Student’s Computer Requirements

Every student should have a computer capable of running the following software:

• Canvas learning management system,
• Canvas Studio,
• DocuSign,
• Google Workspace,
• SPSS, and
• Zoom,

All of these apps are provided free by SJSU.

Hardware and Software Requirements for Your Computer

1. Hardware:

1. a laptop or desktop computer (either Mac or Windows),
2. when possible, use a computer less than six years old,
3. a web camera,
4. a microphone,
5. a 64-bit processor, and
6. a minimum of eight gigabytes (8 GB) memory (also called RAM)

2. Software:

1. operating system: a recent edition of either…

1. Windows (Windows 10 [the 64-bit version only] or 11)
2. macOS

• 10.15.7 (Catalina)
• 11 (Big Sur)
• 12 (Monterey)
• 13 (Ventura)

2. browser: one of the two most-recent major releases of either…

1. Chrome (v126 or 125)
2. Edge (v126 or 125)
3. Firefox (v127 or 126)
4. Safari (v17 or 16, Mac only)

3. For Mac users, I recommend using the Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDFs instead of Apple’s Preview. I’ve also made a short video guide about using other PDF readers on a Mac.

Your success in your program depends on your participation in classwork, discussions, and meetings. It’s your responsibility to arrange for the equipment that makes these possible online.

Computers older than five years may also meet these requirements, although not for as long. You may wish to investigate either purchasing a new computer, or short-term borrowing of a laptop from the MLK Library's Student Computing Services office.

None of These Devices Will Meet All the Computer Requirements

• iOS mobile devices (like iPhones or iPads)
• Android mobile devices (like Android phones or tablets)
• Computers using the Linux operating system
• Computers using the ChromeOS operating system (like Chromebooks)

Will Your Computer Meet The Hardware and Software Requirements?

• Windows: to verify the installed RAM and processor type (32-bit or 64-bit), see Microsoft’s Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

• If your computer has Windows 11, then it already has a 64-bit processor, and you don’t need to check this issue separately.

• Mac

• Find out which macOS your Mac is using
• To check your RAM, see About System Information on your Mac

• If your computer is running Ventura or later, then it already has 8 GB of RAM, and you don’t need to check this issue separately.

• Which version of my browser do I have?

• Chrome: Update Google Chrome
• Edge: How to find your Microsoft Edge browser's version number
• Firefox: Update Firefox to the latest release
• Safari: How do I find what Version Safari I'm running?
• The link for Instructure products below will also display the version number of your browser.

More Technical Details

• SJSU’s System Status page “provides the campus community with information about the availability of our IT applications, systems and services.”
• What are the browser and computer requirements for Instructure Products? (Canvas and Studio are published by Instructure.)
• DocuSign’s System Requirements
• Zoom system requirements: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Google Drive’s System requirements and browsers
• For SPSS, see IBM’s Detailed system requirements for a specific product, look up
  
          IBM SPSS Statistics Desktop
  
  and select
  
          28.0.0.0

Updated by Brian Gothberg, 6/22/2024
Last changes highlighted and bold
brian.gothberg@sjsu.edu