How do I order Magma?

The first step in ordering Magma is to read this page.

Magma is currently only available directly to institutions. If the institution is an educational institution, then students at that institution may (depending on the type of licence) be able to get home versions of Magma as described below.

The order form gives you the opportunity to enter the MAC address of your computer(s). We need this information to generate your magmapassfile; this is a file that Magma requires in order to run on your computer. If you do not know the MAC address when placing your order, you can e-mail it to us at a later date.

Why charge for a Magma licence?

Much of the work of the Computational Algebra Group is funded by research grants. Unfortunately these grants often explicitly exclude covering the cost of turning algorithms into actual code: code that has been tested, optimised, and is suitable for general use. Furthermore, research funding does not cover the long-term maintenance of Magma, nor does it help with providing user support and documentation. The Magma licence fee goes some way towards covering this funding gap. We set our charges to be as low as possible, but they play a vital part in maintaining and developing the Magma system.

I want to order an institutional licence: how much is it?

We set the licence fee to be as low as possible, and provide a wide range of discounts to encourage institutions to purchase a licence for their site. A three-year subscription for a single desktop machine to be used at an educational institution is US$1200, however we offer significant discounts for multiple machines, discounts for institutions located in developing and newly industrialised countries, and so on. Thus we encourage you to complete the online quote request form or contact us to discuss the licence fee for your institution.

Please provide as much information as possible: How many machines will you require a licence for? How many processors does each machine have? Will you be installing Magma in a student laboratory? Will Magma be used as part of a teaching programme? Will members of staff wish to purchase a personal licence for home use? Once a fee has been agreed, you can use the secure online order form to make the payment.

Can we provide copies of Magma to our students?

We offer an attractive licence for student laboratories. You should contact us and provide details of what you would require.

If your institution already holds a licence for Magma, students taking relevant courses may be eligible for a free home version. The task of distributing and supporting this version of Magma will be handled by your institution; the Magma group simply cannot afford to provide support to individual students. Contact us to find out further details.

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