MFA Computer and Technology Requirements

Graduate students enrolling at The College for Creative Studies will
be required to own or purchase a laptop computer for their studies. If
you have any questions regarding this requirement, please contact your
department.

Email questions regarding laptop build requirements should be directed
to the CCS Helpdesk at helpdesk@collegeforcreativestudies.edu
Below are minimum suggested specs; better/faster/larger/newer is fine
as long as supported by applicable application software. Information
regarding software compatibility is available at https://campus.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/its/software-requirements.

MFA Color & Materials Design

Apple MacBook Pro

Educational discount available at Apple Stores or the Apple online
educational store (https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop).

  • Processor: 2.6GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo
    Boost up to 4.5Ghz
  • Memory: 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
  • Graphic Card: Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory
  • Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage
  • AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Highly recommended

Windows PC

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS

  • Processor: 64-bit Intel® Xeon, or i-Series processor with Intel® or
    AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple cores
    recommended
  • 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

MFA Interaction Design

Apple MacBook Pro

Educational discount available at Apple Stores or the Apple online
educational store (https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop).

  • Processor: 2.6GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo
    Boost up to 4.5Ghz
  • Memory: 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
  • Graphic Card: Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory
  • Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage
  • AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Highly recommended

Windows PC

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS

  • Processor: 64-bit Intel® Xeon, or i-Series processor with Intel® or
    AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple cores
    recommended
  • 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

MFA Systems Design Thinking

Apple MacBook Pro

Educational discount available at Apple Stores or the Apple online
educational store (https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop).

  • Processor: 2.6GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo
    Boost up to 4.5Ghz
  • Memory: 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
  • Graphic Card: Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory
  • Hard Drive: 512GB SSD storage
  • AppleCare 3-year protection plan: Highly recommended

Windows PC

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS

  • Processor: 64-bit Intel® Xeon, or i-Series processor with Intel® or
    AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple cores
    recommended
  • 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

MFA Transportation Design

Windows PC

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit OS

  • Processor: 2 GHz 64-bit Intel® Xeon, or i-Series processor with
    Intel® or AMD equivalent. Highest affordable CPU speed with multiple
    cores recommended
  • Memory: 32GB of Memory
  • Graphic Card: Supported NVIDIA® or AMD graphics card with a minimum of 256 MB dedicated texture memory, DirectX 11 compatible and OpenGL 4.3
    support and a certified driver. 8GB Memory minimum.
  • Hard Drive: 512GB SSD
  • 3-yr protection plan: Highly recommended

Additional Hardware

Required Software

Recommended Software