Your Physics Student Toolkit
Postgraduate • macOS
Programming, maths and data tools for physics students.
Who this toolkit is for
For physics students. Specialist lab software is usually provided by your department.
Essential (2)
Core tools that are broadly useful.
Office / Documents
LibreOfficeOpen Source
Why you may need this: Free documents and spreadsheets for lab reports.
Homebrew (verified)brew install --cask libreoffice
Recommended (4)
Useful for particular parts of the work or course.
Office / Documents
- Microsoft 365
PaidAlso on Android, iPhone/iPad, Web
Why you may need this: Word and Excel for lab reports; check your institution's free access.
Check your university access
Your university or college may provide this software or a student licence. Check before purchasing.
Prefer a free option? LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE Desktop · Compare alternatives
Homebrew (verified)brew install --cask microsoft-office
Programming
Why you may need this: Write analysis code for labs.
Homebrew (verified)brew install --cask visual-studio-code
Maths
Specialist / Optional · Show specialist tools (3)
Consider these for particular modules, tasks or environments.
Numerical Computing
- GNU Octave
Open Source
Why you may need this: Numerical methods.
Homebrew (verified)brew install octave
Data Analysis
Reports
- Overleaf
FreemiumAlso on Web
Why you may need this: Write reports with LaTeX.
Open web app
Course requirements vary. Software requirements differ between schools, colleges, universities and modules. Check your course materials before purchasing software.
Build your student setup
Build My Setup lets you add or remove apps, see why each is included and, where verified packages exist, get one install command. Nothing is installed automatically.