Laptop Requirements

Overview

The School of Law has joined other leading law schools in implementing a student laptop computer requirement for first-year J.D. students. Use of computers has become essential to research, classroom and clinical work. Furthermore, by requiring the purchase of a computer, we are able to include the cost in your financial aid package.

Maryland Carey Law requires all students to possess a laptop which meets the following minimum requirements:

Note: Updated for the Fall 2022 Semester. Please note the requirement of Windows 10 and Mac OS 10.15 or higher (Catalina) for our Exam software

	Required	Recommended
Operating System	Windows 10 (Version 20H2 or higher), macOS 10.15 Catalina or higher	Windows 10 (Version 21H2 or current version) or Windows 11 macOS 12.x.x Monterey
Memory	8GB	16GB or higher
Hard Drive Capacity	128GB	512 GB SSD
Webcam	Webcam highly recommended for online collaboration
Screen Size	N/A	13" or larger recommended. Screen size is student preference
WiFi	802.11N (Wi-Fi 4)	802.11AC (Wi-Fi 5 or later)
Warranty	N/A	Next-day, on site warranty recommended. Warranty replacements can take quite some time if not in person.

Requirement of Administrative Rights

All students must have administrative rights on their laptop. This allows for the installation of Exam4 and the ability to troubleshoot your machine if an issue arises. IT cannot assist students who do not have administrative access to their PC or Mac.

Software Requirements

All students shall have the following software preinstalled on their laptop:

Antivirus software
- UMB Provides Symantec antivirus to all students for a nominal fee. Windows defender is another suitable antivirus product that is included with Windows 10 at no cost. More information on obtaining Symantec antivirus can be found here: https://www.umaryland.edu/cits/software/
Microsoft Office Software
- The latest version of Office can be downloaded/installed on up to 5 machines.
- Sign into your Office 365 account by going to this link and downloading Office. It must be activated using your email address and password
- This page can further help you if you need help installing Office
PDF Software
- Adobe Reader, Apple Preview, or other compatible PDF viewing software
Windows 10
- UMB provides a digital download of Windows 10 Education to students free of charge. You can order it via the campus software sales website: UMB Software Sales

Use of Tablets

A tablet such as an iPad is not a satisfactory alternative to a fully-featured laptop/notebook computer.

Electronic exams may not be taken on Chromebooks, Linux systems, tablets, or mobile devices
Legal research websites are not fully supported on tablets or mobile devices
Tablets do not provide sufficient word processing capabilities for efficient composition of complex legal documents

Tablets and mobile devices can be useful and convenient for tasks such as note taking, email, and web access. However, if you plan to bring a tablet or other device, you must treat it as a companion to, not a replacement for, a traditional laptop computer (Windows or Mac).

New Operating System Releases

Exam 4 has been slow to approve new operating system releases for macOS. Please do not upgrade your macOS past Big Sur without getting IT approval first. IT typically will email all students once the latest version of macOS has been approved and verified working with Exam4.

Bootcamp/Dual-Boot laptops

Dual Boot or Bootcamped laptops cannot be supported for Law school coursework. Exam4 will block these machines prior to launching an exam. If in doubt, always test Exam4 with your laptop prior to exam period. Instructions can be found here: Exam Preparation