This explanation covers each type of WRDS account available to users. Note that usernames are permanent and cannot be modified once you have requested your account. Please check with your institution's representative if there are any username requirements before creating your account.
Faculty Accounts
Faculty accounts are available to all standing permanent faculty of member institutions. These accounts allow unlimited access via web, SSH, and/or FTP, and include 10GB of permanent disk storage. Faculty will have their own password access; this password is to remain confidential may not to be shared with any other individual. The default expiration for faculty accounts is 5 years. Accounts can be renewed.
PhD Student Accounts
PhD accounts are available to all current PhD candidates of subscribing institutions. These accounts allow unlimited access via web, SSH, and/or FTP, and include 10GB of permanent disk storage. Doctoral students will have their own password access; this password is to remain confidential and may not to be shared with any other individual. The default expiration for PhD student accounts is 2 years. PhD accounts are eligible for renewal. If a PhD candidate from a WRDS institution accepts an ABD (all but dissertation) position as an assistant professor at a non‐WRDS institution they are still eligible to use their account at the discretion of the WRDS institution if the PhD student has yet to defend.
Research Assistant Accounts
Research assistant accounts are available to graduate and undergraduate students performing research for a faculty member. These accounts allow access via web, SSH, and FTP, and include 10GB of permanent disk storage. A standing faculty member may have more than one research assistant account. Research assistants will have their own password access; this password will remain confidential and may not be shared with anyone. The default expiration for research assistant accounts is 2 years. Accounts can be renewed.
Staff Accounts
Staff accounts can only be requested by support personnel such as librarians, IT support staff or other staff of member institutions. Please note that this type of account does not automatically carry WRDS Rep privileges, though many WRDS reps have this kind of account. WRDS Rep administrative capabilities are assigned separately from the account designation. Staff accounts allow unlimited access via web, SSH, and/or FTP, and include 10GB of permanent disk storage. Staff will have their own password access; this password is to remain confidential and is may not to be shared with any other individual. The default expiration for staff accounts is 5 years. Staff accounts can be renewed.
Visitor Accounts
Visitor accounts are available to visiting visitor faculty (non‐permanent or part‐time position, or those on a limited appointment). These accounts are subject to additional review and may not be used after the visiting appointment ends. Visitor accounts allow unlimited access via web, SSH, and/or FTP, and include 10GB of permanent disk storage. Visitor accounts are required to have an expiration date. Visitor accounts will have their own password access, and this password is to remain confidential and may not to be shared with any other individual. The default expiration for visitor accounts is 1 year. Visitor accounts can be renewed.
Please note: Lecturers are not eligible for faculty accounts but may apply for a visitor account.
Master's & Undergraduate Student Accounts
There are two types of access options for master's and undergraduate students, No Summer Access and With Summer Access.
No Summer Access: Master's/Undergrad accounts are available to all full‐time master's students of subscribing institutions. These accounts allow unlimited access via the WRDS website, SSH, and/or FTP. These accounts DO NOT have disk storage. Master's students will have their own password access; this password is to remain confidential and is may not to be shared with any other individual. The default expiration for master's student accounts is 2 years. Our WRDS policy prohibits undergraduate/master's students from accessing WRDS during the extended break between semesters. The accounts are temporarily disabled by the system during this time. Once the new semester begins, students will automatically be granted access to their accounts.
With Summer Access: Master's/Undergrad accounts are available for students who are enrolled in a summer course and who are not working as interns.
Class Accounts
Class accounts allow students to access their organization’s WRDS subscription to conduct coursework. A class account is set up by a faculty member and approved by their organization’s WRDS Representative. Upon approval, the instructor receives a unique “Class Code” to distribute to students enrolling in the class. The instructor directs students to the WRDS website to create accounts which are automatically approved with the code provided.
Class accounts are meant to be used for a specific course at the institution and must have defined start and end dates. A student with a class account can only access the WRDS web interface to complete exercises or assignments during that time.
We have recently enhanced class accounts so that students now have individual rather than shared accounts. Now students can access the WRDS JupyterHub to create Jupyter notebooks to work with the data. In addition, instructors can use newly designed tools to manage their class accounts and track student usage of the WRDS platform. Please note that class accounts do not include disk storage.
To better protect the data from unauthorized access, WRDS requires all users―including students using class accounts―to have unique accounts and complete a two-factor authentication. Students who have difficulty setting up or using their class account should contact WRDS Support, not their instructor.
Using Class Accounts
Are you a faculty member setting up a class account, or a student enrolling in one? The following guides contain instructions tailored to your usage.