Computer Requirements

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The School of Art requires that all students obtain a laptop computer. Specific requirements for students studying digital art, graphic design, and photography are listed below. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø offers student pricing agreements for various hardware and software purchases through . Educational discounts are also available through the Apple Education Store and the .

Suggested Hardware Configuration

We highly recommend students purchase the Apple MacBook Air or MacBook Pro as it is the industry standard for most artists and designers, who consider its interface more humane and productive. Also, the MacBook Pro comes bundled with some of the software that artists and designers use. However, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s network supports all commercially available computing platforms.

We recommend the following minimum specifications for the MacBook Pro:

  • 13-, 14-, or 16-inch widescreen Retina display

  • M1 Pro (Macbook Pro 14- or 16-inch) or
    M2 (MacBook Air or Macbook Pro 13-inch) processor

  • 512GB SSD storage or greater (important)

  • We also suggest AppleCare+ for Mac (warranty and accident coverage)

  • grants access to Adobe’s suite of creative tools. Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. It is now free for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø students. It entitles students to use the full Adobe Suite of products for graphic design, web, motion graphics, video, and photography. There are also numerous tutorials for the software on Adobe.com.

Suggested Additional Computer Accessories:

  • 16 GB or larger USB memory stick
  • Apple Magic Mouse

Required Software (latest version and educational discount available from Ìý´Ç°ùÌý)

  • Microsoft Office Professional Suite (available at no charge from )
  • Adobe Creative Cloud subscription

entitles students to use the full Adobe Suite of products for graphic design, web, motion graphics, video, and photography. There are also tutorials for the software on the site.

Additional software and hardware items our students feel are essential supplies as they move to the senior level include a scanner, home printer, a tablet, and a stylus.

For additional information on these computer requirements, please contact the School of Art office at 225-578-5411 or at art@lsu.edu.