Technology Requirements for 2024-2025 academic year

All majors in the School of Media and Journalism are required to purchase a laptop computer for their classes. A MacBook Air, Chromebook, iPad, tablet, or a similar device is NOT sufficient for these classes.

We recommend purchasing your laptop computer in the summer before your first semester at Kent State AFTER you attend your orientation program to be sure that the requirements are up-to-date.

Laptop Computer – Minimum Approved Hardware

  • Apple (Mac) or Windows (PC) Laptop*
  • 13+" Display
  • Intel Core i7 processor or Apple M3 or M3 Pro Chip (M1 and M2 also sufficient)
  • 16GB RAM/unified memory
  • 512 GB Hard Drive; 1 TB recommended for video majors 

*For majors that are design, video, or graphic intensive, a MacBook Pro is Recommended.

Kent State Student Discounts

Back-to-school specials are available at the Kent State University Bookstore at (330) 672-2762 or visit their website at https://kent.bncollege.com/. It is also strongly recommended that students purchase an upgraded three-year computer warranty.

Software – Recommended and Required Subscriptions

Microsoft Office is FREE for Kent State students: http://support.kent.edu/office

Adobe Creative Cloud* is only $75/year for Kent State students: http://software.kent.edu

*You can wait to purchase your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription until you need it in your first semester classes so that you can get the most out of your purchase.

Other Recommendations (optional)

1TB external hard drive for transferring media files

Questions?

Please email cci@kent.edu with questions about the requirements and purchasing your laptop computer.

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