Technology Recommendations

Regardless of the type of computer you use during your time at Messiah University, we want to offer guidelines that will help ensure the computer you start your educational experience with is adequately equipped to carry you through your time here. Therefore, we provide the following basic recommendations:

Basic Computer Recommendations:

The following list represents configurations that provide the best performance with our learning management system and synchronous software. These are the configurations Messiah University is ready and able to support.

• Depending on your major, we recommend an Intel i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7 processor

• Most computers are coming with 8 GB of RAM

• Windows 11 -  OR -  Mac OS 12 or higher

• Chromebooks can connect to our network and generally be used on campus, but they are NOT recommended as a primary device due to software limitations

• If you plan on putting a lot of pictures, movies, and/or music on your PC, you may want a larger hard drive (such as 1 TB) 

• Extended warranty (if financially feasible)

Considerations for Specific Majors

Computer Science, Software Development, Cybersecurity, and Data Science Majors

• Since much of our coursework involves computing work within class settings, often in groups or partnerships, a personal laptop is required for these majors.
• The majority of our students favor Windows or Mac computers. Linux machines are also acceptable but be aware that Technology Support for Linux devices is limited.
• Chromebooks, tablets, Android devices, etc. are NOT recommended.
• Minimum requirements for your computer to ensure smooth operation:
  • RAM: Minimum 8GB, Recommended 16GB
  • Processor: Quad-core i5/i7, m1 or higher
  • Hard Disk: 512GB or larger, SSD recommended.
• Students may need to purchase software for particular classes, but in most cases faculty try to structure class to use only free software.
• Some courses use virtual machines extensively, so a VM client like VirtualBox (free), VMware, or Parallels will be required.
• You may want a larger monitor, docking station, mouse and keyboard, for your dorm room.

Engineering Majors

• The department has many Windows Lab PCs available for students to access specialized software. Owning a personal laptop is recommended, but not required.
• You can make the decision between a Windows or Mac OS X computer based on your preferences for other classes; however, be aware that some of the software provided by the Engineering department that you may prefer to have on a personally-owned computer, such as Solidworks, is only available on a Windows platform.
• Solidworks is among the more demanding programs you’ll come across in the curriculum, so you may want to familiarize yourself with those specifications (https://www.solidworks.com/support/system-requirements) before buying.
• Chromebooks are NOT recommended.

Nursing Majors

• At Messiah, we use Windows or Mac for Examplify (testing software)
• We do not use iPads
• Examplify will not run on Chromebook, Android, or Linux operating systems
• Touchscreens on laptops will be disabled during testing on Examplify and a mouse and keyboard will be necessary to answer questions
• Minimum System Requirements - ExamSoft

Visual Arts & Music Majors

• Mac LAPTOPS are required for Visual Arts majors. 
• Macs are recommended for Music majors.

With a wide variety of cell phone carriers and building locations, it is difficult to predict cell coverage in all buildings and every part of the campus for each carrier. 

What we know

• Several troublesome buildings have enhanced signals for AT&T and Verizon networks and those networks provide a good outdoor signal as well. 
• As typical with cellular, there are troublesome areas for most carriers
• Messiah communicates concerns to cellular carriers as opportunities arise

Wifi Calling

Depending on your phone and carrier, you may be able to enable WiFi Calling which can assist in areas with low signal.  Some people have had good success with this option while others have not; it seems to depend on the phone/carrier combination which are many.

If your role requires you to participate via the Internet from off-campus, please be aware that the quality of your connection is impacted by a number of issues that are outside of Messiah University's control.

• Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may impose limits on customer connection speeds that are unsuitable for videoconferencing. (See this list regarding ISP ratings and quality of service, specifically the upload/download speeds they provide, is most important; higher is better)
• Whether your ISP delivers access to your area with Cable or Fiber
• The capabilities and age of your modem (older is often unable to take advantage of higher speeds)
• A wired connection to your router/modem is highly recommended for video conferencing.

Do I need to bring a computer to Messiah University?

Messiah University does not require students to bring their own computers. There are 13 labs on campus with over 250 computers available to students 24 hours a day. Note: Mac laptops are required for Art majors.  Mac laptops are recommended for Music majors.

What should I bring with me to connect to the network?

Wi-Fi is available in the residences and throughout most of the campus. If your computer has Wi-Fi built-in then you do not need to bring anything to connect to the network.

In each residence hall or campus apartment bedroom, there is only one live network jack. Students do need to provide their own network cables. This means that if two or more students in the same room wish to connect to the internet with a wired connection, they will need to have a ethernet hub. A limited number of hubs are available from ETS - Technology Support located on the first floor of Old Main.  A network cable is required for each PC (10-15ft is recommended) plus one to connect the hub to the live jack in the wall.

NOTICE: DO NOT bring a router (wireless or wired) as you will be prevented from connecting through one as routers tend to interfere with our network