Laptop Requirements & Recommendations

Communication Design & Strategy students enrolling at the College for Creative Studies will be required to own or purchase a laptop computer for their studies.

The following information provides the minimum hardware configuration and software requirements. Any Apple MacBook purchase made beyond the minimum requirements is your choice. This investment will remain current throughout your 4-year experience at CCS. Our curricular approach blends this tool and software seamlessly into your learning experience and prepares you for working professionally. If you have any questions regarding this requirement, please contact your Department Chair.

Information regarding software compatibility.

Apple MacBook Pro 16”

Educational discount available at Apple Stores or the Apple Education Store.

1. Processor: M1 Pro or Better (M4 recommended)

2. Memory: 16GB unified Memory (24GB recommended)

3. Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage

4. AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Strongly recommended

Apple MacBook Pro 14”

Educational discount available at Apple Stores or the Apple Education Store.

1. Processor: M1 Pro or Better (M4 recommended)

2. Memory: 16GB unified Memory (24GB recommended)

3. Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage

4. AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Strongly recommended

Apple MacBook Air 15”

Educational discount available at Apple Stores or the Apple Education Store.

1. Processor: M4 or Better

2. Memory: 16GB unified Memory (24GB recommended)

3. Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage

4. AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Strongly recommended

Required Software

1. Adobe Creative Cloud: Provided through CCS for all registered students

2. Microsoft Office: Available for free (Get started with Microsoft Office.)

MacBook Laptops are Recommended to all Communication Design and Strategy Students but a PC Equivalent can be used as an alternative. Here are comparable PC Laptops. Top Brands include Asus, Dell, Lenovo and Razer. 

Windows Laptop Equivalent – 16” High Performance PC

Educational discounts may be available through manufacturers.

• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 or better (Intel Core Ultra 9 recommended)

  AMD Equivalent: AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS or newer

  Snapdragon Equivalent: Snapdragon X Elite (when available in 16” devices)

• Memory: 16GB DDR5 RAM (32GB recommended)

• Hard Drive: 512GB NVMe SSD

• Warranty/Protection: 3-Year manufacturer protection plan strongly recommended

Windows Laptop Equivalent – 14” High Performance PC

Educational discounts may be available through manufacturers such as Dell, Lenovo, HP, or via student stores.

• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 or better (Intel Core Ultra 9 recommended)

  AMD Equivalent: AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS or newer

  Snapdragon Equivalent: Snapdragon X Elite (when available in 14” devices)

• Memory: 16GB DDR5 RAM (24GB–32GB recommended)

• Hard Drive: 512GB NVMe SSD

• Warranty/Protection: 3-Year manufacturer protection plan strongly recommended

Apple MacBook Pro

Educational discounts are available at Apple Stores or the Apple Education Store.

• Processor: M1 Pro or Better (8 core recommended for rendering)
• Memory: 32GB unified Memory
• Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage or better
• AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Highly recommended

Windows PC

• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS or Windows 11
• Processor: 64-bit Intel^® Xeon, or i-Series processor with Intel^® or AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple cores recommended (8 core minimum)
• Memory: 32GB of Memory
• Graphic Card: Supported NVIDIA^® or AMD graphics card with OpenGL 4.3 support and a certified driver. 8GB Memory minimum.
• Hard Drive: 512GB SSD
• 3-yr protection plan: Highly recommended

Required Software

Please note that only the basic software requirements are listed. As Interdisciplinary Design Studies is a customizable degree, some additional software may be required.

• Adobe Creative Cloud: Provided through CCS for all registered students
• Microsoft Office: Available for free (Get started with Microsoft Office.)

Windows PC

• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS or Windows 11
• Processor: 2 GHz 64-bit Intel^® Xeon, or i-Series processor with Intel^® or AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple cores recommended (8 core minimum)
• Memory: minimum of 32GB of Memory
• Graphic Card: Supported NVIDIA^® or AMD graphics card with OpenGL 4.3 support and a certified driver. 8GB Memory minimum.
• Hard Drive: 512GB SSD
• 3-yr protection plan: Highly recommended

Recommended Tech

• Wacom lntuos Pro Tablet (small or medium)
  or
• A similar model from Xencelabs

Required Software

• Adobe Creative Cloud: Provided through CCS for all registered students
• Microsoft Office: Available for free (Get started with Microsoft Office.)
• Autodesk Alias: Available for free (Get started with Autodesk Alias.)
• Blender: Available for free (Get started with Blender.)

Recommended Software

• Unreal Engine (Get started with Unreal Engine.)

Apple MacBook Pro

Educational discounts are available at Apple Stores or the Apple Education Store.

• Processor: M1 Pro or Better (8 core recommended for rendering)
• Memory: minimum 32GB unified Memory
• Hard Drive: minimum 512GB SSD storage or better
• AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Highly recommended

Windows PC

• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS or Windows 11
• Processor: 64-bit Intel^® Xeon, or i-Series processor with Intel^® or AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple cores recommended, 8 core minimum
• Memory: 32GB of Memory
• Graphic Card: Supported NVIDIA^® or AMD graphics card with OpenGL 4.3 support and a certified driver. 8GB Memory minimum.
• Hard Drive: minimum 512GB SSD
• 3-yr protection plan: Highly recommended

Required Software

• Adobe Creative Cloud: Provided through CCS for all registered students
• Microsoft Office: Available for free (Get started with Microsoft Office.)