Claude.ai at Northeastern University
All active Northeastern students, faculty, and staff can access Claude, which includes a full range of models, advanced features, large context windows, and high usage limits.
Northeastern University and Anthropic
Northeastern is bringing artificial intelligence into nearly all aspects of learning, teaching, research, and business operations, as well as helping students, faculty, and staff learn to use AI effectively and responsibly.
As part of this effort, Northeastern has partnered with Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence research and development company with an emphasis on responsible AI. This partnership gives the university community access to Claude, an enterprise-level generative AI platform. This partnership also aims to explore the uses and impacts of generative AI models in higher education, shaping the future AI strategies for both organizations.
NOTE: Use of Claude is subject to the university’s Policy on the Use of AI Systems (“AI Policy”). Review the Requirements for Compliant and Responsible Use section below for further details.
How Claude Can Help
Use Claude to accomplish varying tasks, whether you’re a student, faculty, or staff member, including:
- Summarize complex information
- Generate personalized study plans or professional development materials
- Collaborate and connect across disciplinary departments and research areas
- Convert complex data into compelling visuals and presentations
- Develop accessible and inclusive teaching materials
- Optimize workflows
Get Started With Claude
Claude is a powerful generative AI tool for creative engagement, advanced reasoning, visual analysis, multilingual translation, and code generation.
Using Claude is easy. Talk to Claude using “prompts.” Prompts can range from simple questions, like “How do I hang a picture frame in my room?” to more complex requests.
Support Resources
Northeastern’s IT Service Desk is here to help you succeed with Claude.
For additional support, connect with these resources:
AI Training and Consults
Find AI training and tech help from Northeastern IT Services, with support and learning opportunities for faculty and staff.
Teaching with AI Tips and Tutorials
Explore resources and events about using AI in teaching, helping you find what works best for your style.
Anthropic’s Help Center
Get help with Claude AI in Anthropic’s Help center, including guides and answers to common questions.
Northeastern AI Policy
Check out Northeastern’s AI policy page for simple guidelines on using AI responsibly at work and school.
Requirements and Guidelines for Use
Generative AI has limitations and using Claude comes with risks that require awareness and mitigation. Follow these requirements and guidelines to use Claude in a responsible and appropriate way:
- Read and follow Northeastern’s Policy on the Use of AI Systems (“AI Policy”) and the Standards referenced therein (including those governing university research and administration activities). Your use is also subject to all other applicable university policies, including the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Student and Faculty Handbooks.
- Do not upload any Confidential Information, Personal Information, or Restricted Research Data (as defined in the AI Policy) without completing the AI Review Committee review process.
- You are responsible for how you use Claude and its outputs. In addition to following Northeastern Policies and Standards, educate yourself regarding Claude’s capabilities and Anthropic’s responsible AI practices to help guide your appropriate use of the system. This includes being aware of and taking steps to mitigate the potential for Claude to produce inaccurate, misleading, and biased output.
- If you upload data into a chat conversation or custom Claude project and share the conversation or project with another user, all participants in the chat or project may be able to access the data. Use good judgment when sharing conversations and projects with others, just as you would when sharing access to any other sensitive documents or data. For further details, see the FAQs below.
- Use Claude in ways that enhance learning rather than detract from it. Students should check syllabus policies before using Claude to complete coursework. If the syllabus does not contain a policy regarding the use of AI, ask your instructor for guidance.
- Follow best practices regarding the use of generative AI in teaching.
FAQ’s on Claude
Account
Q: I’m having trouble logging in. Who can I contact for help?
A: Visit the How do I access Claude.ai? article for guidance. The IT Service Desk can also help troubleshoot any issues logging in and accessing your Northeastern Claude enterprise account.
Q: I already have a Claude account. What happens to my existing account?
A: Your new Northeastern Claude enterprise account won’t change your existing personal account. If your personal account is with your @northeastern.edu email address, you’ll have the choice to use your personal account or your new Northeastern Claude enterprise account using single-sign on. You may have to sign out of your personal account first to access the enterprise account with SSO.
Data can’t be automatically migrated between accounts, but you can choose to export data from your existing account and upload the conversation data to a chat with Claude in your new account.
Data Privacy
Q: Is my data secure with Claude?
A: Anthropic’s security controls have been comprehensively reviewed by the Northeastern Office of Information Security and determined to meet university security standards.
Q: How will Northeastern handle the data I submit on Claude?
A: The university doesn’t actively monitor the use of Claude. Northeastern will handle data submitted to Claude in accordance with the applicable university Privacy Policy and reserves the right to access such data in a manner consistent with university policy and applicable law, including the university’s Policy on the Appropriate Use of Computers and Networks.
Q: Will Anthropic use my inputs to train their models?
A: No, Anthropic won’t train its models using any of your inputs.
Q: What happens to my data after I no longer have Northeastern access (for example, because I’ve graduated)? Can I migrate my data to my personal account?
A: There’s currently no automated way to migrate your data if you leave Northeastern. If you have a personal Claude account, you can share conversations and projects with that account using the sharing capabilities in Claude or manually copy and paste custom instructions and prompts. Upon request, you can have your data deleted from Anthropic’s archives.
Q: What level of confidential data can I upload to our Claude environment? For example, can I upload student or employee information, research data, or data that was provided by a partner under an NDA, or Northeastern-confidential information?
A: Before uploading any Confidential Information, Personal Information or Restricted Research Data (as defined in the AI Policy) into Claude, you must first complete the AI Review Committee review process for your use case.
Using Claude
Q: Am I required to use Claude?
