Forma for Construction: free software for students and educators

Bring real-world construction workflows to your students. Access Forma for Construction. Free for education.

Two men looking at Autodesk Construction Cloud software on Macbook

What is Forma for Construction?

Forma for Construction provides the tools to seamlessly connect teams, data, and workflows throughout every phase of a building project’s lifecycle – from initial design and planning through construction and operations – all with an intuitive, user-friendly interface.

Forma for Construction: student and educator benefits

Learn with Build, Takeoff, Design Collaboration and Data Management. Collaborate securely on construction projects from a single login.

Single source of truth

Teaching and learning are made easy. Ensure plans and workflows are accurate and accessible in a common data environment.

Improves student collaboration

Resolve issues in real time working from the latest sets. Seamlessly connect construction data into actionable information to improve accuracy of students’ team projects.

Work in 2D drawings and 3D models

Transition effortlessly between 2D and 3D views for estimating and model coordination.

Review and manage student assignments

Forma for Construction lets you easily view plans and models, add markups, and provide your feedback.

Forma for Construction education software 

Easy to learn construction, estimating, model coordination and data management software.

Build

Comprehensive construction management software solution that integrates into courses focusing on scheduling, project management, and field tracking tools to improve student collaboration.

 

Takeoff

Empowers students to easily generate automated 2D and 3D estimating quantification from a single comprehensive platform, improving collaboration and transparency.

 

Design Collaboration

Connects educators and student teams by managing the complete design collaboration and coordination workflow, design reviews, automating model coordination, and improving design quality and constructability.

 

Data Management

Centralised document management solution that acts as a single source of truth connecting educators and students across the project lifecycle.

 

Cloud Worksharing

Learn new design methods that enrich collaborative work by co-authoring cloud hosted project models simultaneously in Revit or Civil 3D. 

 

AutoSpecs

Enable students and educators to quickly create detailed and accurate draft submittal logs to easily publish to both Build and Data Management.

 

Forma for Construction curriculum

Explore our Educator Learning Resources designed to help you seamlessly integrate Forma for Construction into your classroom. Crafted collaboratively with respected academia, industry, and Autodesk experts, this curriculum prepares students for the job market of today and the future.

  • Getting started support for educators.
  • Quick start guides for educators and students.
  • Datasets in imperial and metric units.
  • Streamline lesson planning with ready-made modules, exercises, and assessments.
  • Discover the core skills to build proficiency with comprehensive BIM courses. 

On-Demand Webinar Series:
Autodesk Digital Construction School

Bring the latest tools and technologies from the construction field into your classroom to inspire your students with lessons that are grounded in real-life skills and scenarios. Available on-demand.

Setting Up for Success with Forma for Construction: From the classroom to the field

Join Tara Messa, Data Manager at Fortis Construction, and Dr. Jeong Woo, Construction Management Department Head at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

 

Estimating within the Design: Autodesk Takeoff for quantification

Join Matthew Perez, Director of Digital Practice at MOREgroup, and Jason Seiler, Sr. Business Transformation Manager, and Corey Pomeroy, Sr. Estimator, both of Barton Malow Builders.

 

Getting Construction Ready: Autodesk BIM Collaborate for 3D model coordination

Join Will Marinos, Director of Design Technologies at Hazen and Sawyer, and Greg Low, VDC Subject Matter Expert at Autodesk.

 

Reshaping Construction: Autodesk Build for field management

Join Christy Steffen, Assistant Director of Gaylor University at Gaylor Electric, and Blake Hurd, Instructional Designer at Gaylor Electric.

 

Construction management software trusted by builders on 2M+ projects

Autodesk education plans

Student

Students need to ask for an invite from their educator or school IT administrator to access this product. 

 

School Educator plan (for classroom use)

Free access for educators at qualified educational institutions.

  • 250 named-user seats
  • Renewable 1-year subscription
  • Invite an entire class or invite individual students

School IT Administrator plan (for classroom use)

Free access for school IT administrators at qualified educational institutions.

  • 3,000 named-user seats
  • Renewable 3-year subscription
  • Single sign-on (SSO)
  • Invite an entire class or invite individual students

Autodesk's Design and Make: Spotlight on Construction report

“What excites me most about the future isn’t just the rapid advancements in AI, but also the increasing openness to adopting digital workflows. A new generation of builders is entering the workforce...and this shift will fundamentally transform how we build.”

—HANNU LINDBERG, Construction Technology Corporate Services, DPR Construction

FAQs on Forma for Construction | Students & educators

What is the Forma industry cloud?

The Forma industry cloud is Autodesk’s AI-native platform for the AECO industry that connects all stakeholders, fragmented workflows, and data into a single, insight-driven environment. This helps support more informed decision-making across planning, design, construction, and operations.

Is Forma replacing Autodesk Construction Cloud?

No, Forma is not replacing Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). Rather, they are expanding the Forma industry cloud by adding the capabilities of ACC to it. ACC products will be represented as part of the Forma industry cloud brand. ACC’s enterprise controls, infrastructure, and user management will now extend across all of Forma.

