New Students

Recommendation to have own laptop computer for learning

It will be expected to meet an occasion of daily computer use for confirming class registration, grade, and other information about your courses on the website after enrollment.
ILAS (Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences) will recommend you to have and use your own laptop computer at the campus for learning at ILAS courses.

Please refer to the following information about purchasing laptop computer and computer specifications
・ILAS (Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences) recommend you use laptop computer but it is not compulsory to carry your own laptop computer always with you.
・it’s unnecessary to buy another laptop computer even if your computer does not meet the specifications below.
・SSD (Solid State Drive) is recommended but generally it is more expensive than HDD (Hard Disc Drive). Please take the recommendation into consideration.
・Some departments give notes to their students. Please also take them into account.

1. Recommend Computer Specifications

  • 1.1 Hard Ware
    • Display: Diagona10 inches or more
    • Memory: 4GB or more
    • Flash Storage(SSD): 128GB or more (Considering start-up speed and power saving at the campus, fault tolerance by bicycle attending schooetc.)
    • Processor: Intesystem multi-core CPU
    • Battery drive time: 8 hours or more (There’s no charging equipment at the campus, so it’s expected to charge at home to use for a whole day.)
    • Need keyboard【detachable 2 in 1 type etc. is possible】 (Tablet-type device without keyboard is not fit to use for writing papers etc.)
    • Wireless LAN: IEEE 802.lla/b/g/n (available for ac is more desirable)
    • Screen output: VGA output or HDMI output (both of them are more desirable). However, VGA output or HDMI output is unnecessary in case that conversion adapter etc. is available.
    • Voice input/output: microphone input termina(monaural/stereo）, audio output termina(stereo). However, it is unnecessary in case that conversion adapter or Bluetooth etc. is available.
    • USB 3.0 port ×1 or more. However, it is unnecessary in case that conversion adapter etc. is available.
    • Not specified : outside drive (camera，DVD, etc.), weight
  • 1.2 Soft Ware
    • Operating System: Windows or Mac OS X
      (Expired maker support is not available. Please pay close attention that Windows7 support ends on January 14, 2020.)
    • Office application: Microsoft Office 【Word, Excel, PowerPoint is available to use】（They’re often used for writing papers, making presentation materials etc. Also comprehensive contract version is available inexpensively at Kyoto University CO-OP.)
    • Anti-virus software: Must be introduced. Windows Defender bundled with Windows 8.1 and 10 is enough.

2. Caution Points of Carrying a laptop compute

  • Be sure to charge a computer battery at home.
  • Be careful not to damage for dropping etc. when you carry on the bicycle (especially putting in the basket of bicycle).
  • Be careful not to be stolen everywhere when you carry.
  • Establish a proper password for your compute.

3. Notice of Each Faculty

  • Students at the faculty of Science do not need to purchase an expensive computers in a hurry because there are diverse specialized fields in the faculty of Science and the specifications required performance for computers are different depending on the field.
    If you have your own computer, there is no problem in using it for the first year. And also there is a computer room at the faculty of science which the students at the faculty of science can use.
    However, you are recommended to have your own computer because you may use it frequently to make a report etc. If you do not have a computer, and if you can afford to purchase it at the moment, we recommend to purchase it on this occasion. As mentioned before, it does not have to be a computer with a high performance at this time. Please consider that the specifications above are just for reference. It would not be too late to purchase a computer with required performance for the specialized field after you decide the field you would learn.
  • Students at the faculty of medicine are recommended to have computers with 8 GB or more for memory and 64 bit version for OS if it’s Windows10, considering the use at major courses.
  • Students at the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences are recommended to have computers with 8 GB or more for memory.
  • Students at the faculty of engineering (School of electrical and electronic engineering) has experiment/practical training using the tool of Windows.
  • Students at the faculty of engineering (School of Informatics and Mathematical Science) are recommended to have computers with 8 GB or more for memory."
  • Students at the faculty of Agriculture (Agricultural and Environmental Engineering) are recommended to have computers with 8 GB or more for memory and 256 GB or more SSD storage, considering the use at major courses.