Recommended Technology for Faculty and Staff
DoIT encourages faculty or staff to consider a laptop, but understands that some people prefer a desktop. As part of our commitment to support the use of technology on campus please see the following resources:
- Software Downloads (note requires you log in with your myUMBC.EDU account. We have site licenses for faculty and staff to use.
- Virtual Computer Lab - if you are teaching, please be aware students may access our specialized course software from their own computer.
- Cloud storage through Box or Google Drive. UMBC provides 25 GB of storage on box.com for each account, more upon request. We also provision all everyone with a Google drive account.
- Blackboard - Getting started for Faculty
- Email and Calendar - Using Email and Calendar applications at UMBC.
- Getting support - Submitting a request ticket or contacting the Technology Support Center
PCs
Laptop
- Core i7 or higher Processor
- 16 GB RAM (minimum)
- 256 GB (minimum) solid state hard drive
- Internal NIC (network card)
- Touch enabled screen (optional)
- Full HD webcam
- Video card capable of HDMI video
- 802.11ac wireless card + Bluetooth (internal)
- TPM 2.0 Enabled
- 3 year next business day onsite warranty with accidental damage protection
- PXE boot Ethernet adapter if the laptop does not have an Ethernet port
- Optional USB DVD +/- RW
Recommended models include: 14 inch Dell Latitude 5440 or 7440, Mobile Precision 3480 (also an option with a GPU), and the Mobile Precision 5470
Desktop
Minimum Specs
- Core i7 Processor
- 16 GB RAM (minimum)
- 256 GB (minimum) solid state hard drive.
- HDMI capable Video Card
- TPM 2.0 Enabled
- 3 year next business day onsite warranty
- DVD +/- RW
- Internal NIC (network card)
- Dual band wireless in All-in-One models
Recommended models include: Dell OptiPlex 7010 Mini Tower and OptiPlex 7410 All-in-One (include dual-band wireless)
Macintosh
Laptop
- Apple M2 Processor (minimum, M2 Pro or Max for MacBook Pro)
- 16 GB of RAM (minimum)
- 256 GB solid state hard drive (minimum)
- AppleCare+ (3 or 4 year) for warranty protection which includes accidental damage
- Recommended that Faculty purchase an USB-C to HDMI video adapter for use in classrooms if not 14-inch+ MacBook Pro (integrated HDMI port)
Recommended models include: 14 inch MacBook Pro (integrated HDMI port), 13 inch MacBook Air (M2) with Retina Display
Desktop
Minimum Specs
- Apple M1 Processor (M1, two ports)
- Minimum 16 GB of RAM
- Minimum 256 GB solid state hard drive
- Gigabit Ethernet
- AppleCare+ for warranty protection which includes accidental damage
Recommended models include: iMac 24 inch (M1, four ports). We do not at this time recommend the 27 inch iMac (2020) due to its internal components not being refreshed in the past 3 years