Business Program Laptop Requirement
In addition to the general laptop requirements, incoming Business students have specific requirements for their program. These requirements also apply to students in majors which require accounting coursework.
General Requirements
Business students should review all the general laptop requirements before reviewing special program requirements.
Business Requirements
The following requirements are for business majors, as well as sport management, hospitality and applied math with actuarial science concentration majors, all of which are required to take business accounting classes as part of their requirements.
New Windows System
- Intel Core i5 Dual-core 2.50 GHz
- Windows 10
- 8GB RAM minimum
- 500 GB Hard Drive or 256 SSD (solid state drive)
- Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
- Accidental Damage plan
While incoming business students may use a Mac, the School of Business operates primarily in a Windows environment, and some required software applications do not work properly in the Mac operating system. As a result, there are certain steps Mac users need to take to run software applications required by their classes.
Dual Boot for Macs
All Macbooks manufactured in the last few years have an Intel processor and can therefore be dual booted into Windows. Therefore all students enrolled in The School of Business who have Macbooks are required to have Windows 10 installed, and another application such as Boot Camp (comes free with Macbooks) or Parallels, in order to use their Mac as a Windows laptop.
New Mac System
- 13" MacBook Air or Pro
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 8 GB memory
- 256 GB PCIe-based flash based storage*
- Apple Care Protection Plan
*Note: If you are considering the purchase of a MacBook Air computer it MUST have a minimum of 256 GB PCIe-based flash storage.
Please note: We apologize for some previous inconsistencies and confusion in the specs for the Macbook Air models as presented for the School of Business and for All Other majors. The Business School has a spec for an i7 processor and the spec for All Other majors is an i5 processor. Although released in 2017, the Macbook Air presented on the purchase website is still the newest available by Apple. Apple did a recent 2018 release of other models (e.g. 15" Macbook with touch bar) but not to the Air.
Microsoft Office for Windows
- Business and accounting students are required to have either Microsoft Office Professional 2016 (must have "Access" database) for Windows or a subscription to Microsoft Office 365 University (Cloud).
- Students will be informed of other required software applications on a course by course basis.
- Note: Mac users should not get Microsoft Office for Mac; you must get Office for Windows and run it on the dual boot.
Additional Requirements
- Business majors are required to have an adapter that fits your laptop's graphics display output to HDMI female (preferably 6"-8" long)
- A printer is strongly recommended to print personal material for courses and assignments; we recommend an inexpensive inkjet printer (HP or similar)