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Identity profile

Education (faculty / student)

Qualifying academic institution. Two short questions → exact A1 / A3 / A5 recommendation.

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  • Entry node q_edu_security
  • Reachable results 3
  • Premium buckets covered 3 / 9
  • Profile tone primary

What this profile is

Qualifying academic institution. Two short questions → exact A1 / A3 / A5 recommendation.

First question · Education tier

Does the institution need E5-tier security and compliance for these users — Defender XDR, Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps, Purview E5 (IRM / eDiscovery Premium / Audit Premium), or Entra ID P2 (PIM / Identity Protection)?

A5 mirrors commercial E5 at academic pricing. A3 mirrors E3. A1 is web/mobile only with no installed desktop apps (free for qualifying students).

Premium capabilities this profile can land on

Each chip is a premium Microsoft 365 capability bucket the education (faculty / student) decision path can recommend. Click through to the matching reference entry.

Recommendations on this path (3)

Every result your decision path can reach is listed below. Click any badge to open the full reference entry with all bullets and Microsoft source citations.

  1. Microsoft 365 A1

    Microsoft 365 A1

    Web/mobile-only education tier — Office for the web + Teams for Education + SharePoint + OneDrive (capped). Free for qualifying students.

    License: Microsoft 365 A1, per user (qualifying academic institution; faculty paid, student often free)

    Why this lands here: You picked Education, declined E5-tier security/compliance, and declined the need for installed desktop Office + Exchange + Intune. A1 is the entry academic SKU — web/mobile only — and is free for qualifying students.

    • Includes Office for the web, Teams for Education, SharePoint, OneDrive (capped storage), basic Intune for Education, Entra ID P1 (faculty) or Entra ID Free (student).
    • Free for qualifying students at validated academic institutions; faculty A1 is paid.
    • Step up to A3 when faculty / students need installed Office + Exchange Online + full Intune.
    • Step up to A5 when you need E5-tier security/compliance (Defender XDR / Purview E5 / Entra ID P2).
  2. Microsoft 365 A3

    Microsoft 365 A3

    Academic equivalent of E3 — installed Office + Exchange + Intune + Entra ID P1 + AIP P1 + Defender for Office P1.

    License: Microsoft 365 A3, per user (qualifying academic institution; faculty / student SKUs differ)

    Why this lands here: You picked Education, need installed desktop Office + Exchange + Intune, but don't need E5-tier security/compliance. A3 mirrors commercial E3 at academic pricing and is the most common paid education baseline.

    • Includes desktop Office apps, Exchange Online, Microsoft Intune, Entra ID P1, AIP P1, Defender for Office 365 P1.
    • Faculty A3 includes Power BI Pro; student A3 does not.
    • Step up to A5 when you need Defender XDR / Defender for Endpoint / Defender for Identity / Defender for Cloud Apps / Purview E5 / Entra ID P2.
    • Education-specific add-ons: Microsoft 365 Copilot for Education (faculty / student where available), Minecraft Education, Reading Coach / Reflect / Insights.
  3. Microsoft 365 A5

    Microsoft 365 A5

    Academic equivalent of E5 — A3 + Defender XDR + Defender for Endpoint + Defender for Identity + Defender for Cloud Apps + Purview E5 + Entra ID P2.

    License: Microsoft 365 A5, per user (qualifying academic institution; faculty / student SKUs differ)

    Why this lands here: You picked Education AND need E5-tier security / compliance / identity for the institution. A5 mirrors commercial E5 at academic pricing and is the top education SKU.

    • Includes everything in A3 plus Defender XDR, Defender for Endpoint, Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps, Purview E5 (eDiscovery Premium, IRM, Audit Premium), Entra ID P2 (PIM, Identity Protection).
    • Faculty A5 includes Power BI Pro and Teams Phone; student A5 does not.
    • Standalone A5 Security and A5 Compliance add-ons exist as a bump from A3 if you only need one half of the E5 stack.
    • Education-specific add-ons: Microsoft 365 Copilot for Education, Minecraft Education, Reading Coach / Reflect / Insights.

Microsoft sources behind this profile

Combined citation list from the entry question and every reachable result, deduped by URL (5 links).

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