ACAD is committed to unconditional excellence in our programs and practices. Though owning a laptop computer is not mandatory for incoming students, all incoming students enrolled in first year studies at ACAD in 2011 are strongly encouraged to have an appropriate laptop computer for their personal use.
Many of the first year students enjoy great success with Apple MacBook computers. A minimum Apple MacBook computer is available from Apple for $1149 (with education discount) with the following configuration:
- 13 inch display
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5
- 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
- 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
- Keyboard (English) & User’s Guide (English)
- SuperDrive 8x DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW
- Built-in 7-hour battery
- Alumninum unibody enclosure
- We recommend a 3 year warranty ($199)
Majors are selected after first year at ACAD, with Visual Communications Design (VCD) and Photography requiring laptops. The specifications for the VCD second year required laptop may differ from the general specifications published here. Students who expect to enter this program and wish to purchase a laptop computer for their first year should consider reviewing the requirements and making their purchase decision accordingly. Photography has similar requirements for its students but adds camera requirements instead of digitizing tablet specifications.
Any student at ACAD will need, as an essential tool for studio work, image creation and manipulation software. Students not intending to enter the VCD or Photography programs should be aware that most of the computer based image preparation and manipulation activity in the other programs is based on the Adobe Creative Suite of applications (CS5) running on Apple MacBook computers. Some 3D modeling and rapid prototyping instruction is performed using Windows PC-based application software. If you already own a laptop computer you should check the Adobe website to see if your platform can accommodate the current release of CS5.5. CS5.5 is essential for student work.
- Current CS5.5 Design Premium system requirements
- Current CS5.5 Master Collection system requirements
As a registered student of ACAD you are eligible to purchase computer hardware and software from most vendors at a significant educational discount so there is a monetary advantage to wait until you register before making a computer purchase. PC platforms vary so much that the only support we can provide locally for an unknown platform at ACAD is on a best effort basis with no guarantee. We strongly recommend that you purchase a service plan from your computer vendor and add computer loss/theft insurance from a reputable insurance agent.