• School of Medicine
• Postgraduate
• Postgraduate taught: MSc/PGDip/PGCert/MPH
• Public Health (MPH)
• Applying and registering
  • Accreditation of Prior Learning
  • System Requirements
  • Equity and Merit Scholarships 2012/13
  • Commonwealth Scholarships 2012/13

System Requirements

Essential system requirements

Hardware

• You need regular access to a computer.

It is essential to have regular access to a computer (preferably to the same machine). Without it, it is not possible to study this course.

• It is essential to have stable power supply (i.e. not to have power outage for days).

Without having a stable power supply, you will not be able to study as your computer will not work without it.

• You need to have a fast internet connection (e.g. Broadband, DSL, Cable, 3G Mobile).

It is not absolutely essential to have a high speed internet connection. However, some audio and video files may take a very long time to download.

Here is an example of a video file for you to test.
Can you watch this video (press  in the middle of the screen to play)?

To check the speed of your connection, please visit the following website.
McAfee Speedometer

What is your speed?

Above 500 (Recommended)
You should be fine to download all the course materials including audio and video files.

Between 60-500
You may find it is slow to download some of the course materials.

Below 60 (Not recommended)
Currently, it might be problematic to download some of the course materials with this internet speed. However, situations may change quite quickly with rapid changing technology.

Software

• Microsoft Word / Office (sorry, not free) or Open Office (free, download)

• A web browser

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 (recommended, free, download) OR

Internet Explorer version 6 or 7 (at present there may be some compatibility problems with Internet Explorer 8, download)

We use Blackboard software to deliver most of our course materials. Therefore it is recommended to do the Blackboard browser check.

• Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF document reader, free, download)

• You will also need statistical software for certain course units.

Not essential but recommended

Hardware

• Printer
  You may find it easier to read some of the materials on paper.

Software

• Skype (internet telephone, free, download)

 Basic computer skills

• You need to be familiar with navigating a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.

• You need to be familiar with creating a text document using word processing software such as Word or equivalent and save it.

• You need to be able to communicate via email.

• You need to be able to download necessary software and install onto the computer for example, adobe acrobat reader.

• You need to be familiar with using discussion boards.

This could be similar experience of using social networking sites such as Facebook, Blog, Chat etc.

• You need to be able to upload and download documents on the web.

This could be similar experience of uploading a picture to a social networking site, photo management and sharing site such as Flickr, or attaching a document to an email, downloading the attachment of an email etc.. 

 

If you are not sure about these requirements or skills, please contact us.