If you don't already have an e-mail account set up in Thunderbird, you will be prompted to create one when you first start the application up:
Note
Note that your E-mail address should be written in full, i.e. suess@umbcusername@umbc.edu. Your Password should be your myUMBC password.
If you already use Thunderbird and wish to add your UMBC Gmail e-mail as an additional account, from the Tools menu go to Account Settings. Then under the Account Actions drop-down menu click on Add Mail Account. This will present you with the Mail Account Setup dialog.
Note
Note that your E-mail address should be written in full, i.e. suess@umbcusername@umbc.edu. Your Password should be your myUMBC password.
Thunderbird will attempt to work out your e-mail settings. Click Stop and then Manual Setup to configure Thunderbird manually. You will see the Account Settings dialog.
Click on Server Settings in the left-hand menu, and set your incoming Server Name to be imap.gmail.com, using SSL on port 993. Note that your User Name must be your full University e-mail address, i.e. suess@umbc.edu.
Now click on Outgoing Server (SMTP) at the bottom of the left-hand menu. Set your outgoing Server Name to be smtp.gmail.com using STARTTLS on Port 587. As above, your user name should be your full University e-mail address, i.e. suess@umbcusernameumbc.edu
Your Google account is now ready to use via Thunderbird! Note: the first time you send an e-mail from Thunderbird you may see a Login failed message. You will then be prompted for your password.