Students in VPA are not required to purchase computers, however it is strongly recommended that students in the School of Art and Design do so (please see below). Those who already own computers are encouraged to bring them to campus. For those who wish to purchase a computer, VPA recommends that they wait until they are settled into a major and talk with their advisor, as certain majors have specific guidelines for computers and software at the junior level.

Computer-intensive majors, using higher-end machines, include advertising design, communications design, computer art, industrial design, interior design, and surface pattern design in the School of Art & Design. For each of these programs, specialized computer labs are available for student use.

The most packages offered by the University Bookstore would be sufficient for students in non-computer-intensive majors who are interested in purchasing their own computers for writing papers, exchanging electronic correspondence, and conducting research on the Web. Specific packages for students in the School of Art and Design are available.

Students in the School of Art and Design will use a computer to varying degrees dependent upon courses. During the freshmen year students in the School will be using computers for the course "Time Arts," in which students will be using the Macintosh platform, with imaging, video, audio and multimedia applications. Currently, most art and design courses employ Apple Macintosh computers, although several courses use Windows based computers. These include interior design and surface pattern design.

It is recommended that students in art and design purchase a computer with the following minimum features: An Apple Macintosh system (however, many applications are cross-platform); a fast processor (800MHz or faster), at least 512 MB RAM, a large hard drive (80 GB), CD-RW drive, USB and Firewire ports, and Adobe Photoshop.