Access to the following hardware is required of all students enrolled in the MS and PhD in Health Sciences:
IBM-Compatible Pentium PC running Windows XP*
SVGA capable monitor with display resolution of at least 800x600
Soundcard with microphone and speakers (or headphones)
56K modem, DSL or cable connection
Printer (blank and white or color)
Scanner or digital camera (optional)
*Apple MacIntosh computers running OS 9 or X can be used for most functions; however, some software used in MSHS or PhD courses only runs under the Windows (IBM PC compatible) environment.
The following are the minimum software requirements for students enrolled in the MS and PhD in Health Sciences.
Rationale: Written papers and project require full-function compatible processor capable of HTML output. Some courses require spreadsheet and/or simple database functions (Excel). Presentations and/or poster creation requires presentation software (Powerpoint).
Recommended: Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Version 2000 or higher. Obtain academic discount pricing at JourneyEd or the AcademicSuperStore. Note: If you are using Office/Word 2000, you will need to download and install the Office 2000 HTML Filter.
Applicable Courses: All
Rationale: Web course delivery system (WebCT), remote library access and Internet searching requires supported Web browser
Recommended: a Currently Supported Web Browser (one of the following):
Netscape PC version 7.X+
Internet Explorer PC version 6.0+
AOL Version 8.0+
Applicable Courses: All
Rationale: Some courses require use of Web browser plug-in's and/or web multimedia players. New computers often come with these plug-in pre-installed and some are included when you install or upgrade your Web browser. So before installing any plug-ins, click here to test drive your browser and see if you are already properly “equipped.” If not, link to the following sites to download or upgrade your browser plug-ins:
Portable Document Format Reader (many documents, including the SHRP student handbook and in the near future all key Program documents and forms will be in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader
Multimedia Players (unfortunately, there currently are five major multimedia formats, none of which are fully compatible with any one player, so you need all five)
Windows Media Player (included with Windows and/or Internet Explorer)
Macromedia Shockwave and Flash Web Players
RealOne Player (be careful to choose the free player, NOT the free xx-day trial of the premium version!)
Applicable Courses: All (Acrobat Reader); Some (Multimedia Players)
Rationale: E-mail is the primary means for 1-on-1 communication with the Program administration, course instructors and other students
Recommended: WebMail (UMDNJ's browser-based e-mail program), Netscape E-Mail Client (free; comes with Netscape) or Outlook Express (free; comes with Internet Explorer)
Applicable Courses: All
Note: For important instructions on using your UMDNJ e-mail account, including how to configure your e-mail program to receive UMDNJ e-mail, please go to:
http://www.umdnj.edu/idsweb/documents/email.htm
Rationale: Although MS Word is capable of HTML output, the resulting code is difficult to change or edit. Given that HTML is the ‘language’ of the Web, students need to develop basic Web page construction skills using a simple WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML Editor. In addition, some courses require HTML page creation.
Recommended: Netscape Composer 7.X+ (free; comes with Netscape)
Applicable Courses: IDST5000, IDST5330
Rationale: Graduate School is a journey of a thousand… citations! With free access to tens of millions of citations via electronic databases, you don’t want to be stuck with writing up and manually indexing a set of 3x5 reference cards! Personal bibliographic software can save you hundreds of hours of time in organizing your literature sources and creating bibliographies. Buy it, learn it, use it.
Recommended: End Note. A free download (PC or Mac) for those with UMDNJ Library accounts/EZProxy access. Click on the End Note link or go to:
http://www.umdnj.edu/librweb/access/EndNote.html
Other good bibliographic software (about $100 -150 for student versions):
Student/academic versions of the above three products are available directly via the vendor (Biblioscape) or through academic discounters such as JourneyEd or the AcademicSuperStore. Current faculty support is limited to End Note or Procite.
Applicable Courses: IDST5000, IDST6400, IDST7100 and all 8000 level courses
Rationale: To compress and easily move sets of files to and from the Web course delivery system (WebCT), you will want to ‘zip’ them into a single file (or unzip them)
Recommended: Windows XP Folder Compression (free - comes with Windows XP). For instructions on how to use compressed (zipped) folders in Windows XP go to:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306531/EN-US/
Applicable Courses: All WebCT courses requiring file uploads
Rationale: Effective communication often involves more than just the written word. You will often want or need to incorporate images and/or audio in your presentations, posters or Web pages. To do so, you need a simple graphics editor and a basic audio player/recorder.
Recommended: IrfanView (free download). Before downloading IrfanView, check you system to see whether you already have a graphics editor available. Microsoft Photo Editor or Microsoft Office Picture Manager are installed with some versions of MS Office. Also, if you installed software for a scanner or digital, you likely have a graphics editor available, e.g., Adobe PhotoElements.
A Basic Audio Player/Recorder
Recommended: Windows Sound Recorder (comes free with Windows)
A Basic Digital Video/Slide Show Editor
Recommended: Windows MovieMaker - latest version (requires Windows XP Service Pack 2); download for free at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx)
Applicable Courses: IDST5000, IDST5330
Rationale: For any student conducting a project, thesis or dissertation requiring quantitative data analysis
Recommended: SPSS for Windows. Two versions are available: the Student Version (about $90) and the Grad Pack (available at journeyed.com for about $200; proof of student status required). The student version of SPSS is adequate for MSHS students. PhD students and any student taking IDST6122 must purchase the current version of the SPSS Grad Pack.
Applicable Courses: IDST6121-6122, all Dissertation Seminar and Advisement courses involving quantitative data analysis (IDST8121, 8222, 8323, 8424, 8400) and IDST 6980/89 (Project) if project involves statistical analysis.