American Academy of Art College Technology Requirement

Since 1923, the Academy’s mission has been to prepare artists to work as professionals in the art and design field.  In today’s economy, employers need you to be fully conversant with the current digital tools and technology.  To ensure you have the opportunity to develop these skills, the Academy has instituted a school-wide minimum laptop requirement and a technology fee.

The laptop requirement ensures that you have the appropriate technology to engage in the curriculum wherever and however you need to.  The technology fee enables students to access the wireless and wired networking, curricular software including the Adobe Creative Cloud and technology support, access to printing and the open lab.

Please note students should be prepared with their laptop before the beginning of the academic year. There will be limited access to computer workstations in classrooms for use if your laptop is broken. If you do not have a suitable laptop you will not be able to complete your courses.  All students are required to attend classes with an appropriate laptop that meets these requirements.

Preferred

MacBook Pro

  • Apple M1 8-Core CPU or higher
  • 16GB – 32GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD storage
  • 13-inch or larger Retina display
  • Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645
  • Two Thunderbolt 3 ports

Other options

Windows 10

  • Intel Core i7
  • 16GB – 32GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD Disk
  • GeForce Video Card

HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 15.6″

  • Intel Core i7
  • 16GB – 32GB RAM
  • GeForce MX330
  • 512GB SSD
  • Touch Screen 4K

Dell Inspiron 15.6″ 7000 2-in-1

  • Intel Core i7
  • 16GB – 32GB RAM
  • GeForce MX250
  • 512GB SSD
  • Touch Screen 4K

Microsoft Surface Pro

  • Intel Core i7
  • 16GB – 32GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD