Quick start technology guide
Hardware
To thrive in SCAD's dynamic learning environment and prepare for creative professions, all students are required to bring a laptop computer (Mac or PC) to campus that meets the university’s minimum hardware specifications.
This requirement ensures that every student can engage fully with the curriculum, utilize industry-standard software, and participate in course instruction and demonstrations. Tablets, including iPads are considered complementary devices, and not a substitution for a Mac or PC laptop. View the student technology policy for additional details.
Disk space
500GB (SSD HD recommended)
250GB (minimum)
Connection and communication
Broadband/Wi-Fi
Webcam/microphone (recommended)
RAM
32GB or higher (recommended)
16GB (minimum)
Recommended
OS features |
Mac |
PC |
|---|---|---|
| OS | macOS Sonoma 14 or higher | Windows 11 |
| RAM | Apple Silicon 16GB unified memory included | 32GB |
| Processor | Apple Silicon M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra or newer | Intel® 11th Gen or newer CPU with Quick Sync — or AMD Ryzen™ 3000 Series / Thread Ripper 3000 series or newer CPU |
| GPU | Apple Silicon 16GB unified memory included | 8GB or more GPU memory for 4K and higher |
Minimum
OS features |
Mac |
PC |
|---|---|---|
| OS | macOS Sonoma 14 or higher | Windows 11 |
| RAM | 8GB | 16GB |
| Processor | Apple Silicon M1 or newer | Intel® 8th Gen or newer CPU — or AMD Ryzen™ 1000 Series or newer CPU |
| GPU | Apple silicon GPU |
Windows with NVIDIA GPU: GPU must be of the Maxwell generation or newer and have at least 4GB of VRAM Windows with Intel or AMD GPU: Discrete GPU with at least 4GB VRAM and support for OpenCL |
Chromebooks are not supported for SCAD Application Suites.
Need assistance?
The SCAD Technology Support Center is the first-level response team for all tech-related requests. Technical analysts answer questions, respond to emails, and accept walk-in requests for technical assistance. In addition to providing assistance when technical issues arise, the Technology Support Center provides proactive solutions such as how-to videos, a robust FAQ and SCAD technology news updates.
912.525.4567 | techsupport.scad.edu