INFORMATION FOR NEW MAE STUDENTS

We recommend that you wait until early summer for the latest laptop models. Technology changes quickly and you may end up purchasing an older model if you buy it now.

Hardware Requirements

These are the minimum and recommended hardware requirements for your laptop. The MINIMUM requirements are what we feel will be the bare minimum configuration for your laptop. The RECOMMENDED requirements are what we feel will be the optimal configuration for your laptop.

	RECOMMENDED	MINIMUM
Processor	Intel 5th Generation Core-i5 > 2 GHz *	Intel 3rd Generation Core-i5 > 2 GHz *
Hard Drive	250+ GB SSD	250 GB
Memory (RAM)	8+ GB	6 GB
Video Card	Dedicated Graphics	Integrated Graphics
Warranty	3 Years parts and labor + Accidental Protection	3 Years parts and labor
Wireless	802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g
Region	U.S. only	U.S. only

* 5th Generation Intel Core processors are more robust than 3rd Generation processors, and i7 processors are more robust than i5 processors.  This is strictly a price to performance decision – whatever you prefer.  We do not recommend Intel Core-M processors.

Mac Computers

Mac laptops are acceptable to use as primary computers for study at MAE, although educational software for courses is only available for Windows environments. Windows is required on Mac laptops. Installation of the Windows OS on all Apple laptops is required prior to beginning laptop configuration.

Mac users have the option of installing a Windows operating system on their computer either using Boot Camp (native to Mac OS) or via a virtual machine (a third party solution, such as Parallels or VMware Fusion).  If you plan to use a virtual machine, please be advised to have a minimum of 8 GB of RAM. 

For more information on Boot Camp visit Apple – Boot Camp.
For more information on Parallels visit Parallels Desktop for Mac.
For more information on Fusion visit VMware Fusion.

Tablets

Tablets (Apple’s iPad, Android tablets, Windows RT tablets, etc.) do not meet the minimum hardware requirements for UCLA Anderson School of Management. While these devices are useful secondary devices, they cannot replace your primary laptop, and do not meet the laptop requirement. Tablets are suitable for consuming content (checking e-mail, surfing the Internet, watching a video) but they are not compatible with educational software necessary to produce the coursework in your program.