Note: This information is intended for College of Law students
Overview
The College of Law Office of Information Technology provides computer and technical support for College of Law students, faculty, and staff. The information and guidelines below will ensure that you and your devices can make the most of your College of Law experience.
Laptop Computer Requirement
The College of Law requires students to have a laptop computer in good working order. You will use your laptop heavily throughout your law school career. ExamSoft’s Examplify software is required for many exams at the College of Law, webconferencing tools are used extensively for meetings and events, and many assets essential to your schooling are accessed digitally. Students in the online-based JDinteractive program may use desktop computers, following the same requirements below.
Laptop Configuration
A Windows laptop running Home, Pro, Education, or Enterprise versions of Windows 10 or 11, or an Apple laptop running MacOS 11 (Big Sur) or higher is required. Laptops released within the last two years should be sufficient for the duration of your law school career.
All devices must have at least 4GB of RAM (more is highly recommended) and 10GB or more of hard drive space. Processors must be equivalent to Dual-Core 2Ghz (Intel i5, AMD A10, or equivalent). ARM-based processors are not supported for Windows devices. Apple M1/M2 processors are supported.
If the device is not equipped with an internal webcam and microphone, an external webcam and mic is required.
While iPads, Android tablets, Chromebooks, Linux-based laptops, and similar devices may be useful tools for some tasks in law school, they are not compatible with our required testing software and thus do not fulfill the laptop requirement. Alternate versions of laptop operating systems, such as server editions or special editions like Windows RT or Windows 10-S are also not supported.
You must have full administrator access to your device to permit software installs and necessary configuration changes. If your device was issued to you by your place of business or another institution, please check with the issuing IT personnel to ensure that you have this capability.
Network Bandwidth
An internet connection with a minimum speed of 10 Mbps is required for accessing web-based meetings and recorded content, including class sessions and asynchronous materials for JDinteractive students.
Software
Exam software is provided by the College of Law. Additionally, the Microsoft Office suite is available free of charge to all College of Law students. Other software and access to databases and systems will be provided as necessary.
You will be assigned a Syracuse University email address upon admission. Your universityprovided account will be used for all email communications from the College of Law. Access is available via browser or with common laptop and mobile device apps.