The School of Nursing requires students to own a laptop for use at home or while in the building. If you already own a laptop that you wish to use for school work, ideally it should be no older than three years with sufficient processing power and memory to run current versions of Microsoft Office, and possibly more demanding applications such as statistical software. If you need to purchase a new laptop, recommended minimum requirements are listed below. Additionally, reliable high speed Internet is essential and required for every student.
Faculty may require you to use your personal laptop for course related work, so you should be prepared to bring your laptop with you to class fully charged. A few rooms within the school are equipped with power, but not all. The school supports a high-speed wireless network with coverage throughout all of the school buildings. The SON Help Desk, part of an array of IT services offered by the ITS department, offers on-site technical help for students, including limited support of student laptops.
New Laptop Purchases
If you plan to purchase a new laptop before starting your studies, we strongly encourage you to purchase a laptop computer recommended by the Johns Hopkins Mobile Computing Program (MCP).
The JHU MCP works with Apple and Dell to create offerings for students that are reasonably priced, powerful enough to run most applications that you’ll need during your course of study, and with support and warranty coverage that is better than what you typically get when purchasing a laptop outside of the MCP program. Additionally, if you purchase a laptop through this program, authorized Apple and Dell warranty repair services for MCP systems are provided by Technical Assistance (Authorized Apple Service Provider) in Garland Hall on the Homewood campus.
Minimum Requirements
The School of Nursing recommends the purchase of a Windows or Mac laptop. The SON Help Desk is able to provide limited repair service for Dell laptops. On-site authorized Apple and Dell warranty repair services for MCP systems are provided by Technical Assistance (Authorized Apple Service Provider) in Garland Hall on the Homewood campus (https://it.johnshopkins.edu/it-services/solution-center). You can also receive Apple repair service from the Apple stores in Towson, Columbia, or the Johns Hopkins Tech Hub (techhub.jh.edu) on the East Baltimore campus.
NOTE: Chromebooks and many tablets will NOT meet the minimum requirements for our programs. These include iPads, Android tablets, Windows RT tablets, and all Chromebooks. You should choose a laptop that runs either the full version of Windows or Mac OSX. For Windows, we recommend Windows 10 Pro (as opposed to Home version) as the Pro version allows you to encrypt your hard drive if you are ever working with sensitive data.
| Dell Latitude (preferred) or Inspiron | MacBook Pro or MacBook Air |
|---|---|
Accessories – Webcam and Headset
Students should be sure their laptop includes an integrated webcam. If your laptop does not have a camera, you can purchase an external USB web cam (we recommend Logitech or Microsoft). You should also purchase a decent headset. Headsets in the range of $20 or less tend not to be comfortable and of poor quality, so we recommend headsets in the price range of $30-$40. We recommend Sennheiser or Logitech models, although Plantronics and Microsoft models are suitable also.
Cameras and headsets may be needed if you participate in an online course, if a class is held online during a weather-related closing, or if an exam is delivered electronically using a remote proctoring service.
How to Purchase
Visit Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Tech Hub online here https://techhub.jh.edu or visit their physical store at the address listed on their website.
If you prefer to purchase a laptop without going through Hopkins, this is also fine. Just be sure that you obtain a laptop meeting the minimum recommendations, and also be sure to ask if there is an educational discount. Apple usually offers student discounts on MacBook laptops. You may need to show proof of your student status.
Internet Service ReQUIREMENT
Access to high speed Internet (cable, fiber, or DSL service) is required for a successful computing experience. You will always have access to the Internet via WiFi anywhere on a Hopkins campus. However, if an unforeseen event shuts down access to Hopkins campuses, it is the responsibility of every student to ensure they have an alternative option for Internet access. Satellite Internet access is not recommended due to high latency (delay in transmission of data).
If you plan to conduct school work in a public location (non-JHU library, coffee shop, etc.) or at work, the SON cannot guarantee that all applications used in various courses will work due to restrictions on public and corporate networks that are beyond our control. Additionally, students should be advised that an event that shuts down access to the Hopkins campus might also result in the inability to access the Internet at other locations such as coffee shops and libraries. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that every student have reliable Internet connectivity established where they are living prior to beginning their program. If you work in another hospital and plan to use Internet access there, be aware that they often have very restrictive firewalls in place that may inhibit access to online videos, web conferencing, and other similar applications that some of our courses require.
JHED Account
Your JHED ID is your login for access to most Hopkins systems, as well as access to some third-party services such as Office 365. You will receive an email with information about how to activate your JHED account approximately 200 days before the first day of class.
Software
You are encouraged to obtain a copy of the latest version of Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac. You can obtain one free copy by logging into http://portal.office365.com/. When logging into Office 365, the username will be in the form [email protected] (note that this is jh.edu and not jhu.edu), and you should be redirected to the Hopkins single sign-on screen. After logging in, click the “Install Office” tab to see download options for Office.
Students are encouraged to install antivirus software. There are several free and subscription based antivirus options for personally owned Windows and Mac computers. For your convenience, the SON has provided some information on those options in its knowledge base, see https://wiki.nursing.jhu.edu/x/YgCuAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the SON require that a laptop be no more than 3 years old? While it is possible that a machine older than 3 years will perform adequately during your entire program, machines this old are more likely to experience hardware and software problems. Hard drive failures in particular become increasingly common. SON programs are very fast paced and a laptop failure or poor performance could hinder your success as classes increasingly rely on technology.
You may also be interested in other Student Frequently Asked Questions available here https://wiki.nursing.jhu.edu/x/XoAuBQ
Contact Us
If you have questions about these laptop recommendations, please contact the SON Help Desk via e-mail or phone, [email protected] or 410-614-8800.