Alexander Blewett III School of Law

Laptop Requirements

The School of Law requires that all students have a laptop computer. Because laptops are mandatory, their purchase cost can be part of your cost of attendance and are therefore covered by your financial aid. Please contact law admissions office for more information.

Law students are required to own and maintain a personal laptop computer that meets the minimum required laptop technical requirements specified below. The minimum specifications allow students to access examination software, law school systems, and other instructional technology.

It is the responsibility of each student to:

Maintain a functioning and compatible laptop computer;
Install required operating system and software updates;
Ensure compatibility with examination software prior to examinations; and
Promptly address hardware or software issues that may interfere with coursework or examinations.

Devices that do not meet published requirements, including unsupported operating systems or hardware, may not function properly with required academic software and are not an acceptable substitute for a compliant laptop computer.

Students are required to purchase and maintain a personal laptop computer for law school with the following specifications:

Laptop Requirements

- Form = Laptop with full Operating System (OS)
  - While tablets can be helpful, they cannot replace the need for a dedicated laptop.
  - Tablets cannot be used with Exam software
- CPU
  - Windows = Intel i5 or i7 (or equivalent) - No ARM CPU's
  - Mac = M1 (or equivalent)
- RAM = 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended
  - More RAM = better performance and more programs can be run at once
- Drive
  - If using web storage = 128 GB minimum, 320 GB or more recommended
  - If using physical memory = 320 GB minimum, 512 or more recommended
- Operating System: users are advised to have the latest version OS possible when they are 1L students, and keep the OS up-to-date; minimum supported software includes:
  - PCs = Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2)
  - Macs = MacOS Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe
  - No Chromebook or Linux devices
- Screen Resolution = HD+ 1600 x 900 or higher
- Web Camera & Microphone
- Wireless = a/c recommended, g/n minimum
Microsoft Office 365 is available to any current UM student and can be installed on up to five devices at once. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. The access to Office 365 can be found through your student email on your My UM page.

Adobe Acrobat Professional can be very useful in its ability to read, highlight and annotate reference materials. Currently students can get Adobe Acrobat Professional as a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, discounted for students.

LawIT no longer supports Corel WordPerfect and instead encourages users to transition to Microsoft Office Word.
The use of anti-virus protection software is strongly encouraged! Default anti-virus software is fine. No anti-virus software is perfect and wise web surfing is encouraged.
ExamSoft is the maker of Examplify, our secure examination software you will need to install on your laptop. Courses will use ExamSoft Examplify to administer finals and midterms. ExamSoft minimum requirements.
- Required Adapters
  - Video Output = HDMI
    
    Classrooms use USB-C input
    
    Some projectors and TVs use HDMI inputs
    
    Most laptops do not have built-in connections anymore; buy the HDMI/USB-C adapters for your laptop and keep them with your charger!
- Optional Adapters
  - Ethernet
    
    Wireless persists through the building, but you may see faster performance and better consistency with a wired vs. wireless connection.
- Required Hardware
  - External Drive
    
    Use for backups! Many students have been able to endure through a computer crash because they set up regular backups on their machine.
    
    Get an external drive at least as big as your computer drive size.
    
    Contact LawIT for recommendations.
  - Headset
    
    You may be asked to participate in web conferencing solutions in class. These may also help if you're attending class remotely from someplace where you can't privately use your speakers or is too noisy to otherwise hear.
- Optional Hardware
  - External Mouse – may be helpful for long sessions with a computer, come in wired and wireless options
  - Ethernet adapter - allows you to bypass the wireless network and use a more consistent wired network connection