VCU School of Medicine Laptop Requirements

VCU School of Medicine requires all medical students to own a laptop computer. The goal is to provide an educational environment that promotes the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in technologically advanced clinical and research workplaces.

Students are expected to bring a laptop for ALL exams.

Laptop computers must meet the VCU Student Computer Initiative (SCI) minimum requirements. In addition, School of Medicine student laptops are required to have digital video output and any necessary adapters to convert it to HDMI. This ensures a proper HDMI connection to the collaboration tables in the Learning Studios.

Students are expected to bring their laptop to class every day for use in classroom activities, self-paced learning materials, case studies, exams, quizzes, conferences, presentations and evaluations.

Students are expected to bring the peripherals necessary to use the laptop in the classroom and for exams, such as power supply, mouse, MiniDisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter, USB C to HDMI adapter Thunderbolt-to-HDMI adapter, Ethernet adapter, etc.

Minimum Requirements

• RAM: 8GB minimum

• CPU:

  • Intel: i5 or greater

  • AMD: Ryzen 3 or greater

  • Mac: M1 or greater

• Hard Drive: 250GB SSD or greater

• Operating System: Windows 10 Pro or greater (no Mobile editions) 64-bit

• Connectivity:

  • Wi-Fi 802.11 g/n (or greater)

  • Ethernet port and/or adaptor

  • 2 USB ports

• 13" screen

• Webcamera

• Video out Digital output (HDMI or Mini DisplayPort)

Recommended

• RAM: 16GB or greater

• CPU:

  • Intel: i5 or greater

  • AMD: Ryzen 5 or greater

  • MAC: M1 or greater

• Hard Drive: 500GB SSD or greater

• Operating System: Windows 10 Pro or greater (no Mobile editions) 64-bit

• Connectivity:

  • Wi-Fi 802.11 g/n (or greater)

  • Ethernet port or adaptor

  • 4+ USB 3.0 ports

• 15" screen

• Video out Digital output (HDMI for Windows laptops)

iPads, Android and other tablets, netbooks, Chromebooks, smart phones, eReaders and similar devices are not suitable replacements for a laptop computer.

Additional Hardware Requirements

• Students are required to provide their own Ethernet cable (plus any necessary adapter) to connect to Ethernet ports during exam sessions.

• Students are required to provide their own video adapters in order