Computer/Laptop Requirements

The Department of Art, Art History and Visual Communication Design (VCD) at Cal Poly Pomona requires majors to have a laptop. The following specifications are for VCD majors. VCD students should have a laptop, with Adobe CC installed and running before the first day of class. 

Minimum Recommended* Specs

Apple M3 Pro chip with 12‑core CPU, 18‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine

36GB unified memory

1TB SSD storage

16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display²

+

External Hard Drive with Time Machine Enabled (https://support.apple.com/en-us/104984)

Additionally 

iPad Pro with Pencil (recommended NOT required)

DSLR camera (will be required for VCD 2361A Digital Photography, which is taken 2nd year)

GoPro Camera (recommended NOT required)

Adobe CC (required) (https://www.cpp.edu/it/client-services/software/adobe-user-guide.shtml)

Computer Mouse (recommended NOT required)

External Keyboard for home use (recommended NOT required)

Second monitor for home use (recommended NOT required)

Additional software and supplies will be required on a class by class basis. 

Lynda.com 

As a student at Cal Poly Pomona you have free access to Lynda. (https://www.linkedin.com/learning/?u=56973593) Log in with your bronco credentials. Doing the Adobe CC essential trainings for: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and InDesign is encouraged. 

*Considerations

Understanding that financial constraints can make the procurement of required hardware difficult, please aim as high to these specs as possible. Push comes to shove, max out memory over storage size, and make sure you have an external storage set up. 

Mac VS Windows

The Department of Art is a Mac based program. Students who prefer Windows, are welcome to use Windows based computers, but please note that the majority of the faculty and industry are Mac based. If choosing a Windows based machine, please match similar or better specifications to the above.

At this time, we do not recommend alternative operating systems like Linux/Ubuntu.