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Visual Communication Program Laptop Requirement

Graphic design and photography students are required to purchase an Apple 16” MacBook Pro laptop computer with the following specifications for the fall of 2024:

  • Apple M3 Pro chip with 12 core CPU, 18 core GPU, 16 core Neural Engine
  • 18GB unified memory
  • 1TB SSD storage
  • 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display²
  • 140W USB-C Power Adapter
  • Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port
  • Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

*Please note that Apple will often upgrade some of these specs as new models are released.

You may purchase the computer on your own or through The College Laptop Program (Make sure to select Visual Communications in the top menu). If you are purchasing it on your own, please make sure to ask for an educational discount.

Recommended Additional Warranty if Purchasing on Your Own

  • AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro

Solid State Drives

A portable solid-state drive for use in the Mac labs and for working with large files is required. We recommend a portable solid-state drive of at least 1 Terabytes. The interface should be USB-C/ Thunderbolt 4.

Recommended Brands:

  • Samsung 1TB T7 Shield Portable SSD

Highly Recommended: Cloud Backup Service

A cloud-based backup service which backs up your computer’s drive and external drive automatically. The College’s recommendation is Crash Plan which is available at a discount for students and has unlimited backup storage.

Media card Readers for Photo Transfers

If you are going to start with older MacBook Computer, not the one listed above, these sometimes do not have a media card reader for transferring photographs on to your computer from the camera. If you have a computer without a media card reader, we recommend the following media card reader: SanDisk Extreme Pro SD Card USB Type-C Reader (for USB C ports on Computers)

(Note: An SD card reader is the most common type of media card. If you have a different type of media card in your camera such as a CF Card or a CFexpress Card you will need a different media card reader specific for these media cards)

Required Software

  • Adobe Creative Cloud for Students (Mac)
  • Microsoft Office 365 for Students (Mac) Note: Endicott provides this software for free to all undergraduate students. You will be able to download this when you arrive in the fall.

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