These are the minimum IT requirements necessary to participate in the Department’s award-bearing and online courses; using better hardware and software may improve your study experience. Some courses have additional requirements, so please consult the IT requirements section listed in the course description of any course you plan to study.
Hardware
- An Internet connection.
- A computer fulfilling the software requirements outlined below. Any typical computer produced within the last five years should be adequate.
Additionally, many award-bearing courses, the Short Online Courses (Live) courses and some other courses use Microsoft Teams or similar online collaboration tools. To use these, you will need a device with speakers, a microphone and a camera (optional). Standard laptop camera, microphone and speakers should be adequate. Headphones with a built-in microphone are recommended. See Hardware requirements for Microsoft Teams for further details of optimal hardware requirements for a range of devices.
Supported browsers
Oxford Lifelong Learning courses are designed to work in any modern web browser, with those we officially support listed below.
It is possible to use other browsers, but – due to the sheer number of different configurations possible – if you encounter any problems whilst using a system we don’t support, we will ask you to try a supported browser.
For the best experience and optimum security, we recommend that you keep your browser up to date. Check at whatsmybrowser.org.
Other software
Please check the page for the course you intend to study on the website. Any specific IT requirements will be listed.
If you are studying a short course, we recommend you install the following software:
- A PDF reader such as Adobe Reader (latest version) or Foxit Reader (latest version)
- A .docx file compatible office suite, such as LibreOffice or Microsoft Office, or Google Docs
- For courses using Microsoft Teams, the desktop app is recommended. If the app doesn’t work, try the web-based version of Teams using Google Chrome as your web browser.
Students on award-bearing courses will receive an Office365 license for the duration of their studies.
All the hardware and software outlined above must be correctly installed and maintained. We strongly recommend that you take steps to protect your computer/device(s), including backing up data, installing up to date anti-virus software and keeping the operating system and other vulnerable software up to date.
If you are participating in a course that lasts for two or more years, you must ensure that you keep your hardware and software up to date with the minimum requirements for each academic year.
Using an iPad or tablet
Most of our online courses only require a web browser and some commonly available plug-ins. You should not experience any problems as an iPad user to access the learning material and take part in the online activities. If you need help, you can refer to our specific help pages for tablet and iPad users.