A: No. Northeastern offers Claude accounts so that every member of our community has access to a powerful AI platform without having to pay out of pocket, but there’s no requirement to use it. For more information on AI systems used by Northeastern, refer to this page.
Q: Which version of Claude does Northeastern provide access to?
A: Northeastern provides access to the Claude Enterprise for Education plan, which includes Claude 4 Sonnet and Claude 4 Opus. This gives our community access to the most advanced AI capabilities available for academic and research purposes, such as Claude’s Learning Mode, a feature that encourages independent thinking by guiding students to solutions, rather than just answering their prompts.
Q: What’s new with Claude 4?
A: Claude 4 represents a significant advancement in AI capabilities, with improved reasoning, better code generation, enhanced creative writing abilities, and more nuanced understanding of complex topics. You’ll notice faster response times and more accurate answers across a wide range of tasks compared to previous versions. For more information on Claude 4, refer to Anthropic’s Claude 4 announcement.
Q: How can I use Claude for academic writing and research?
A: Claude 4 excels at helping with research and writing tasks such as brainstorming ideas, organizing thoughts, providing feedback on drafts, explaining complex concepts, summarizing sources, and helping with citations. However, always follow your course or department guidelines regarding AI assistance, and remember that Claude should supplement, not replace, your own critical thinking and analysis.
Q: Can Claude help with coding and technical projects?
A: Absolutely. Claude 4 has significantly improved coding capabilities and can help with programming in multiple languages, debugging code, explaining technical concepts, and assisting with software development projects. It’s particularly useful for learning new programming languages or troubleshooting complex problems.
Q: Can Claude search the web?
A: Yes! As of March 20, 2025, Anthropic enabled web search as an optional feature for all paid Claude users in the U.S. To get started, toggle on web search in your profile settings and start a conversation with Claude. When applicable, Claude will search the web to inform its response. For more information, check out this Anthropic page on using web search.
Q: What type of files can I upload to Claude?
A: Claude can work with various file types including PDFs, text documents, images, spreadsheets, and code files. This makes it useful for analyzing research papers, reviewing datasets, getting help with coding projects, or working with visual materials. Remember to follow university policies regarding confidential information before uploading any sensitive data.
Q: Why doesn’t Claude have some features that other generative AI products have?
A: Anthropic has focused their development efforts on creating AI models that are safe and reliable. They release new features on a regular basis, and while their platform doesn’t have every feature other products have, it includes some features others don’t.
Q: Does Claude learn my preferences over time?
A: Claude doesn’t automatically learn from past conversations. Instead, you can use the Preferences feature to set global profile settings, such as preferred coding languages or communication styles, and apply Styles to maintain consistent responses. For maintaining context across multiple sessions, Projects are your best option. For more information, check out this Anthropic page regarding Claude’s personalization features.
Q: Are there limits to how much I can use Claude?
A: Northeastern’s partnership with Anthropic and Claude includes generous usage allowances appropriate for academic and administrative needs. For specific information about usage limits on your account, please refer to the IT Service Desk. For more information, check out Anthropic’s page on usage limit best practices.
Q: What are Claude Projects and how do they help me?
A: Claude Projects are dedicated workspaces where you can upload documents, create conversations, and maintain context across multiple sessions. When you add materials to a Project’s knowledge base, Claude can reference this information in all your conversations within that Project—saving you from repeatedly uploading the same resources. For more information, check out this Anthropic page regarding examples of projects you can create.
Q: How can I keep my Claude projects organized?
A: While Claude doesn’t offer folder structures, you can use clear naming conventions for both projects and conversations. Creating separate projects for different courses, research topics, or administrative tasks helps maintain organization and makes finding your content easier.
Q: How do I add or remove someone from a private project I’ve shared?
A: See Anthropic’s Help Center article on project visibility for steps to add and remove members from a private project.
Q: Does Claude connect with Canvas, Teams, or other Northeastern systems?
A: Currently, direct integrations with Canvas, M365, and other university systems are limited. For specific integration questions or requests, please contact the IT Service Desk.
Q: Can I use Claude’s API with my applications or research projects?
A: Northeastern is currently exploring API access options for interested students and faculty. For information about API availability and implementation within your specific project, please connect with the IT Service Desk for the most current details.
Q: How do Claude Artifacts work and can I share them?
A: Artifacts are specialized outputs like interactive dashboards, visualizations, or code examples that Claude creates for you. You can share these with Northeastern colleagues using the Share → Copy link function. For sharing with external partners, export the content to an appropriate format outside of Claude. Check out this Anthropic page on Artifacts and how you can use them.
Q: What is “markdown” format and when should I use it?
A: Markdown is a simple text formatting system that preserves structure while remaining highly compatible across platforms. When you export Claude conversations in markdown format, elements like headings (created with # symbols), lists (created with * or numbers), and formatting (like italics or bold) are preserved in plain text. This format is particularly useful when:
- Transferring content to note-taking applications
- Preparing text for websites or content management systems
- Sharing formatted content with coding platforms
- Needing a clean, structured format that’s easy to convert to other formats later
The markdown export gives you more flexibility than plain text while avoiding potential formatting issues that can occur with PDF exports.
Q: How many files can I work with at once?
A: You can upload multiple files as long as they fit within Claude’s context window limits. For research literature reviews or complex analyses, you could include several documents, though their combined size needs to stay under both the 30MB per-file limit and the 500K token total context limit. As of now, the total context limit for Claude 4 is 200K tokens; if you need a higher limit, it is recommended that you switch back to Claude 3.7.
