How-to: Mathematica

Mathematica is a comprehensive, technical computing environment that allows the user to easily work with numerical, symbolic, and graphical information and data. Mathematica is currently available on the UNIX, Mac OS X, and Windows platforms.

Mathematica is particularly useful when working with symbolic notations or manipulating algebraic expressions. Additionally, Mathematica includes significant plotting and graphical visualization tools along with a built-in scripting language.

Where to Find Mathematica at USC

Mathematica is currently installed in the following locations:

USC Computing Centers

All computers in the ITS-managed computing centers have Mathematica installed. Many departmental labs have Mathematica installed as well.

Compute Clusters (UNIX)

If you are interested in using Mathematica for parallel computing on a dedicated cluster or in a distributed grid environment, please contact Paul Fish at Wolfram Research.

Installing Mathematica

Mathematica can also be installed on personal computers located on campus, personal computers owned by faculty and staff, and personal computers owned by students. Follow the instructions below to install Mathematica on these computers.

Install Mathematica on a Campus Computer

Follow the directions below to download Mathematica from the Wolfram User Portal.

  1. Create an account (New users only):
    1. Go to user.wolfram.com and click Create Account.
    2. Fill out the form using your USC email address and click Create Wolfram ID.
    3. Check your email and click the link to validate your Wolfram ID.
  2. Request the download and key:
    1. Fill out this form to request an Activation Key.
    2. Click the Product Summary page link to access your license.
    3. Click Get Downloads and select Download next to your platform.
    4. Run the installer on your machine, and enter Activation Key when prompted.

Install Mathematica for Faculty and Staff Personal Use

Fill out this form to request a home-use license from Wolfram.

Install Mathematica for Student Personal Use

Follow the directions below to download Mathematica from the Wolfram User Portal.

  1. Create an account (New users only):
    1. Go to user.wolfram.com and click Create Account.
    2. Fill out the form using your USC email address and click Create Wolfram ID.
    3. Check your email and click the link to validate your Wolfram ID.
  2. Request the download and key:
    1. Fill out this form to request an Activation Key.
    2. Click the Product Summary page link to access your license.
    3. Click Get Downloads and select Download next to your platform.
    4. Run the installer on your machine, and enter Activation Key when prompted.

For more information about Mathematica, visit the Wolfram Research website. If you are interested in installing Mathematica somewhere else, contact Santiago Camacho at Wolfram Research.

For assistance with downloading, installing, or launching Mathematica, please contact the ITS Customer Support Center.