Laptop Requirement

Methodist University requires all students (undergraduate, graduate, and online) to have laptop computers.

The minimum specifications for laptops are listed below. The general specifications are for all programs except the following programs, which have program-specific recommendations listed below under Program-Specific Specifications:

Students can upgrade processors, memory, and storage as desired.

General Specifications

PC

  • Processor: 11th Generation or later Intel Core i5, i7,or better
  • Memory: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
  • 256 GB or greater SSD storage
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 64-bit
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)

Apple MacBook Air

  • Apple M1 or greater (M2, M1 Pro)
  • 8GB unified memory minimum, 16 GB recommended
  • 256GB or greater SSD
  • Mac OS 13 or later
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)

Program-Specific Specifications

Engineering

For PC users:

  • Processor: 11th Generation or later Intel Core i5, i7,or better (Or AMD equivalent)
  • Memory: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB minimum recommended
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10
  • Integrated Xe Graphics
  • 256 GB SSD minimum 512 GB SSD preferred
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)

For Mac users:

  • Apple M1 or greater (M2, M1 Pro)
  • 8GB unified memory minimum, 16 GB minimum recommended
  • 256GB or greater SSD
  • Mac OS 13 or later
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)/li>

NOTE: some Engineering software programs only run on Windows. May run on Macs with Windows installed.

Students may download the following engineering software for free:

  • Matlab – minimum recommendations (with SSD) are sufficient
  • Solidworks – minimum recommendations with an approved graphics card: solidworks.com/support/hardware-certification/
  • Minitab – minimum recommendations sufficient; newest versions only download on Windows; Mac users may use online platform
  • 3DSSPP – minimum recommendations sufficient

Graphic Design

  • 13” Apple MacBook Pro
  • M2 Pro or greater
  • 8GB unified memory minimum, 16 GB highly recommended
  • 256GB or greater SSD
  • Mac OS 13 or later
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)
  • Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
  • External Hard Drive (1 TB minimum) for backing up work
  • USB-C/USB adapter

Music

  • 13” Apple MacBook Pro
  • M2 Pro or greater
  • 8GB unified memory minimum, 16 GB highly recommended
  • 256GB or greater SSD
  • Mac OS 13 or later
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)
  • Nektar SE49 (49 Key USB Keyboard Controller)
    Order from sweetwater.com (list Methodist as reference when ordering)
  • Logic Studio (software) – Logic Pro X in the “Pro Apps Bundle for Education” may be purchased at the same time as the computer.

Communication & Media

  • Processor: 11th Generation or later Intel Core i5, i7,or better
  • Memory: 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
  • 256 GB or greater SSD storage
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 64-bit
  • 250 GB SSD minimum 500 GB SSD preferred storage
  • Wireless (802.11ac/b/g/n compliant)
  • An advanced graphics card with CUDA capabilities, such as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
  • Adobe Creative Cloud subscription

Software

Microsoft Office 365

All students have free access to the Microsoft Office 365 suite of software, 1TB of OneDrive storage, and the wireless network across campus. A 1 TB external storage drive is recommended for all students.

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