How to claim the GitHub Student Developer Pack

What you need before you start

• A personal GitHub account. GitHub says you must own one, rather than use an organization or shared account.
• To be at least 13 and enrolled in a degree or diploma granting course, such as high school, college, university or homeschool.
• Your academic email added and verified on your GitHub account, if your school issues one.
• Proof of current enrollment: a school ID with a current enrollment date, a class schedule, a transcript, or an enrollment verification letter.

Apply for GitHub Education

1. Sign in to GitHub with your personal account.
2. Open your settings and add your school email under Emails if it is not there already. Verify it from your school inbox.
3. Go to the Education benefits page in your settings. The Student Developer Pack page on education.github.com links to it as well.
4. Under GitHub Education, click Start an application.
5. Select your school and complete the form.
6. Upload your proof of current student status when prompted. Make sure your name, school and a current date are clear.
7. Click Submit application and wait for the result by email.

If your school does not issue email addresses, GitHub asks for official documentation of that policy, such as a page from the school's website or a letter on school letterhead.

Use GitHub's own student benefits

Once approved, open the GitHub Education portal. GitHub's documentation lists free access to Copilot with its premium features for verified students, and up to 180 Codespaces core hours per month on personal accounts, the same amount included with GitHub Pro.

1. Open the GitHub Education portal from your account.
2. Check your Copilot settings to confirm student access is active.
3. Open the Codespaces page to confirm your included usage.

Claim partner offers

Each partner offer in the pack is claimed on its own. Offers are grouped by category, such as cloud, developer tools, domains, learning, and machine learning and AI, and each lists its own terms and support contact.

• Claim only the offers you will use. Some, such as cloud credits or domain names, start a clock when you redeem them.
• If an offer fails, contact the support address listed on that offer rather than GitHub.

1. From the Student Developer Pack page, browse All offers or filter by category.
2. Open an offer and read its terms: how long it lasts and whether it renews.
3. Follow the offer's claim link. Many partners ask you to sign in with GitHub so they can confirm your student status.
4. Create or sign in to the partner account and complete any steps they list, such as entering contact details.
5. Note the end date of every offer you claim, since some last 6, 12 or 24 months and others last while you are a student.

Keep your access

• Keep your school email verified on your account while you are a student.
• Watch for emails asking you to confirm your status again and respond in time.
• Before you graduate, list which offers end with student status so you can export data or move to a paid plan.

If your application is not approved

Most rejections come down to proof that GitHub could not match to you or your school. The fix is usually simple, and you can apply again once the problem is solved.

1. Read the reason given in the email or on the Education benefits page.
2. Check that the name on your document matches the name on your GitHub profile.
3. Make sure the document shows a current enrollment date, not just a printed or issued date.
4. Confirm your academic email is added and verified on your account if the form asked for it.
5. If your school's email domain was not recognized, contact GitHub Education Support with your school's full name, website URL and the domain you are using.
6. Submit a fresh application with the corrected details.

Take the photo of your document in good light, with the whole page in frame and the text in focus. A clear image is easier to approve than a cropped screenshot.