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Student Technology Requirements

Last updated on Aug 22, 2023

Welcome to CCA!

CCA requires that all students own an external storage device and laptop that meets our minimum system requirements. This requirement will help ensure that all students have access to the college’s digital resources at home or on campus.

  • Undergraduate students are required to own a laptop that meets the minimum system requirements for software used in the First-Year curriculum. If a student has an intended major, they should refer to the Program Technology Requirements page for specific requirements. If your major is not listed the minimum system requirements will be appropriate.
  • Graduate students should refer to the Program Technology Requirements page for specific laptop requirements, if your program is not listed the minimum system requirements will be appropriate.

If you have technology questions or need help deciding what technology to purchase, please contact the Help Desk.


Hardware Requirements

CCA's Minimum System Requirement for 2023*

  • Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 chip with 8-core CPU
    10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
    Minimum 16GB Unified Memory
    Minimum 512 GB SSD storage
    Retina display with True Tone
    2 Thunderbolt, USB 4 ports
    Purchase here: CCA / Apple Online Store Bundles (see Recommended System No. 1)

*Undergraduate students who know their intended major should purchase the laptop recommended here
*Graduate
students should purchase the laptop recommended for their program here. If your program is not listed the minimum system requirement will be appropriate.


External Drive Requirement

All CCA students are required to own an external storage device for saving coursework and backups of digital work. When working with high-resolution image files, motion graphics, and video files, a great deal of data storage space is needed.

  • External storage device:
    Connects via USB
    1 TB (Terabyte) minimum storage space

Software Requirements


CCA / Apple Education online store

We have partnered with Apple to offer laptops and peripherals that meet our technology requirements for all academic programs. Save on any Mac computer, iPad, Apple software, and select accessories by purchasing online through the CCA / Apple online store.

  • CCA faculty, staff, and students are eligible for educational pricing plus discounts on AppleCare and some MacBook Pro models.
  • To use the discount in person, visit an Apple Store with your current CCA ID.