The School requires that students obtain access to a professional-grade computer
Students admitted to the BYU School of Communications will be required to have a laptop or notebook computer for use in class. While tablets, netbooks, and other mobile devices may at times be useful, the School requires that students obtain access to a professional-grade computer with sufficient processing power and memory to complete assignments. It must be Wi-Fi capable.
The School of Communications does not require specific brands of computers and recognizes that students are most productive using computer platforms with which they are most comfortable. However, the faculty offers the following guidance:
Journalism: While writing can be done on any computer, the faculty recommends students have their own laptops with at least 16GB of RAM, especially if they are engaging in multimedia work for the web, video production, or web design. Students in the journalism sequence will use Adobe Creative applications, which may vary based on their coursework. The Universe and Newsline newsrooms each hosts both Windows and Mac computers.
Public Relations: Students should have laptop computers that run either Windows or Mac OS. Laptops should have a minimum of 8 gigabytes of RAM in order for students to run the Adobe Creative Suite, the Microsoft Office Suite, and other programs that can be downloaded from cloudapps.byu.edu (e.g., IBM SPSS Statistics). Students must be able to plug an HDMI cable into their laptops either through an existing port or through an adapter (this is specifically needed for classes in the research room).
Public Relations students will need smartphones for the Visual Communications class. Students should have a smartphone and be able to purchase and run mobile video and editing apps (e.g., FILMIC Pro and LumaFusion).
Advertising: Students should have the latest model MacBook Pro or comparable laptop (90% of our industry utilizes Macintosh Computers). The computer must be powerful enough to run the latest versions of these programs:
Adobe Creative Suite – Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier, Acrobat
Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel
Keynote, Pages, iMovie (Come free with a Mac computer)
Software: Students can access a variety of software programs through BYU’s software distribution center (login required).
For further guidance on required equipment and software, contact a member of the faculty in your communications emphasis.