking for, please use our Get Help link to find more information or to put in a ticket with TechServices.

Academic and Instructional Technologies are the day-to-day tools that keep the academic community on track and the student community engaged and informed.

For more information:

Keeping track. Taking Account.
Administrative Applications is where you’ll find the day-to-day tools and services that keep the campus community on track and informed.

Safe, secure, fast, and reliable are all key factors of a well run network. We strive to provide you with just that network everyday. Whether you are using your desktop computer, cell phone, or laptop, your internet access should be an asset to your workflow. You can find here directions and information for your most important connection needs to stay browsing and surfing.


Please Note: Fiscal year end orders for computers will be stopped at close of business on June 7 for budgets that close on July 1. This will be done to ensure deliver by June 30. This is the date provided by our vendors to ensure on time delivery. If your budget does not require delivery receipt prior to fiscal year end, computer orders can still be placed through the month of June.

With your UMass Lowell (UML) account, you have access to the wide range of features in the Microsoft 365 suite, including:

  • Word
  • Excel
  • Powerpoint
  • OneDrive
  • Outlook
  • Teams
  • and many more!

You can use the desktop apps installed on your computer or you can access the browser version of these apps by navigating to the Office 365 login page and entering your UML credentials.

We also provide helpful tips and answers to commonly asked questions on our Microsoft 365 page.

It is our pleasure to welcome you to Unity, a high performance computing cluster located at the MGHPCC (Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center) and managed by the UMass Amherst Research Computing team.

Principle Investigator & Faculty Accounts (March 17, 2023)

  • As of March 17, 2023, Principle Investigators and faculty can request Unity cluster Principle Investigator accounts in the Unity portal
  • On the left side bar, select Login/Request Account and log in with your UMass Lowell credentials.
  • Once logged in, under Account Settings, click the Request PI Account button.
  • The Unity team will review your request and approve your Principle Investigator account.

Student & Postdoc Accounts (March 24, 2023)

  • As of March 24, 2023, you will be able to add students and postdocs to your Principle Investigator group.
  • Students request access to your Principle Investigator group by logging into the Unity portal, navigating to My PIs and clicking the (+) button to search for your group.
  • Students and postdocs can’t access Unity without an associated Principle Investigator, so please ensure your Principle Investigator account is created and approved before onboarding your students.

Unity Onboarding Live Zoom Sessions

To ensure a smooth transition from the Shared Cluster to Unity, we held online workshops on accessing Unity, data transfer and storage, and running jobs, respectively. These workshops can be accessed with the associated links below.

The links below will take you to the recorded sessions and the slides, and you can find more information on the Unity Documentation page.

Please send questions to: researchcomputing@uml.edu

  1. Unity Onboarding Workshop Part 1: Access and Data Storage
    Friday, March 31, 2023, 2-3 p.m. (time for questions following)
    We will provide an overview of Unity in comparison to the Shared cluster, explain the account request process for PIs/faculty and students/postdocs, and discuss storage on Unity and data transfer options.

    Session 1 Recording
    Presentation Slides


  2. Unity Onboarding Workshop Part 2: Running Jobs
    Friday, April 14, 2023, 2-3 p.m. (time for questions following)
    We will discuss the differences between the Shared Cluster’s LSF scheduler and Unity’s Slurm scheduler, introduce Unity’s partition layout, show example Slurm jobs, and demonstrate Unity’s Open OnDemand portal.

    Session 2 Recording
    Presentation Slides

Migrating Data to Unity (deadline: May 15, 2023)

  • All data must be migrated to Unity by May 15, 2023, so please plan accordingly to avoid data loss.
  • Principle Investigators will temporarily receive sufficient storage in the /project directory to move as much data from the shared cluster as desired. However, storage quotas will be enforced starting January 2024.
  • Users may purchase additional storage at that time at a rate of $6.20 per TB per Month.

Shared Cluster Shutdown (read-only: May 1, 2023, final shutdown: June 1, 2023)

  • The cluster will become read-only ahead of the shutdown on May 1, 2023. While you will be able to continue transferring data, you will no longer be able to run jobs or create new files.
  • The Shared Cluster will be turned off permanently on June 1, 2023.

We are very excited about what the future of high-performance computing holds for the UMass Lowell community!

If you have any questions, please direct them to: researchcomputing@uml.edu.

For the most up to date information, see our transition documentation on the Unity Documentation page.

Below is a list of software applications that are licensed and available to the campus community. Please check back often as we add or update software applications on this list.

*Available for use by active faculty, staff, and enrolled students
**Available for use by active faculty, staff, and enrolled graduate students.

Important Sign Out Message: Please remember to close all browser windows when software license key searches or software downloads are complete.

Welcome to vLabs!

UMass Lowell vLabs allows students, faculty and staff to access the university's software anytime from anywhere, including residence halls, libraries and even from home. You now have access to any tool or application available in an on-campus lab on your Laptop, home PC, and even your tablet or smartphone.

Please note: If OneDrive is not appearing in your OneDrive session you can map it manually by opening the Cloud Drive Mapper folder in the Windows Start Menu and selecting the Cloud Drive Mapper shortcut. After a brief pause OneDrive should connect.

Applications may run slow or freeze if you are loading from a document in OneDrive. For best results copy the document from OneDrive to your vLabs desktop and edit as needed, and then copy back to the Cloud.

Report an Issue or call the IT Service Desk at 978-934-4357, should you have any problems with vLabs.

UMass Lowell has moved to Microsoft Teams for its Unified Communications solution.

Skype for Business is only supported for legacy connections. if you need assistance with Skype for Business, please contact TechServices at help@uml.edu or 978-934-4357.

UMass Lowell has seen steady growth in its faculty, staff and student populations in recent years. New academic buildings have opened, residential halls are opening this fall with a new garage as well as a new University Crossing building opening soon. This continued growth has necessitated an expansion in our telecommunications systems.


Emergency Phones on Campus
An emergency telephone network has been in place since 2005. Along with over 120 strategically placed emergency blue phones throughout the University that ring directly to campus police, we have an updated e911 system that can pinpoint exact locations of each phone when a 911 call is initiated. Lowell Police are called when a 911 call is placed, while simultaneously alerting campus police of the emergency in progress.