YES. Access to a personal computer is essential for completion of all NJIT degree programs. Although the university provides a large number of public computing facilities on campus, freshman without access at their places of residence may not have sufficient time to complete all assignments.

YES.  If your system meets or exceeds baseline university specifications, then you may use your own computer.  For those using your own computer, you will be given instructions on how to download the NJIT software bundle during Miniversity, NJIT’s freshman orientation program held during the Summer of 2011.  If you use your own computer not purchased through the NJIT-Dell partner program however, you will be responsible for the installation and configuration of all software yourself, as well as all hardware support.

Contact NJIT’s IST Computing Helpdesk at 973-596-2900 with your details. A simple hardware upgrade to your existing machine may be all that may be needed for it to meet baseline specifications.  Students enrolling in the Collegte of Architecture and Design must purchase the recommended desktop model.

If you want to use an AMD processor, NJIT strongly recommends at least a dual-core Athlon for a desktop, and at least a dual-core Turion for a laptop. Duron and Sempron processors are not acceptable for use at NJIT.

If you are using a Macintosh computer, NJIT requires an Intel-based Mac with a dedicated graphics card. These models include the iMac desktop, the 15” MacBook Pro notebooks or greater and all MacPro workstations. Lesser machines, Mac Mini desktops, and MacBook notebooks do not support dedicated video, and are not acceptable for use at NJIT.

Please note, even though Macintosh computers with PowerPC processors came equipped with dedicated video, many of these models are out-of date or unsupported by Apple, and therefore are not suitable for use at NJIT.

In general you may use a notebook computer as long as it meets or exceeds the minimum baseline specifications.  However, students enrolling in the College of Architecture and Design must purchase the recommended desktop model.  This is due to the graphics-intensive nature of the curriculum and the need to use specially licensed software.    

Yes. Transfer students are subject to the computer requirement in place for the class level into which they enter. Undergraduate transfer students entering the College of Architecture and Design should plan to purchase the College of Architecture and Design model for their first-year studio classes, and should plan to keep it in the Architecture studio. All other transfer students should plan to have access to a computer that meets or exceeds baseline specs in their place of residence. Non College of Architecture and Design transfers are eligible to purchase any of the computer models available from the NJIT-Dell program. All transfer students will be eligible for the NJIT software bundle at no charge.

Students who live off-campus are encouraged to subscribe to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) through either a cable modem, FIOS or DSL broadband high-speed connection. Use of a broadband ISP along with NJIT’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides high-speed access to most of the campus-based proprietary information services. You can access NJIT network services just as if you were on campus in the library, a computer lab, or residence hall room.

Students in the residence halls have their own 100 Mbps Ethernet connection. This connection provides access to all campus services as well as to the internet and is intended for schoolwork use. Wireless coverage in the residence halls is very limited due to the cinder block construction materials required for resident safety. 

Some courses or academic programs may have additional specialized software requirements students must license individually.

NJIT released Windows 7 and Office 2007 for daily use to the NJIT community. Windows 7 was released for daily use in Fall 2010 – please check our website below for updates.

The College of Architecture and Design curriculum requires specialized software that needs to be loaded onto your computer and its license to NJIT restricts use to the NJIT campus.  In addition, the studio model of instruction is a highly collaborative experience and you will use your computer extensively in studio. Architecture studios are available 24 hours per day during the academic semester.

Every NJIT student self-creates a University Computing ID (UCID). The UCID@njit.edu serves as a student’s official NJIT e-mail address.  The UCID will be listed in the Campus Directory and faculty members are given this address so they may contact students regarding academic and class-related matters. Students are responsible for signing on to this account and checking for new mail at this address on a regular basis while enrolled at NJIT. 

NJIT employs Dell-certified technicians in Academic Computing Services (ACS). These technicians can diagnose and repair hardware and software issues for any computer purchased through the NJIT-Dell Partnership Program. As long as these computers are under warranty, NJIT can provide the following support:

• For hardware issues, our relationship with Dell allows us to order and install warranty replacement parts from Dell for these computers. We cannot install parts obtained from a third-party, or offer hardware support if the machine is out of warranty.
• For software issues, since we build the original hard drive images for each computer model, we can reimage any of these computers to their original factory state. This does not include non-NJIT software.

Because the cost of a computer is an educational expense, it can be included in the calculation for financial aid eligibility. Your computer purchase transaction is between you and the vendor however; your computer purchase cannot be added to your NJIT bill. Many computer vendors, including Dell, offer payment plans which provide the opportunity to pay over time.