Incoming Undergraduate Students
Foundation Year
All students in the School of Design share the Foundation Year experience—an intensive studio-based curriculum introducing various techniques in form-making and conceptual visualization. Emphasis is on perfecting manual skills and developing proficiency with digital technology. Through exposure to design practice, design culture, and critical observation, students experience Chicago as a global design center.
Students are rapidly immersed into the design process in studio courses developed and organized by Foundation Studio Coordinators, who are members of our full-time faculty. Foundation Year courses are taught by professional designers from within our faculty and from the Chicago design community.
Technology Requirements
Camera
Several courses require students to take photographs. Make sure you have a smartphone with a fully functioning camera. Students who have a mirrorless or DSLR camera may use that camera as well.
Laptop
Bring a laptop to the very first, and every, class. Some educational discounts are available at the UIC Bookstore, also located in Student Center East, 750 West Halsted Street. Some sort of daily backup system is highly recommended. Consider purchasing a portable hard drive and/or using your free UIC Box for unlimited cloud storage.
Apple / MacBook Pro
Processor Speed: Apple M2 chip or higher
Operating system: MacOS 13 or newer
RAM: 16 GB or more (32 GB or more ideal)
Storage: Minimum 1 TB SSD (Solid State Drive)
Monitor resolution: 1280 x 800 display at 100% UI scaling
GPU: Intel-based Mac should have a minimum of 1024MB of VRAM (2GB recommended)
—Metal-capable Intel
—AMD-capable (recommended for students pursuing BS CS+Des)
Windows
Operating system: Windows 10 64-bit (version 21H2) or later
SSE4.2 instruction set (recommended for students pursuing BS CS+Des)
RAM: 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended for students pursuing BDes ID or BS CS+Des)
Hard disk: 20GB of available space
Monitor resolution: 1280 x 800 display at 100% UI scaling
GPU: OpenGL 4.1 capable video card is recommended
—At least 4GB Video card memory is recommended
—DX10, DX11, and DX12-capable (recommended for students pursuing BS CS+Des)
Software
An annual Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription is required. The UIC Webstore offers a substantial discount over purchasing directly from Adobe. Please note students experiencing financial hardship may request a discounted license. Before classes begin Fall semester, install Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat Pro, making sure to auto-update these apps so you’re always working with the latest versions.
As part of UIC’s commitment to student success, you have free access to LinkedIn Learning, an on-demand library of instructional videos. Acquiring technical skills through this type of self-led learning allows class time to focus on developing creative skills. Just sign in with your campus email address and password. It is highly recommended that all first-year Design students complete these three essential training courses: Illustrator 2025, InDesign 2025, and Photoshop 2025.
Incoming students are required to download the Acadly smartphone app and create an account before the first day of the semester.
Wi-fi and Email
Set up wi-fi access and your UIC email account for access to your course before classes begin: UIC wi-fi and UIC email.
Canvas
Get acquainted with this app, used in all first-year Design courses, before classes begin: Student Guide to Using Canvas.
Box
All current Design students have access to a free Box account for unlimited cloud storage: UIC Box.
Degree Programs
Updated August 9, 2026