General YSPH Computer Recommendations:

These are basic recommendations only. At this time there are no requirements for YSPH students to own computers or laptops. The YSPH faculty assumes that students have access to their own computers or have access to the EPH student computer lab. This lab has 30 Dell computers outfitted with the software used in the YSPH curriculum.

The university has worked with Dell, Apple and Lenovo to offer some computer packages for students. More info is at http://www.yale.edu/its/stc/purchase/purchasing.html.

A few things to consider:

  • For an all around good computer with the best deal, we recommend one of the Dell Latitudes offered theough the link above. They make a good computer, with a decent price, and with an important extended warranty.
  • SAS, one of the major statistical software packages we use here, needs MS XP Pro or MS Vista Business or MS Vista Ultimate in order to run. It will not run on the "Home" editions of these MS operating systems.
  • SAS, one of the major statistical software packages we use here, does not run natively on the Apple Mac OS. You can run it under Windows on a newer Mac computer, but it will take effort on your part to set it up. That said, 20% of our students report owning a Mac.
  • Microsoft Office: When you get here you will be able to cheaply purchase Microsoft Office, and you will also be able to get other Microsoft software packages for free.
  • As an EPH student you can connect a laptop to the campus network via an Ethernet card or a Wireless Ethernet card. Any Ethernet card should work. For Wireless Ethernet Yale has a growing 802.11b wireless network (also known as "wi-fi."). We will loan a Wireless Ethernet card to any EPH student, but having it built into the laptop is more convenient for you.
  • When buying a computer, be certain to inquire about the warranty, particularly about the turnaround time for repairs and what the warranty includes and excludes (many laptop warranties exclude the LCD screen, a costly item to fix). If you are buying a Dell laptop, we recommend the Dell Next Business Day CompleteCare warranty and that you extend it to cover three years.