Bowdoin's Digital Excellence Commitment

What students are saying about DExC:

“I never had a computer before I came to college. My sophomore year, I took a lab course where I needed to code an entire experiment, run it publicly, and analyze all of our data using my own code. It was an amazing learning experience.”

“I created an AI that learned how to play a game, and then transformed it into a full-stack application to showcase for an interview. It felt amazing to share that work and hear genuine interest in what I'd built.”

“For my music class, I composed a full soundtrack and sound design for a short film.”

“I created an ArcGIS StoryMaps page displaying research findings from my summer internship. It allowed me to create and display infographics that compiled various sources of evidence to tell a story about the firm's environmental history.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

When do incoming students receive their equipment? Do seniors have to return it?

New students receive all of their new equipment after returning from their Orientation Trips—that's before classes start.

All of the equipment is yours, forever—including after you graduate.

What if my laptop gets damaged?

All of the DExC hardware includes four years of AppleCare+™, which covers spills, breaks, cracked screens, and pretty much any other way that you could damage the equipment.

The AppleCare+™ service is administered by Apple, which means students can get service and support at any Apple store in the world, including when studying abroad, on holiday breaks, or during the summer. If you need to send your equipment for repair, you will be issued a loaner.

What if I'm not on financial aid?

The Digital Excellence Commitment is about leveling the playing field for everyone.

All Bowdoin students, regardless of aid status, receive the equipment, service and support, and access to relevant software.

Can I bring my own laptop for gaming, or another use?

Sure! But access to any licensed course-specific software is limited to Bowdoin-issued machines.

What about AI programs?

After students complete a short online module in responsible AI ethics, they have access to Bowdoin's LibreChat. Librechat provides a single point of access to many AI tools and models, and ensures that our standards around data and privacy are maintained—so that any research data is kept secure and not used to train future models.

Bowdoin students make use of many AI tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot, NotebookLM, and more.

The Bowdoin College

Digital Excellence Commitment

Yours to keep. Yours to decorate.

Frequently Asked Questions