Since Fall 2019, the College of Engineering has required that all of our undergraduate students must have a laptop in time for their Junior year at Temple.
A good deal of the coursework in engineering has a major software component. These programs are used throughout the engineering field for design, simulation, and programming.
A Microsoft Windows operating system is recommended since most of the required software is written only for Windows. We do not recommend Apple computers to engineering students however, we do provide Windows 10 to students on Apple computers that utilize Intel processors. The new Mac computers based on Apple Silicon released in November 2020 do not meet the laptop requirement as they cannot run a supported version of Windows or engineering software.
Laptop Hardware Recommendation
- Minimum dual-core Intel 7th or 8th Gen Core i5 Processor or AMD Ryzen (quad- or six-core preferred)
- Minimum of 8 GB RAM, 16GB preferred
- 256GB SSD or larger (512GB preferred, required if computer is an Apple Mac)
- 13 – 15 inch LCD display, 1080p minimum
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi compatible wireless card and Bluetooth
- Microsoft Office 2019 (Office 365) and Adobe Creative Cloud are available as free downloads from the TUportal
- Other Engineering software are available from TUportal, download.temple.edu, or the College of Engineering
- Extended warranty of at least 2-3 years with accidental damage coverage preferred
- Windows computers are strongly recommended; Macs will need to have Windows installed
- Only Windows 10 OS Home or Pro Version. Windows is available through Temple.
Chromebooks, iPads, and Android devices including tablets are not permitted, as most engineering software requires Windows on an Intel or AMD processor.
To see more detailed information about Temple’s laptop guidelines, please visit the Temple University’s Computer Purchase Guidelines page.