Computing Device Requirement

All students are required to have a laptop or portable computing device meeting the minimum specifications recommended for your major. Students majoring in engineering, mechanical engineering technology, or engineering management should plan to have a laptop for in-class instructional purposes in required Engineering Fundamentals courses.

Yes. 

Yes, if you are enrolled in Engineering Fundamentals courses. Individual and team-oriented activities may require you to participate with your laptop each day your class meets. In addition, there may be students accessing your classes remotely with whom you will need to interact. At this time, students in other courses are not required to bring a portable computing device to campus every day; however, instructor expectations may vary.

No. Your computing device must meet the system requirements and be portable enough that you can bring it to class every day. Desktop computers are not portable enough to meet these requirements.

You may select any retailer you wish. Just be sure the device you select meets the required specifications.

Michigan Tech does not sell computers. However, discounts are available through Dell and many other companies offer discounts for students. Student discount sections can usually be found by searching on the Internet for "student discount" and a company name, e.g., Dell, HP, Apple, etc. We have found that purchasing a computer through the Dell discount program typically lowers the cost and provides greater warranty options—we suggest exploring warranty details when comparing models and costs.

Short-term loaner devices will be available at no cost to students who experience a device malfunction that requires repair. Laptops or other portable computing devices are not available to borrow for the entire semester. You should plan to arrive at Michigan Tech with a device that meets the required specifications.

Students may contact Financial Aid to inquire about possible financing options. A one-time cost of attendance adjustment may be made to allow students to have increased loan eligibility to assist with covering the expense of a portable computing device. Please note that you will be required to provide documentation, such as a price quote and/or receipt of purchase, to have the cost of attendance adjusted. Contact the Financial Aid staff at 888-688-1885 or email finaid@mtu.edu.

Each student's financial aid package will vary. Contact our Financial Aid staff at 888-688-1885 or email finaid@mtu.edu to inquire about possible financing options.

We don't recommend or discourage any particular brand of laptop or device. The brand and model you use is your choice as long as it meets the listed device specifications.

Students in majors within the Departments of Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts are encouraged to have a Mac. 

Engineering students will need a Windows-based laptop to run the software required by your classes and coursework. A Mac will not allow you to fully participate in course activities, as there is software you need to use that will not run natively on a Mac or on a Windows VM (virtual machine). 

No other hardware is required—for most majors, a 1TB external drive for backup and additional storage is strongly recommended. Once you settle in at Michigan Tech you may find other computer peripherals, like an external monitor to use in your residence hall room, may be beneficial.

A tablet like a Microsoft Surface Pro (with Typepad), Surface Book, or a 2n1 Laptop like the Lenovo Yoga, HP Spectre, or Dell XPS would be acceptable as long as it meets the above specifications. An Android or iOS tablet, Chromebook, or smartphone does not meet the specifications for required classwork software and does not offer the flexibility needed to be successful in your courses.

The operating system you choose will be largely dependent on your program and its requirements. Engineering majors will need a Windows-based device to fully participate in course activities, as there is software you need to use that will not run natively on a Mac or on a Windows VM (virtual machine). Students in majors within the Departments of Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts are encouraged to have a Mac. 

For other non-Humanities majors, most of the software that is available for students to download is designed for computers running Microsoft Windows. MacOS or Linux versions of an application, if available, can be downloaded from downloads.it.mtu.edu.

For those students who choose to work on a Mac, additional software will be needed to run Windows software. You will likely need to run Windows software in a virtualized environment in order to run some of the software required by your classes and coursework. Michigan Tech is able to provide VMWare Fusion and Windows operating system licenses free of charge to students. The hardware specifications for your macOS computer will need to be greater to run a second operating system and share resources between macOS and Windows at the same time. This typically requires computers to have more memory (RAM) and larger storage (SSD/hard drive) space.

For Linux users, most Linux-focused software is available remotely on University-provided computer servers, in addition to some software available from downloads.it.mtu.edu. Much of the software on campus Linux computers is free and open source, and should be available through your distribution’s package manager or from the developer directly. If you choose to run a Linux OS on your own device, you will also likely need to run Windows applications in a virtualized environment for specific coursework applications. VMware Workstation Pro and Windows OS licenses are available to students for free from downloads.it.mtu.edu. This typically requires that your computer have more resources available, specifically RAM and storage space.

Certain highly-specialized or computer-intensive software is needed in some coursework for many academic departments. The University provides computer labs that can be used in-person for that coursework.

No. At the current time, you need to have a computer capable of running the Windows or Mac operating system. For engineering students, Chromebooks are insufficient for supplied and necessary engineering software.

Absolutely—this is your personal laptop or device. Be sure to follow the class policies your instructors set for technology in class, as well as the Standards for the Acceptable Use of Information Technology at Michigan Tech.

Michigan Tech's IT Help Desk can help you diagnose basic problems you might have with your laptop or portable computing device. Software issues can usually be resolved, but not always. Hardware issues with your laptop may be diagnosed by IT, but repairs need to be addressed by you. IT staff will provide a list of local repair shops you can consult with. We strongly recommend using the warranty provided with your device. We suggest exploring the details of the warranty when comparing costs.

The base install of Windows 10, plus core applications like web browsers and Microsoft Office, along with the Engineering Fundamentals applications (Matlab, Mathematica, MathType, Respondus Lockdown Browser and Siemens NX) require approximately 104GB of space before you do anything else on your computer. 

Based on this estimate, you can probably get by with a 250GB solid state drive if you are judicious about backing up and archiving past coursework and projects to your Google Drive space.  However, there are many other applications you may want to install during your time at Michigan Tech. Getting a larger hard drive now means you’ll spend less time juggling software and files to free up space as time goes on.

The amount of RAM your computer has affects the number of applications you can have open and running at the same time. Applications like Matlab or Mathematica are CPU and memory-intensive applications. We feel comfortable saying that the minimum requirements are 8GB of RAM, but you will find your system will perform better in the long run with 16GB as you begin to use multiple higher requirement software packages simultaneously.

If you are a macOS or Linux user, we strongly suggest you stick to the recommended versus minimum specifications listed above in order to run Windows in a virtualized environment, as well as any Windows applications you may need. Typically, the VMware software will use about half of your system resources for the “guest” operating system.

If you have additional technical questions about the specifications and recommendations, contact Michigan Tech’s Information Technology at 906-487-1111 or it-help@mtu.edu.

Yes. Our Google for Education accounts are allocated for storage. You can use Google products like Backup & Sync or Drive File Stream to manage backup to Google Drive. Access to Google Drive and Photos expires 120 days after you are no longer a student. The contents of these folders are deleted at that time.

There are 31 HuskyPrint stations spread throughout campus—in academic buildings, computer labs, and residence halls. HuskyPrint stations are accessible from any lab computer, as well as your personal computer. To print from your personal computer, you'll need to install some software. Learn more about printing resources on campus.

Yes. There are computer repair stores in the local area, as well as retailers such as Walmart for accessories and supplies. Many students also order from online retailers—packages are delivered directly to your residence hall by UPS, FedEx, and the US Postal Service.

Once you are on campus and the semester has begun, you will download a number of software applications from the secure Michigan Tech IT website—we have supplied software for student use for many years. The software you need is available at no cost to you. However, do note that software contracts prohibit downloading until the start of classes.

Wireless coverage is excellent within the residence halls and in all University classrooms. Numerous wireless lounge spaces in academic buildings are maintained across campus.