If your college or area of study is not listed on this page, there are no enforced laptop policies or requirements that have been provided to us. Please reach out to your college if you have questions about any minimum requirements or recommendations. All laptops we carry have suggested laptop specifications for college.
Please don't hesitate to call us at 402-472-5151 or email us at its-huskertech@nebraska.edu if you have further questions about laptop recommendations. We're here to help!
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Colleges with Requirements
Architecture
All students in the College of Architecture’s Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design programs are required to have ready access to a laptop computer that meets or exceeds the specifications listed in the Computer and Software Requirements document. This laptop computer is an integral tool in architectural education.
Engineering
There is no single specification set regarding a personal computer for use in your UNL studies. Most incoming students now use a laptop for portability. Most computers will be adequate since the majority of use will likely be word processing, email, and web browsing - however, the key concept to focus on is "software delivery." Not every platform will run the specialized software packages your field of study may use. While it is possible for the new M1 and M2 ARM CPUs to run Windows via virtualization, Microsoft only supports its Windows 11 ARM version, which may not be compatible with software written for the x86. Please check with your department to see if they have additional specific requirements. If you already own a computer, before making any additional purchases, you may want to wait until classes start, when you can make a better assessment of your needs.
Business
All students in the College of Business are required to lease, purchase or have ready access to a laptop computer with the specific software and hardware specifications and software listed below. Students can choose between the Windows or Mac platforms.
Journalism & Mass Communications
All students in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications are required to have ready access to a laptop computer that meets or exceeds the specifications listed below. Students can choose between the Windows or Mac platform.
Music
red2go is a digital initiative to improve the teaching and learning of music for music majors and minors. By requiring every incoming music major and minor to have either an iPad or a Mac laptop, we are able to take advantage of interactive digital teaching resources, custom authored apps, and student developed content. Several of the faculty in the Glenn Korff School of Music have written required textbooks using the iBook format developed specifically for courses in the freshman and sophomore sequence.
Art, Art History, & Design
Intensive use of graphic design and digital arts software places high demands on computer hardware. For this reason, the requirement is divided between medium-level specifications for most Studio Art students, and high-level specifications for Graphic Design students.