Skip to main content
University of Washington UW W Logo College of Engineering Website Wordmark Logo

Current Students

Computing & Technology Resources

All students enrolled in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) courses are required to have a laptop they can use in classes and for their studies. HCDE recommends the following minimum laptop specifications:

  • Intel® or AMD processor with at least 2 cores and 64-bit support; 2 GHz or faster processor or ARM-based Apple Silicon processor (M1)
  • 8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)
  • 256GB storage space or larger
  • 1280 x 800 and 1 GB of VRAM
  • A newer graphics card is strongly recommended for some photoshop features such as an nVidia GeForce GTX 1050 or equivalent
  • Windows 10 2004 or greater, or Mac OS X version 10.14 (Mojave) or greater

UW computing resources courses

  • UW Information Technology (UW-IT): Free courses, workshops, and online tutorials.
  • UW-Learning and Scholarly Technologies: Free online courses on Computing Fundamentals (e.g, Security, Networking); Design and Graphics (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator); Digital Audio (e.g., Audacity, Garageband); Document Creation (e.g., Word, InDesign); Spreadsheets and Databases (e.g., (Excel, Access); and Web Publishing. Some in-person workshops.

Computer labs on campus

  • Odegaard Learning Commons: The Odegaard Learning Commons, with hundreds of workstations, provides access to learning technologies in the heart of the undergraduate library.
  • Media Studios on Campus in Odegaard and Mary Gates: The Media Studios serve as a boutique studio space for students working on media projects. Visit one of our Media Studios for access to special hardware and software geared toward video and audio editing.
  • Engineering Student Computer Lab The College of Engineering supports a computer lab located in the basement of Wilcox hall, room 73.

Inexpensive or free software (and student discounted software and hardware)

  • Aptana Studio 3: A complete code editor for HTML, CSS3, JavaScript, and more. The full version is a free download.
  • ATLAS.ti: Students get a discount on ATLAS.ti.
  • Axure RP Pro: Free for Students.
  • Tableau: Free for Students.
  • UW Bookstore Tech Center: Student discounts on hardware (e.g., computers and accessories) and software (e.g., Parallels, Adobe Creative Cloud).
  • UWare: Software from UW at reduced cost or free (e.g., Microsoft, Apple, Sophos, SAS, SPSS).
  • VMware Products: All HCDE students, staff, and faculty have access to VMware academic program, which provides licenses for VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion.