They start people with Vectorworks in the second semester, but its been widely regarded in the studio as an inferior software to AutoCAD; seems like the reason they push VW is because its more Mac-oriented than Autocad (the vast majority of students have Macs). Rhino is taught in B3, and there are specific projects that are mandatory in that software.

If you were going to take a software course I'd suggest one of those two, and I'd highly highly recommend doing that before coming to the program as they spend little to no time actually teaching you any software. Looking back, it seems easier to go from Autocad to VW than vice-versa, and by the final semester of undergrad Autocad was being used much more than VW in studio (by preference, as we were never actually taught it). Rhino is great because it simultaneously shows all 3 planes of CAD, and becomes fairly intuitive transitioning to the 3D modeling. This summer they also introduced an in-depth Grasshopper/parametrics at the Masters level as well.

If you don't know it already, learn the adobe creative suite. Photoshop especially.

If you already know CS, then Rhino or SketchUp with an accompanying rendering program. With both of those programs you can export decent line drawings and sections so you can avoid having to use Vectorworks.

They have (or at least, did when I was there a few year back) autocad on the windows side of their macs, so if you learn autocad you'll be able to use it no problem at the school. 

When I went to Dal, they were still venomously against computer software and tried to convince the B3's looking for work that it would be an 'advantage' to not know how to use computer drafting and that people 'valued' hand-drafting. LOL. A lot of 'supervised research' went on instead of internships that year. I think when people stopped hiring Dal students they finally realized they need to get with the times.

I'm glad to hear they have moved past their fear of computers :) Best of luck.

<p>
As a student of the latest recruitment of current BEDS I can tell you this:<br />
<br />
-learn Adobe PhotoShop, InDesign, Illustrator - in that order<br />
-first semester will have a vague introduction to rhino. Learn that guy well on your own. As a designer, it is the most versatile. It is also extremely powerful once you get the swing of it. People who knew this one right out of the gate were miles ahead. If you have a Mac, the V5 beta is free right now. If you have a PC, the educational deal is great because it can be used as a commercial copy without having to pay an upgrade fee. (Once you know Rhino, you&#39;ll find AutoCad to be a very easy transition, as many of the terms and operations are the exact same)</p>
<p>
-The second semester tech course gives you an intro to VectorWorks. There&#39;s a free student version.&nbsp;<br />
-In the third, summer term, you&#39;ll be introduced to AutoCad. All Autodesk products are available for educational license at no cost. This guy&#39;s easy to learn if you know Rhino.<br />
<br />
I hope that helps!</p>