The College of Media provides system administration, wireless networking, software installation and troubleshooting for all College computer labs for use by students, faculty, and staff. The College also offers recommendations for students’ computer hardware and software. In addition, the University maintains computer labs across campus.
Computer Labs
The College maintains the following computer labs. For hours of operation and specific uses, please refer to room signs and information from your professor for a specific class.
- Room 1 Gregory Hall
- Room 13 Gregory Hall
- Room 103 Richmond Studio
See the lab schedule for College of Media computer labs
For information on College of Media Technology Service, visit here.
For details about other computer labs on campus, see the Campus Technology Services website.
Recommendations for Student Computers
College-specific
Courses in the College of Media use technology to analyze statistical information and to create and edit images, audio, and video. The hardware and software involved is sometimes expensive and specialized and could be cost-prohibitive for students. The College makes these technologies available to students on computers located in free, open labs in lieu of more generic labs operated by the University. Labs, classrooms, and conference rooms within the College of Media are equipped with wireless networking that will work with your laptop. The College uses Mac OS X operating systems in our labs.
Because of the specialized hardware, software, and configurations involved, some coursework is likely best done within the College’s labs. It is not required that a student obtain a personal computer capable of performing those tasks. However, if a student wishes to do so, the student might consider:
- Get Microsoft Office 365, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which is available to all students free of charge from the Webstore
- Have at least 8 GB of memory (RAM) with 16 GB being better, and an i7 or comparable processor
- Purchase a USB flash drive or external hard drive for file transfer and storage
- If planning to become a journalism major—
Campuswide
New students also may want to consult computer recommendations from Technology Services. The page also contains useful information about passwords, email, connectivity and more. Included is a link to the campus WebStore, where enrolled students can buy software (often at discounted prices, some at no charge): webstore.illinois.edu.
Computer Support Staff
If you need assistance with a computer question or problem in a College of Media office or lab, please email Media Tech at media-help@illinois.edu. We will attempt to handle all non-critical help desk requests within two business days.
Media Tech team members are regularly available Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. We are not available on weekends or University holidays.