While a personal laptop is not required, it is strongly recommended. Having your own device provides flexibility for completing coursework, accessing software, and working outside of scheduled lab hours.

Students will have access to campus computer labs with required engineering software.

Recommended Laptop Specifications

Windows laptops are strongly recommended for engineering students, as many commonly used applications are designed for or perform best on Windows. 

Mac laptops are permitted; however, some software is not natively supported on macOS. Students using Mac devices may need to use virtualization tools or access campus labs for certain courses.

Students who choose to bring a laptop should consider the following:

• Operating System: Windows 11 (recommended) / macOS (supported with limitations)
• Processor: Intel Core i5 (minimum) / Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 (recommended)
• Memory (RAM): 16 GB (minimum) / 32 GB (recommended)
• Storage: 512 GB SSD (minimum) / 1 TB SSD (recommended)
• Graphics: Integrated graphics (minimum) / Dedicated GPU such as NVIDIA RTX series (recommended)
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 capability

Mechanical Engineering (and other CAD-intensive programs) – Students who expect to use SOLIDWORKS or similar 3D modeling tools should strongly consider:

• A Windows-based laptop
• A dedicated graphics card (GPU) (NVIDIA RTX 4050 or higher recommended)
• 32 GB RAM for improved performance with large assemblies and simulations