M365 Developer Program alternative for Engineering Thesis (MFA & Conditional Access hybrid lab)

Question

Hello everyone,

My colleague and I are university students currently working on our Engineering Thesis. Our research and practical project focus heavily on Identity Security in Hybrid Environments, specifically implementing MFA and Risk-Based Conditional Access using a hybrid setup (On-Premises Active Directory synchronized via Entra Connect to Microsoft 365).

To fully test and document risk-based policies, impossible travel scenarios, and legacy authentication blocking for our thesis, we strictly require Microsoft Entra ID P2 capabilities.

We have access to the Azure Dev Tools for Teaching program, which provides us with Windows Server licenses and $200 Azure credits. However, we discovered that the Microsoft 365 Developer Program (E5 sandbox) is no longer accessible with our student/Visual Studio Dev Essentials accounts due to recent policy changes.

A standard 30-day M365 trial is too short for a university thesis lifecycle, as building the infrastructure, conducting penetration tests, recording documentation, and writing the paper takes a few months.

What solutions or options does Microsoft or the community offer for students in our scenario? Is there any official academic grant, a way to request an extended evaluation tenant, or an approved path for academic security research?

Thank you in advance for your help and guidance!

Answer 1

Hi Jakub

First of all, please refer to the AI response as it aligns with my research. At the moment, there are no specific educational grant opportunities, extended trial tenants, or established long term P2 laboratory programs available for students. 

In addition, you may want to check with your school to confirm whether A5 availability is offered. If this option is not available, you could also consider upgrading from Visual Studio Dev Essentials to a Visual Studio Professional subscription, which may help you qualify for the Microsoft 365 Developer Program. 

For more details, please refer to this resource: Microsoft 365 Developer Program FAQ | Microsoft Learn 

 

I hope this brings you some additional insight. 

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Answer 2

Microsoft Entra ID P2 capabilities (including Microsoft Entra ID Protection and risk-based Conditional Access) are licensed features and require Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2 or a bundle that includes it (for example, Microsoft 365 A5/E5 or Microsoft Entra Suite). A standard Microsoft 365 E3/E5 trial or Entra ID P1 does not provide full access to all risk-based reports and controls over an extended period.

From the available information:

1. Entra ID P2 requirement for risk-based features
   • Full access to Risky Users and advanced identity protection capabilities is now strictly enforced for tenants with active Microsoft Entra ID P2 licenses. Entra ID Free/P1 only exposes limited user risk information and does not provide full Risky Users reporting and remediation.
   • Risk-based Conditional Access (sign-in risk and user risk) is part of Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2 and is bundled with Microsoft 365 A5 in education scenarios.
2. Developer / test tenant options
   • The Microsoft 365 Developer Program E5 sandbox is one common way to obtain an E5/P2-capable tenant for development and testing, but eligibility is now restricted to specific subscriptions and programs (for example, certain Visual Studio, ISV, or partner memberships). If the student accounts do not qualify, this path is not available and the guidance is to use a free Microsoft Entra tenant instead.
   • A free Microsoft Entra tenant created with an Azure free account provides Microsoft Entra ID Free. A trial of Microsoft Entra ID P1 or P2 can be activated on that tenant for testing, but this is time-limited and not designed as a long-running academic lab.
3. Education licensing context
   • In education, Microsoft Entra ID P2 is typically included with Microsoft 365 Education A5. Institutions using A3 can purchase Entra ID P2 (or Entra ID Governance) as an add-on. Advanced identity protection and risk-based Conditional Access are therefore usually delivered through institutional licensing rather than individual student programs.

Given this, the supported options for a student thesis lab based on the provided information are:

• Work with the university’s IT department to obtain access to an institutional Microsoft 365 Education A5 (or equivalent) tenant that already includes Microsoft Entra ID P2. This is the primary supported path for long-running educational and research scenarios, including hybrid identity, MFA, and risk-based Conditional Access.
• If institutional A5/P2 licensing is not available, create a free Microsoft Entra tenant with an Azure free account and activate a trial of Microsoft Entra ID P2 for shorter-term testing of risk-based Conditional Access and Entra ID Protection features, understanding that this is time-limited and must be aligned with a focused phase of the thesis work.

No additional official academic grant, extended evaluation tenant, or special long-term P2 lab program for students is described in the available material. For scenarios where the standard trials and developer programs do not fit, coordination with the university’s licensing (for example, A5) is the documented way to obtain sustained access to Entra ID P2 capabilities.

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References:

• Step 1: Identity and access management
• Microsoft Entra Verified ID developer information
• Step 3: Identity protection
• Overview - Advanced identity for A5 licenses
• Introduction to Microsoft Entra tenants
• Deploy your identity infrastructure for Microsoft 365
• Why can I no longer access Risky Users report when I have been using it for almost a year - Microsoft Q&A