Students studying a major or taking Core Curriculum courses under the College of Sciences and Humanities should review the following general minimum and preferred computer specifications.
College Recommendations
Minimum Specifications
- Intel® Core™ 5 or Apple M4, or equivalent
- 16GB random-access memory (RAM)
- 512GB solid-state drive (SSD)
- Windows 11 or macOS Tahoe (or newer)
- 3- to 4-year warranty
Preferred Specifications
- Intel® Core™ 7 or Apple M5, or equivalent
- 24GB random-access memory (RAM)
- 1TB solid-state drive (SSD)
- Windows 11 or macOS Tahoe (or newer)
- 3- to 4-year warranty
An I5 or M3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and either Windows 10 or Mac OS Sequoia will be workable if you have an older computer.
Recommended Accessories and Software
- Microsoft Office
- External hard drive
- Built-in or external webcam and microphone
Department Recommendations
If your department has additional or alternative recommendations, find them below.
Department of Anthropology and Sociology
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Biology
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Chemistry
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Computer Science
CS 120 and CS 121 are taught in the department's computer lab, but a computer is required for all other computer science courses. Mobile devices, tablets, and Chromebooks are not acceptable.
Minimum Specifications
- Intel Core Ultra 7 processor
- 32GB random-access memory (RAM)
- 512GB solid-state drive (recommend 1TB drive for a Mac)
- Windows 11 (not home edition) or MacOS Sequoia
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Dell is recommended.
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of English
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of History
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Mathematical Sciences
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Physics and Astronomy
For those students pursuing Physics, Physics Teaching, or Astronomy, no additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
For students planning to pursue Pre-Engineering or the Engineering Dual Degree Program, a 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating system, with a (minimum) 2 GB GPU that is DirectX 11 compliant, is required. Additionally, 32 GB of RAM (or more) and a CPU capable of 3.0 GHz or greater is strongly recommended.
Department of Political Science
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Psychological Science
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
School of Earth, Atmosphere, and Sustainability
Must have a Windows device if using ArcGIS software. If you choose to purchase or already own an Apple computer, you will need to install Windows via Parallels to run ArcGIS. No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.
Department of Women's, Gender, and African American Studies
No additional recommendations. See general minimum and preferred specifications for the College of Sciences and Humanities above.