SPSS for Departments, Faculty, and Staff

Product Information

  • License Period: August 1, 2022 - July 31, 2023
  • Cost: $105 per single machine SPSS license. $240 per concurrent SPSS license.
  • Current Version: 28
  • Restrictions: For U of T departments, faculty, and staff use on U of T owned or leased workstations for academic use. The software can be installed on a single workstation.
  • License Type: Annual Subscription.
  • Supported Operating Systems: Windows (32/64bit), Linux, and Mac.
    • System Requirements for SPSS for Mac:
      • SPSS 28 is supported on 10.13 and above.
      • SPSS 27 and below are no longer supported.
    • System Requirements for SPSS for Windows:
      • SPSS 28 is supported on Windows 10.
      • SPSS 27 and below are no longer supported.
  • Installation Media: Installation media is included with online purchase.
  • Upgrades: If you purchased a license for the current license period, you are entitled to upgrade to the latest version of SPSS. Contact us and we can add it to your online order.

Ordering

For full details on ordering, see our “How to Purchase Software” page.

Description

SPSS is a powerful, feature-rich, statistical analysis program. It is used in a wide variety of disciplines. Its menu-driven system for selecting various statistical analyses and report writing make it a favourite for many introductory statistics courses. Students can focus on statistics instead of spending time writing program code.

On-line software activation required on all versions of SPSS. All versions of SPSS from the U of T Licensed Software Office must be renewed annually.

Vendor and Support:

Frequently Asked Questions:

Installation and Renewal

Q: How do I install IBM SPSS on Windows and/or Mac?
A: IBM SPSS installation instructions are available for Windows and Mac.  

Q: How do I renew IBM SPSS on Windows and/or Mac?
A: IBM SPSS renewal instructions are available for Windows and Mac.

Q: How do I check when my SPSS will expire and that it has been successfully renewed?
A: To check the expiry date and that SPSS has successfully been renewed:

  1. Open SPSS and select File -> New -> Syntax to open the Syntax editor.
  2. In the Syntax editor type (ensure you include the period):
    • show license.
  3. In the menu at the top of the screen, select Run, then select All in order to run the command.

This process will allow you to view the expiration date for your license. Please note that there is a 30 day grace period after the expiration date.

Q: How do I uninstall the IBM SPSS Statistics for Mac?
A: Please follow these instructions on how to uninstall your version of SPSS for Mac.

 

Installation and Activation Issues

Q: While installing IBM SPSS on my Windows workstation the License Authorization Wizard is a small window that cannot be resized and am unable to enter the authorization code.
A: This is a known issue due to the screen resolution and/or text size set too large. Please see the SPSS KB documentation to resolve this issue:

Q: While activating IBM SPSS on my Mac the License Authorization Wizard displays the error "Warning! You do not have the correct administrator privileges to license this product...".
A: This is a known issue. Please see the SPSS KB documentation to resolve this issue:

Q:After installing IBM SPSS the default toolbar icons are do not appear.
A: This is a known issue. Please see the SPSS KB documentation to resolve this issue:

Q: After licensing IBM SPSS on my Mac, the program continues to say it is not licensed.
A: Ensure that all previous versions of IBM SPSS have been uninstalled using the following instructions. Once previous versions have been removed, please see our renewal instructions on how to launch the authorization wizard and license the product.

Q: While installing IBM SPSS on my Mac with OS X 10.7.5 or above, I encounter an error stating it "Can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer". Clicking the OK button cancels the installation.
Gatekeeper
A: To install the product, in Finder right click on the installation file and select Open. As of OS X 10.7.5, a new feature called Gatekeeper was introduced to help protect your Mac from malware and misbehaving apps downloaded from the Internet. 

Q: When installing IBM SPSS on my Mac, I receive a message saying I need to install the legacy Java SE 6 runtime.
Instal Java SE 6 runtime

A: For OS X 10.7 and above install the latest version of Java for OS X.

Q: When installing IBM SPSS on my Mac, I only see a blank box with an OK button. How do I proceed with installation?
A: Please see the SPSS KB documentation on how to update JAVA on your workstation to resolve the issue:

Q: When installing IBM SPSS on my Mac, I click the icon on the desktop to start the installation; the installer appears to do something and then disappears. How can I install it?
A: Copy the contents of the CD to your desktop. You can now install SPSS from there. Delete the copied content after installation.

Purchasing

Q: Which version of IBM SPSS for Windows should I purchase? The 32-bit or 64-bit version?
A: The 32-bit version will install on both 32 and 62 bit versions of Windows. The 64-bit version will only install on 64-bit versions of Windows.

The 64-bit version will work better with large data sets if you have more than 4GB of RAM. If using ODBC access, this should also be taken into consideration when choosing which version to purchase.

Q: How can I determine if my version of Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit?
A: How to determine whether a computer is running a 32-bit version or 64-bit version of the Windows operating system

Q: What is a Network Concurrent license?
A: For concurrent licensing, if one concurrent license is purchased it may be installed on more than one machine, but can only be run on one computer at a time. For example, if you purchase five concurrent licenses, it can be installed on twenty workstations, but only five can be used at one time. You will need to setup a license server using software provided after purchase. When executing SPSS on a workstation, it will check with the license server to see if there are any licenses available. If so, the program will launch, if not it will not launch. The SPSS software will need to be able to communicate with the server or it will not work.

Documentation

Q: Where can I find SPSS documentation and guides?
A: For guides and installation manuals visit the SPSS 28 Documentation website. Here are some quick guides:

The following is a recommended electronic resource provided by the University of Toronto Libraries. SPSS for Starters Cleophas, Ton J. Zwinderman, Aeilko H.