Will I need any special statistical software?

Required Statistical Software Packages

Different courses will require students to have access to different statistical software packages for the entire length of the course. Check the course syllabus to see which application is required. Various licenses can be obtained directly from the comapny web sites. Also, certain software can be obtained through the Penn State Computer Store at the educational discounted prices. Minitab, SAS and SPSS are available in ITS computer labs on the Penn State University Park Campus.

Minitab

Company Web Site:	http://www.minitab.com
Current Version:	Minitab 15
Technical Requirments:	Please note: This is a PC only product. Minimum: Windows® 2000, XP or Vista 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor 512 MB or more CD ROM required for installation 125 MB (minimum) free space available Screen Resolution - 1024 x 768 or higher
Available Online (cable / DSL connections) :	Available online at the Minitab web site: 30 day Demo - free 5 Month Rental - $29.99 12 Month Rental - $49.99 Also, available online through Penn State's Computer Store

SAS

Company Web Site:	http://www.sas.com
Current Version:	SAS 9.1
Any Special Technical Requirments:	Please note: This is a PC only product. Minimum: Windows NT, 2000, XP Please Note: SAS 9.1.3 and earlier versions are not supported by Vista at this time (2/8/07) ** 300 MHz Processor 128 MB minimum or more for improved performance CD ROM required for installation 310 MB hard disk space for Base SAS Software installation
	** If you have to have Vista, you will have to create a dual boot on your system with Vista and one for Windows XP using Partition Magic which cost about $80. If you buy any laptop or PC now it will automatically have Vista on it so the creation of a separate partition and the installation of Windows XP will be necessary to run SAS and many other applications you are used to running.
Available online through Penn State's Computer Store:	SAS 9.1.3 Win Student License & Media Includes license and media. License expires annually in June. For Windows NT/00/XP.

R

Organization Web Site:	http://www.r-project.org/
Current Version:	R 2.2.1
Any Special Technical Requirments:	This is an open source product available for a variety of computing platforms. R for Mac OS X FAQ R for Windows FAQ
Available online:	Download at: http://www.r-project.org/

SPSS

Company Web Site:	http://www.spss.com
Current Version:	SPSS 16.0
Any Special Technical Requirments:	Operating System - Microsoft® Windows XP (32-bit versions) or Vista™ (32-bit or 64-bit versions) Hardware Intel® or AMD x86 processor running at 1GHz or higher RAM: 512MB RAM; 1GB recommended 450MB of available hard-disk space o CD-ROM drive Super VGA (800x600) or a higher-resolution monitor Operating system - Apple© Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger™) or 10.5 (Leopard™) Hardware PowerPC or Intel processor RAM: 512MB RAM; 1GB recommended 800 MB of available hard-disk space CD-ROM drive Super VGA (800x600) or a higher-resolution monitor
Available online through Penn State's Computer Store:	SPSS 16.0 Student License & Media Includes license and media. License expires annually in August.

The general technical requirements for the online learning courses above match or exceed the technical requirements for any of the statistical packages listed above. In other words, if you meet the minimum technical requirements to enroll in a course, then you should also have the required specifications to download and run these programs.

This page last updated: April 18, 2008