Can I buy or use the .edu domain extension on my website?

[jeiss]

It is currently becoming a trend that some specific domain extensions are associated with some specific webites. For example, the following are domain extensions being used lately, .fm are used for radio stations, .tv are television stations, .gov are used for government institutions, .org are used by organisations and what have you.

I have always had this dream of owning a website with a domain name having the .edu extension and I have decided to get one. Something caught my attention recently, I discovered that just any individual cannot own a domain name with the ".edu" extension and this has been of major concern to me. I read that one needs to meet some requirements before one can own such domain name. As stated by Educause; the body that manage the .edu Internet domain, only U.S. post-secondary institutions that are institutionally accredited by an agency on the U.S Department of Education's list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies may obtain an Internet name in the .edu domain. Right now I am somewhat disturbed about this.

These questions bother me:

Are there still hopes for me getting a ".edu domain name" for personal use?
Are .edu domain extension usable to individuals outside of the U.S.?

If you have some knowledge about this, do relay it via the comment box below. Thanks

 

[SEOPub]

You cannot buy a .edu domain unless you are an educational institution. You also cannot buy a .gov domain unless you are a part of the government. You cannot buy a .us domain unless you live in the United States.

The domain extension is not that important though. I don't know why you "dream" of owning a .edu domain.

 

[JoeMilford]

Jeiss,

I can tell you that, as a former college professor, .edu's are limited to scholarly institutions and universities, and their securities and access are highly regulated, guarded, and exclusive. This is definitely important in protecting the privacy of students, staff, and instructors alike. Still, SEOPub said above, you can get plenty of traffic in other ways to your business without the .edu domain you are coveting.

 

[ulterios]

It is currently becoming a trend that some specific domain extensions are associated with some specific webites. For example, the following are domain extensions being used lately, .fm are used for radio stations, .tv are television stations, .gov are used for government institutions, .org are used by organisations and what have you.

The .tv domain extension is a country code domain extension for Tuvalu and not meaning Television. It is used by some TV stations though.

The .fm domain extension is also a CC domain for Micronesia and not a radio station specific domain extension although it is also often used by them.

As a general rule, 2 letter domain extensions are Country Code domain extensions.

Are there still hopes for me getting a ".edu domain name" for personal use?

There is hope but it's not realistic. You can sometimes get a .edu domain extension through some back channels but you will not be able to keep it. I have known some that have done it but got them taken away. They also don't hold any magical SEO or other powers over other extensions as many people think.

Are .edu domain extension usable to individuals outside of the U.S.?

Only using shady ways but they will be lost eventually if ever gained (see above). This may change at some point in the future, who knows.

 

[jeiss]

jeiss

I hope this really changes in future like you have said. Getting one's hands dirty in order to secure a .edu domain isn't a good approach and shouldn't be encouraged. The future when this happens might be tomorrow...who knows what the future holds?