Can I Run Windows on an External Drive for University?

Running Windows in a VM might be the way to go! With your 32GB of RAM, you have enough memory to run VirtualBox without issues. Just make sure you have enough storage space on your external SSD if you decide to go this route. Dual-booting is another option, but it might not be as convenient as a VM.

You mentioned you're under a university requirement to use Windows; is that because of specific software or policies? If it's your own laptop, then you have a bit of flexibility, but if they mandated Windows for compatibility, that makes sense.

You could look into resizing your current partition or even getting a bigger SSD. If you're really committed to using both systems, dual-booting might be your best option. Just keep around 100GB for Windows, and that should work fine with your current setup! Plus, there are plenty of tutorials online to help you get the dual-booting process down.

Installing Windows on an external drive directly can be tricky since it generally doesn't run well. However, running Linux off an external drive is totally doable! Many distributions work just fine that way. Just remember to set up independent boot partitions for each drive.

It all really depends on the software you'll be using! Some programs might actually run well in KVM, but it could be limiting for things like Microsoft 365 or AutoCAD Civil 3D. You'll want to keep that in mind when deciding how to set up your system.