Overview

Peabody requires all students to own a laptop computer or iPad Pro that meets the standards established by the academic and technology leadership of the institution. Depending on your academic program, you may have more specific software and hardware requirements.

If you have questions about what software and hardware may be required by your program, please contact the Peabody IT Service Desk at 667-208-6540 or submit a support request at https://peabody.jhu.edu/finaid-student-tech

Financial Considerations

In order to be successful in an environment with remote education, it’s important to have the proper equipment.  The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University encourages you to ensure you have the right tools for the upcoming school year.  Please review IT@Peabody’s recommendations and requirements list. If you do not have these items already, then consider purchasing them as soon as possible.  If you have experienced a hardship and currently have financial difficulty, then reach out to, peabodyfinaid@jhu.edu for potential assistance. 

I Already Own a Computer

If you own a Laptop or iPad Pro that meets or exceeds the requirements below and is less than three years old, it will most likely meet the technology requirement. A small number of computers that are eligible might not meet certain requirements for technology-focused majors, and you may need to upgrade your device during your stay at Peabody.

Recommended Computer Technical Specifications

Any of the recommended models below meet the requirements.

Recommended Computing Devices

The hardware items listed below can be purchased directly from the JHU technology store, or the Dell JHU custom store using the provided web links.

Model	Best for
12.9” Apple iPad Pro	Performance majors with light computing needs. Great for reading and annotating music and use of apps for Office 365 and Blackboard IMPORTANT: When you place your order, please ignore the “out of stock” status message. Because these are custom builds they will not be in-stock, but will be custom ordered for you once you submit for purchase. Purchase Link – https://store.jhutechstore.com/peabody-11in-ipad-pro-bundle.html
13” or 16” Apple MacBook Pro	Students in technology-based programs, or those with greater computing and composition needs who prefer Macs. IMPORTANT: When you place your order, please ignore the “out of stock” status message. Because these are custom builds they will not be in-stock, but will be custom ordered for you once you submit for purchase. Purchase Link – https://store.jhutechstore.com/search/peabody/
Dell Precision or XPS Laptop	Students in technology-based programs, or those with greater computing and composition needs who prefer PCs. Purchase Link – https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/delluniversity/cp/peabody-configs

Peripheral Devices

Along with a computing device, all students will need access to:

1. High quality microphone for conferencing and recording. This can be either a USB microphone, audio interface and microphone, or personal recording device with USB connectivity for personal conferencing, instrumental recording, and online lessons.
2. USB webcam with stand to allow flexible positioning. This will allow you to provide instructors with the appropriate views of yourself and your instrument in recordings or live online lessons.
3. Those enrolled in either Keyboard Skills 1 or 3 should have a piano or at least a 61-key, velocity sensitive Keyboard with a connected sustain pedal.

We also strongly recommend that you own:

• A pair of high quality wired headphones.

If you have questions about required peripherals for your program, please contact your primary studio teacher to discuss what you will need.

Purchasing Peripheral Devices

The B&H EDU Advantage Program is FREE and available to faculty and students who are enrolled in accredited and approved programs. Signing up for the EDU Advantage Program entitles you to special discounts with quick turn around when you order through EDU. Please visit https://www.BandH.com/edu or email edumembership@bhphoto.com for more information.

Item Availability

We realize that many of the items we recommend are back-ordered or out of stock. We are working with B&H to add recommendations and to get more of these items back in stock. We encourage you to seek these items with other vendors if they have them in stock. There are big challenges for everyone procuring theses items in our current situation.

Peripheral Device Recommendations

NOTE: Support for peripheral devices are handled by the device’s manufacturer. Peabody IT can assist with basic troubleshooting but will not be able to repair the devices. 

JHU Student Software Purchase

Click here to access various discounted software available for students, staff, and faculty purchase.

Network Connectivity Recommendations

You need a minimum of 8Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed for a standard video call. For 4K streaming, or ultra HD, your bandwidth should start at 25Mbps. You can get by on a congested network if you lower your app’s image quality settings, but for a consistently clear streaming experience, aim higher. 

NOTE: If you have multiple devices sharing your Internet connection, your actual subscribed Internet speed will be divided among all connected devices. 

Measuring your speed 

There are several test services out there: you can try www.speedtest.net, www.SpeedOf.me and www.BandwidthPlace.com. 

Packet loss 

Connections speed is only a part the of the whole picture. Connection stability can be even more important. Internet data is carried around in small chunks called packets and your connection could be experiencing packet loss. Packet loss makes your browsing slow, and it causes a decrease in audio/video quality. Checking your connection for packet loss is e 

If you’re on a Mac, open your Applications folder, then open the Utilities folder, and finally open the Terminal application. On the Terminal, type the following command and hit Enter: 

1. ping -c 50  8.8.8.8 
2. After one minute, you should see something like: 
3. 50 packets transmitted, 50 packets received, 0.0% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 58.761/59.494/60.527/0.413 ms 
4. From the above example, we can see a 0% packet loss in green. 

If you’re on Windows, open the terminal by selecting the Search box in the Start menu, typing “cmd” and pressing Enter. In the Terminal, type the following command and hit Enter. 

1. ping -n 50 8.8.8.8 
2. After one minute, you should see something like: 
   1. Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:  
   2. Packets: Sent = 50, Received = 50, Lost = 1 (2% loss).   
      1. In this case, packet loss is 2%. 

Options for Internet Service in Baltimore City

In Baltimore City, Comcast is one of the only viable options for off-campus internet connectivity. There are currently some deals for students that can be found here – https://www.xfinity.com/student

If you are living in Peabody on-campus housing, you will have both a dedicated wireless access point and an Ethernet network port in your room. Either option will provide a high-speed cabled internet/network connection.