Will this impact current product roadmaps?

No. Current product roadmaps will continue to be delivered as planned. Joining the Forma industry cloud is expected to enable a more seamless experience and accelerate development of new tools.

Will there be changes to current ACC product capabilities, modules, or workflows?

No. There will be no disruption to how existing customers access or use ACC products. Licensing, subscriptions, files, permissions, folder structures, and current connections will remain intact. Automations, integrations, and APIs will also not be affected, and no data migration is required.

Will the ACC mobile app change in any way?

Outside of branding, the mobile app will not change. Functional updates will continue as planned according to the existing roadmap, ensuring ongoing improvements without disruption to the user experience.

Will the ACC user interface change or look different?

The core functionality and layout of the ACC user interface will remain consistent to ensure a smooth experience for existing users. The new Forma branding will be introduced, and UX improvements will continue as part of ongoing product enhancements.

Why is Docs changing to Data Management?

Autodesk Docs is being rebranded to Forma Data Management to better represent the full capabilities of Docs and demonstrate expanded support for both files and granular data within the common data environment that spans planning, design, construction, and operations.

I’m an educator or IT administrator. How do I get a subscription to Forma for Construction?

Eligible educators and IT admins can get an Forma for Construction education subscription for their educational institution by visiting Autodesk Education Community and selecting Forma for Construction. You’ll have to confirm your education eligibility if you haven’t already.

Educational institutions have access to Forma for Construction via two subscription options: 

  • The School Educator subscription plan offers free access to 250 named user seats for one (1) year to Forma for Construction. 
  • The School IT Administrator subscription plan includes 3,000 named user seats for three (3) years free access to Forma for Construction. 

Educational access is renewable as long as you are eligible.

I’m a student and I need access to Forma for Construction for my coursework. What do I do?

To get access to Forma for Construction for your coursework, you will need to be invited by your school (for example by your educator or IT admin).

I’m an educator or IT Admin. How do I help students get access to Forma for Construction?

Educators and IT Admins need to set up an Forma for Construction account for their school, invite students as members, create a project and assign students to the project with the required product subscriptions. Once you’ve completed these steps, students will receive an email invitation to create their own Autodesk account if they do not have one already. From there, students will be able to sign-in and use Forma for Construction.

Can I use Forma for Construction | Students & educators for professional projects?

No. Software and cloud-based services subject to an Educational license or subscription may be used by eligible users solely for Educational Purposes and shall not be used for commercial, professional or any other for-profit purposes.

Does Autodesk charge a fee for Forma for Construction | Students & educators?

Forma for Construction is available to eligible education users for free educational use through the Autodesk Education Plan.

Where can I find ready-to-use Forma for Construction learning resources?

Access classroom-ready assets and Forma for Construction curriculum along with on-demand, self-paced courses.  Step-by-steps instructions can be also accessed by clicking the “Get Started” tab, viewable on each of the course module pages.

Are there any additional resources available that I can integrate into classroom curriculum?

Yes, additional teaching and learning resources by industry and academic courses are available through the Autodesk Educator learning resources.

What’s included in the Forma for Construction education subscription?

The Forma for Construction education subscription includes: 

  • Autodesk Build
  • Autodesk Takeoff
  • Autodesk Docs
  • Autodesk AutoSpecs
  • Autodesk BIM Collaborate (ABC)
    • Design Collaboration
    • Model Coordination

 

I'm a student and need access to Revit Cloud Worksharing or Collaboration for Civil 3D for my coursework. What should I do?

To access Revit Cloud Worksharing or Collaboration for Civil 3D for your coursework, you must be invited by your school (e.g. an educator or IT administrator). Follow these steps: 

  1. Request an invitation to Forma for Construction and Cloud Worksharing subscriptions from your educator or school IT administrator. 

  2. Ensure you have a subscription to the co-authoring tool, either Revit or Civil 3D: you can either request your own subscription or be invited by your educator or school IT administrator. 

  3. Make sure the same account email is used for all subscriptions, Forma for Construction, Cloud Worksharing, Revit and/or Civil 3D.  

I'm an educator or IT administrator. How can I help students get access to Cloud Worksharing tools?

To enable students to use Cloud Worksharing tools for their coursework, make sure they have access to the following:

  • Co-authoring tools (Revit or Civil 3D): Assign a seat in Autodesk Account

  • Cloud Worksharing: Assign a seat in Autodesk Account.

  • Forma for Construction: Create or access your Forma for Construction hub and follow the steps outlined here

 

Have more questions about Cloud Worksharing? Visit Autodesk’s support site here

See more FAQ

Construction Cloud is free for education and available on PC, Mac, and Chromebook.

Legal terms and conditions

Free Autodesk software and/or cloud-based services are subject to acceptance of and compliance with the terms and conditions of the terms of use and/or other terms that accompany such software or cloud-based services. Software and cloud-based services subject to an Educational license or subscription may be used by eligible users solely for Educational Purposes and shall not be used for commercial, professional or any other for-profit purposes.