The various departments around Cambridge have access to extensive lists of research software that cover all manner of applications across medicine, physics, geography, mathematics, music, and more.  It is highly likely that if there is a specialised piece of software that you are interested in using in your research that it has already been obtained by one of the departments or even your own research group.

Some more ubiquitous research software, like Matlab, is available for all undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers to download for free and use offline.  However, more specialised research software can be very expensive, with some licences costing thousands of pounds, which can often mean that you will be required to use a shared licence.  As with many other research tools specific to your PhD, it is worth checking with your department and your research group what can be made available to you.

If your department and/or research group does not have access to the software you might need, it can be worth checking with others to see if access can be extended.

Image credits

CC0 by PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay