Topics Map > Email, Lync, Calendars, Collaboration
Topics Map > Hardware and Software
Topics Map > Instructional Services

Recommended Technology for Students

The Grainger College of Engineering recommends technology for students that prepares them for a variety of instruction scenarios.

To be prepared for any potential learning scenario, each student will need:

  • The ability to view lectures and supplementary materials online.
  • The ability to use specialized Engineering software packages for coursework.
  • The ability to interact and collaborate digitally with professors, TAs, and student peers.

Technology Considerations

The following recommended technology allows for flexibility and usability across disciplines within Grainger College of Engineering. 

  • While being less flexible and fully featured, Grainger College of Engineering students can complete their academic journey by purchasing, at minimum, a budget Windows laptop.
  • Students should choose a model that has enough memory and hard drive storage (see below), and is powerful enough to provide satisfactory performance over a three-to-four year lifespan.
  • For maximum flexibility consider a 2-in-1 style laptop that folds into a tablet for digital inking.
  • A tablet alone will generally be insufficient. Chromebooks or tablets running iOS or Android may not be able to run software required for courses. We only recommend them as a secondary computing source, not as your only computer.

Suggested Laptops

These recommended student laptops offer essential functions and features tailored for daily coursework, seamless connectivity to campus resources, and efficient facilitation of group work. These will serve a student well both on campus and in a hybrid or remote learning environment. 

Hardware Specifications

Feature
Recommendations
Memory (RAM) 16GB highly recommended
32GB recommended for heavy graphics or visualization work
8GB minimum for tablets or basic use
Storage 512GB or greater required; 256GB minimum 
Processor Core i5 or i7, or i9 or with 8 Cores (power user/gaming)
Operating System

Windows 11; macOS 14 (Sonoma) or 15 (Sequoia)

**Some applications are not usable with Windows 11 Home. In this case, a free upgrade to Windows 11 Education is available from the UIUC Webstore.
Camera 1080p
Backups/Online File Storage (HIGHLY Recommended) Cloud based subscription such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive highly recommended
Warranty Most new computers come with a manufacturer's 1-year warranty.
It's recommended to increase to 3-4 years.

Windows or Mac?

None of our programs directly recommend Windows or macOS. It's a personal preference. However, many courses use software that only runs on Windows. MacOS users may need to remotely connect to software (Citrix) or use virtualization software (Parallels or VirtualBox) to run Windows software on macOS. Additionally, a Windows operating system license must be purchased to run Windows using one of these virtual applications.

The Illini Union Tech Zone provides educational discounts on purchases. They are also an authorized Apple repair center.

Need more help? Reach out to Engineering IT at engrit-help@illinois.edu or 217-333-1313.

Short URL for this page: https://go.illinois.edu/TechforStudents


Keywords:
hardware students devices instruction laptop technology software window mac 
Doc ID:
104963
Owned by:
Melissa W. in Engineering IT
Shared Services
Created:
2020-08-14
Updated:
2025-03-19
Sites:
University of Illinois Engineering IT