The College of Creative Arts and Media has special recommendations for hardware and software.
Students in most of our majors and programs may choose between the basic system requirements or a high performance system. The high performance system options will provide faster processing speeds, better graphics display and more file storage space.
Unless otherwise noted, students may use a Mac-based or PC (Windows) laptop, as long as they have the minimum specifications noted below. Chromebooks are NOT acceptable for classwork, as they do not meet the specifications listed. Visit the WVU IT Services website for general guidelines and information about discounts and software available to students on behalf of the university.
Basic Systems
-
MacBook Air or MacBook Pro installed with
current macOS
- Apple M2 or M3 Processor
- 8GB unified memory (minimum)
- 256GB SSD storage (minimum)
-
Windows-based machine with operating system 10 or newer
- 8 GB RAM
- Intel Core i5, AMD Ryzen 5 processors
High Performance Systems
-
MacBook Pro installed with
current macOS
- M3 Processor
- 16GB unified memory (minimum)
- 512GB SSD storage (minimum)
-
Windows-based machine with operating system 10 64-bit (or newer)
- 32GB unified memory (minimum)
- 14th gen Intel Core (i9 or better) or AMD Ryzen (7 or better)
- 512 GB of hard drive space (minimum)
- Graphics cards with 8GB RAM
Software
- Microsoft Office and Sophos anti virus software are free for WVU students. Visit it.wvu.edu/it-services/students for download and installation instructions.
- Cloud Storage: Google Drive for Desktop - Download via https://www.google.com/drive/download/. Use your WVU Mix account (FREE to WVU students)
Additional Art and Design Requirements
Hardware
- Interior Architecture and Fashion Design and Merchandising majors should consult these specialized computer requirements
- Students enrolled in the BFA Art and Design Digital Art and Animation and Graphic Design areas of emphasis must use the high performance MacBook system noted above.
- Game Design and Interactive Media students may choose either MacBook or Windows-based system, but must have the high performance specs.
- Art History and Museum Professions and Art Therapy majors may choose either a MacBook or Windows-based system; the basic requirements are sufficient for these majors.
- All other School of Art and Design students are required to use the MacBook specs, but may choose either the basic or high performance MacBook Pro system requirements listed above.
Software
- All majors in the School of Art and Design will need Adobe Creative Cloud (WVU student subscriptions are available at a discounted rate).
- Sophomores, juniors and seniors in the BFA Art and Design Graphic Design area of emphasis will need the Adobe Font Folio 11 (Education Essentials Student and Teacher Edition)