All MAE students are required to have a laptop/mobile computer in accordance with HWCOE policy.  Information on this policy is available at this link https://www.eng.ufl.edu/students/resources/computer-requirements/

Courses in the MAE department use the following specialized software packages: MATLAB, SolidWorks, and LabView.  Occasionally additional software is used in some courses.  Arrangements will be made at the start of each course to access or obtain the necessary software (often at substantially lower cost than ordering directly from the vendors).   While the MAE department does not recommend any particular computer brand or model, we have found that following the guidelines below avoid most common computer related problems:

– Use a computer that natively runs Windows.  Students attempting to use Mac or MacBook machines generally experience difficulty running software needed for the courses and the department does not support use of these computers.

– Use a computer with plenty of RAM.  16 GB of RAM or more is preferred.

– Use a solid state hard drive with at least 250 GB and preferably 500 GB or more capacity.

– A quad-core processor is desired.

– Please see the system requirements for SolidWorks here: (https://www.solidworks.com/support/system-requirements)

– Consider getting an external display to use at home in addition to the built in display, especially if you have a laptop with a relatively small built in display.