School of Art Laptop Policy (2026-2027)

Digital literacy is a necessity for 21st-century artists, designers, scholars, and educators. In First-year Foundations and other courses, students will move between traditional materials and digital platforms. The laptop will serve as a creative tool and portable studio, allowing students to work fluidly between classrooms and other workspaces on campus. Therefore, students entering the School of Art are required to have a laptop and a high-speed external hard drive.

Ball State’s Technology Store has our recommendations and can assist you with finding the right device. Students interested in the Animation program are encouraged to purchase Windows/PC laptops. Students interested in Graphic Design and Graphic Design Studies are encouraged to purchase Apple MacBook Pro laptops. Students interested in all other programs (Studio Art, Art History, Art Education) can be successful with either Windows/PC or Apple laptops. We do not recommend Apple iPads or Google Chromebooks (or similar devices) as those machines cannot run the programs we use in the School of Art effectively.

Adobe Creative Cloud software is included in all Ball State students’ tuition. Students can download and use these apps on their own laptops and do not have to purchase their own software licenses for Adobe products.

Maintenance of the laptop is the student’s responsibility, and laptops must be in good working order throughout the semesters in which the student is enrolled. Ball State University’s technology helpdesk in Bracken Library can assist with hardware repairs and software issues for Dell, Alienware, HP, Lenovo, and Apple computers that are under warranty.

Laptop Requirements

Minimum Laptop Specifications:

Appropriate for students pursuing Art Education, Art History, and some Studio Art disciplines.

  • Intel Ultra i5 processor (Windows/PC) or Apple M4 (Mac)
  • 16 GB random-access memory (RAM)
  • 500 GB solid-state drive (SSD)
  • Discrete graphics with 4GB GPU memory
  • Windows 11 or macOS Tahoe (version 26)
  • 3- to 4-year warranty

Recommended Laptop Models:

  • Windows/PC: Alienware, Dell, HP, Lenovo 
  • Mac: MacBook Pro

Preferred Laptop Specifications:

Necessary for students pursuing Animation, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Studies, Video and New Media, and/or Photography.

  • Intel Ultra i7 or higher (Windows/PC) or Apple M4 (Mac)
  • 32GB random-access memory (RAM)
  • 1TB solid-state drive (SSD)
  • Discrete graphics with 8GB GPU memory
  • 3- to 4-year warranty

External Hard Drive Requirements:

Procure a highspeed external hard drive that has a capacity of 500 GB to 2TB. All external hard drives can be formatted for Windows/PC and Mac devices.

You can purchase the Mac, Dell and Lenovo in the Ball State Technology Store.