Laptop Requirement and Computer Use
Physical Sciences majors are required to own a personal laptop for coursework. The school policy closely follows the campus policy outlined here with few additions, plus installation of Microsoft 365 Apps.
Minimum laptop requirements for UCI Physical Sciences students
- No Chromebooks or tablets
- Operating system: Windows 11 or one of the latest three versions of macOS
- Processor: Core i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7 processor or higher (M series Apple chip for Mac)
- RAM: 16 GB or more
- Hard drive: 512 GB Solid State Drive or larger solid-state drive (spinning hard drive is NOT recommended)
- Webcam: Built-in
- Graphics card: Highly recommended for software that requires photo/video editing, CAD software, and any graphics-generating software, including MATLAB and any data computing. At least 4GB of GPU RAM is recommended for any graphics card. (On board video would work for regular day-to-day usage, such as Microsoft Office Applications and surfing the web.)
- Software: install Microsoft 365 Apps (at least Microsoft Excel, but preferably all apps in the suite) using free app services from OIT.
- Warranty and accidental damage protection are not required, but are highly encouraged.
NOTES:
ESS students may engage in extensive data computing later in their studies, which will involve HPC when they pursue graduate studies or a Ph.D. We have already seen that without a graphics card, many people struggle to use graphics-intensive software, and even to have multiple tabs open on web browsers.
Chemistry students will need to have a laptop that can run ChemDraw, Mathematica, and MATLAB. It also needs to have word processing and spreadsheet functionality. The minimum computer requirement listed above is sufficient as long as there is a 64-bit operating system.
If you need to connect from off-campus to UCI’s network, check out the UCI Libraries’ page and review the VPN information to get set up.
Financial Aid
Students may consult with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships to inquire about a $2,000 one-time computer purchase as a "Cost of Attendance Appeal." That form can also be found on ZotAid.