Google Cloud offers a suite of products and services that include application hosting, cloud computing, database services and more. At the University of Michigan, students can use Google Cloud Platform as a part of their U-M Google account, and sign up for a $300 free credit, which is good for 12 months. After the credits are gone, students may continue to use the free trial offer (this option requires a credit card to sign up). Students involved in disciplines that require computer science may also qualify for additional credits through Google Cloud Higher Education Programs.
Getting Started
Signing up at Google Cloud for Students with your U-M credentials should automatically enable access, and allow you access to the $300 free credit. Students may also be eligible for additional credits via Google Cloud Higher Education Programs, for example, students involved in research may qualify through Google Cloud for Researchers.
Software & Services
Below is a list of just some of the free services offered by Google Cloud:
- App Engine
- BigQuery
- Cloud Build
- Cloud Functions
- Cloud Run (on stateless containers)
- Cloud Storage
- Compute Engineer
- Firestore
- Kubernetes Engine
- Natural Language API
- Operations (formerly Stackdriver)
- Pub/Sub
- Speech to Text
- Video Intelligence API
- Vision AI
- And much more!
Billing
After the free credits expire, pricing for students can be estimated using Google’s price calculator. Billing will be calculated using the previous month’s usage.
Sensitive Data Compliance
Consult the U-M Sensitive Data Guide for information on the permitted data use with AWS. Note that personal AWS accounts may not necessarily comply even if the data type is listed as permitted. Students should consult with ITS Information Assurance (IA) if there are any questions about compliance.
Further Help
For further information, refer to the main Google Cloud for Students page. Below is a list of additional Google Cloud resources available for U-M students: