You should have a basic understanding of your computer and a basic understanding of browsers and the Microsoft Office applications. Computer requirements may change depending on which course and which applications are being used.

Not Recommended

Work assigned computers (often setup to restrict which networks and software you can use. We don't recommend using a work assigned computer unless you have admin permissions. Most company VPN do not work on RRU network)
Chromebooks (RRU Office 365 license not available on Chromebooks)
Mobile Devices (Tablets can be used for most basic tasks, however you might find some of the more complicated tasks difficult to perform on a tablet)

Recommended Computer Requirements:

	Windows	Mac
Operating System	Windows 10+	Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey (Microsoft only provides Office 365 support for the 3 latest versions of MacOS.) SPSS requires macOS Catalina 10.15 or Big Sur 11
Processor	4-Cores+, 2Ghz+	4-Cores+, 2Ghz+
Memory (RAM)	16GB+	16GB+
Web Browser	Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge	Chrome or Firefox
Office Suite	Microsoft Office 365 (RRU offers MS Office 365 free to all staff, faculty, associate faculty and students that are actively studying in a credit program. This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)	Microsoft Office 365 (RRU offers MS Office 365 free to all staff, faculty, associate faculty and students that are actively studying in a credit program. This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)
Antivirus	MalwareBytes	MalwareBytes
Internet Service	5Mbps Download / 5Mbps Upload - Internet Speed Test - Measure Network Performance \| Cloudflare Please note that it is strongly recommended that you have access to Internet from home. Expecting to access your course from your work internet or a public network like a library or coffee shop is not practical due to the high volume and tight deadlines that you can expect in some courses	5Mbps Download / 5Mbps Upload - Internet Speed Test - Measure Network Performance \| Cloudflare Please note that it is strongly recommended that you have access to Internet from home. Expecting to access your course from your work internet or a public network like a library or coffee shop is not practical due to the high volume and tight deadlines that you can expect in some courses
Peripherals	Headset with microphone Webcam	Headset with microphone Webcam
E-Mail Capability	Access to e-mail through an e-mail program or web-based e-mail system - Recommended: Gmail Please see our information regarding government and Microsoft accounts.	Access to e-mail through an e-mail program or web-based e-mail system - Recommended: Gmail Please see our information regarding government and Microsoft accounts.
Recommended Hardware when in residence	Network Cable (not required but useful, 10-20ft) Small Portable Printer (helpful, but not necessary) USB Flash Drive No Routers please	Network Cable (not required but useful, 10-20ft) Small Portable Printer (helpful, but not necessary) USB Flash Drive No Routers please Apple AV Adapter if you need to connect to an external display.
Other*	A cloud storage location can help keep things organized. Many services available. OneDrive has Canadian data center and is provided free with Microsoft Office 365. (This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)	A cloud storage location can help keep things organized. Many services available. iCloud for Mac can be useful as well. OneDrive has Canadian data center and is provided free with Microsoft Office 365. (This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)
Mobile Devices*	(Although tablets have made great leaps in the past few years, tablets still have limitations that may make using it as your only connection to Royal Roads difficult. Using some of the apps below will assist you in access Royal Roads resources however we still recommend using a desktop or laptop computer for the bulk of your RRU studies. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us by telephone and we would be pleased to discuss this with you) For the latest list of Moodle apps that work with Moodle, please visit here. The free Mail for Android or Mail for iOS apps that come with the devices will work fine for accessing your RRU email if you want to keep it separate Microsoft Office for Mobile (free, iOS, Android) apps provide full functionality with a free RRU Microsoft Office 365 account. (This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)

Minimum Computer Requirements:

	Windows	Macintosh
Operating System	Recommended: Windows 8 or higher (Chromebook not recommended as some external tools do not have Chromebook related apps) (Linux not recommended unless extremely familiar with it's usage or Windows Emulator) (See comment below about mobile devices)	Recommended: One of the 3 most recent releases (Microsoft Office 365 can only guarantee support on the current release of Mac OS, plus two previous versions. Older versions may work, but may have issues) (please see Known Issues) (IOS not recommended as some external tools do not have iOS related apps, See comment below about mobile devices)
Processor	Recommended: 1.6 GHz or faster, 2-core	Recommended: Intel processor
Memory (RAM)	Recommended: 4 GB+	Recommended: 4 GB+
Internet Browser	Recommended: Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge Please note that Internet Explorer is no longer supported.	Recommended: Chrome or Firefox Please note that Internet Explorer is no longer supported.
Office Suite	Required: Microsoft Office 2016 or higher. (RRU offers MS Office 365 free to all staff, faculty, associate faculty and students that are actively studying in a credit program, This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)	Required: Microsoft Office 2014 or higher (RRU offers MS Office 365 free to all staff, faculty, associate faculty and students that are actively studying in a credit program, This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)
Antivirus	Recommended: See Top Antivirus for Windows	Recommended: See Top Antivirus for Mac
Anti-Malware	Recommended: Windows Defender (free) or MalwareBytes	Recommended: MalwareBytes
Internet Service	Recommended: DSL, Cable, or Satellite with at least 2mbps upload speed (the faster the better) Please note that it is strongly recommended that you have access to Internet from home. Expecting to access your course from your work internet or a public network like a library or coffee shop is not practical due to the high volume and tight deadlines that you can expect in some courses	Recommended: DSL, Cable, or Satellite with at least 2mbps upload speed (the faster the better) Please note that it is strongly recommended that you have access to Internet from home. Expecting to access your course from your work internet or a public network like a library or coffee shop is not practical due to the high volume and tight deadlines that you can expect in some courses
Peripherals	Microphone: Recommend headset with microphone to limit background noise Webcam: Recommend 320X240 VGA resolution minimum	Microphone: Recommend headset with microphone to limit background noise Webcam: Recommend 320X240 VGA resolution minimum
E-Mail Capability	Access to e-mail through an e-mail program or web-based e-mail system - Recommended: Gmail Please see our information regarding government and Microsoft accounts.	Access to e-mail through an e-mail program or web-based e-mail system - Recommended: Gmail Please see our information regarding government and Microsoft accounts.
Recommended Hardware when in residence	Network Cable (not required but useful, 10-20ft) Small Portable Printer (helpful, but not necessary) USB Flash Drive No Routers please	Network Cable (not required but useful, 10-20ft) VGA adaptor to allow your MAC to connect to the classroom projectors Small Portable Printer (helpful, but not necessary) USB Flash Drive No Routers please
Other*	A cloud storage location can help keep things organised. Many services available. OneDrive has Canadian data center and is provided free with Microsoft Office 365. (This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)	A cloud storage location can help keep things organised. Many services available. iCloud for Mac can be useful as well. OneDrive has Canadian data center and is provided free with Microsoft Office 365. (This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)
Mobile Devices*	(Although tablets have made great leaps in the past few years, tablets still have limitations that may make using it as your only connection to Royal Roads difficult. Using some of the apps below will assist you in access Royal Roads resources however we still recommend using a desktop or laptop computer for the bulk of your RRU studies. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us by telephone and we would be pleased to discuss this with you) For the latest list of Moodle apps that work with Moodle, please visit here. The free Mail for Android or Mail for iOS apps that come with the devices will work fine for accessing your RRU email if you want to keep it separate Microsoft Office for Mobile (free, iOS, Android) apps provide full functionality with a free RRU Microsoft Office 365 account (This is not available to Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS) Students)

*RRU does not endorse nor support the 3rd party applications listed above. The apps and software listed above are suggestions only and should be used at your own discretion.

Important Information

Some courses may have additional and/or alternate computer requirements. Please check with the academic department for your program.

If you will be accessing your course through your employer's network, please check with your work's IT department to verify computer and network access. As noted above Internet Explorer is no longer supported. If that is the only browser allowed at your company, you will be unable to access most of your course information while at your company.

Downloadable Copy -

IT-Services Knowledge Base

Computer Requirements for Online Learning

Not Recommended

Recommended Computer Requirements:

Minimum Computer Requirements:

Important Information

How to Contact the Computer Services Department