{"id":12121,"date":"2024-12-02T14:35:40","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T19:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/wle\/?page_id=12121"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:30:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:30:58","slug":"laptop-computer-requirement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/wle\/undergraduate-program\/laptop-computer-requirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Laptop Computer Requirement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Computer proficiency is a critical job skill for professionals working in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. During your time at UMaine, you will need a computer for almost every course you take, and in your classes you will learn a variety of software applications that are used on a daily basis by working fish and wildlife professionals.&nbsp; So that you are prepared to engage with your courses and to learn the tools needed for your careers, we require all students to have a well-equipped and functional laptop computer capable of running a Microsoft Windows operating system (Windows 11 or newer). It is important to have a Windows-based computer as there are a number of specialized softwares important to our field that only run on Windows.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Alternatives to laptops, such as <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>netbooks, tablets, ipads, and chromebooks will not function for all your courses, and are not a viable alternative.&nbsp; Many of your classes will require you to use your computer for in-class labs, assignments, or exercises, and so a desktop computer will also not meet your computing needs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any Windows-based PC laptop available from the UMaine Bookstore should be sufficient for any coursework required of students for their degree.&nbsp; Below we provide recommendations for two laptops currently available for purchase from the UMaine Bookstore.&nbsp; You may be eligible to apply your institutional financial aid towards the cost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Recommended<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/bookstore.umaine.edu\/DELL-Inspiron-16-Plus-32-GB-1TB?quantity=1&amp;custcol_nsts_csic_web_purchase_type=1\">Dell Inspiron 16 plus, available <\/a>from the UMaine Bookstore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Minimum acceptable<\/em>:<a href=\"https:\/\/bookstore.umaine.edu\/Dell-Inspiron-3530-16GB-512GB?quantity=1&amp;custcol_nsts_csic_web_purchase_type=1\"> Dell Inspiron 3530, available <\/a>from the UMaine Bookstore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are not required to purchase your laptop through the UMaine bookstore &#8211; other laptops that match the system requirements described for these computers are also acceptable.&nbsp; We recommend at least the following minimums:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Windows 11\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>16 GB RAM (minimum) 32 GB (preferred)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A dedicated graphics card.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>500 GB storage\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Computer proficiency is a critical job skill for professionals working in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. During your time at UMaine, you will need a computer for almost every course you take, and in your classes you will learn a variety of software applications that are used on a daily basis by working fish and wildlife [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2652,"featured_media":0,"parent":14,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12121","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Laptop Computer Requirement - Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology - University of Maine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/wle\/undergraduate-program\/laptop-computer-requirement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Laptop Computer Requirement - Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology - University of Maine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Computer proficiency is a critical job skill for professionals working in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. 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