The anatomy of higher education can look the same for many students. Go to class, take tests, and complete assignments and projects—but how do students apply skills learned in the classroom to the world outside of higher education?
As one of the top art and design educational institutions in the world, the College for Creative Studies (CCS) is highly focused on learning by doing, or what they call experiential learning. Numerous studies have shown that ‘active learning’ is the best way for students to retain information and it directly impacts success.
Art and design are inherently ‘active learning’ activities. And because of CCS’s 100+ years of industry connections, the college engages with industry partners to ensure the types of ‘active learning’ students participate in align with industry needs and will prepare students for careers.
By engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflection, they are better able to connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations. The experiential learning activity can occur outside of the traditional classroom experience and/or be embedded as part of a course.
“Through experiential learning with our industry and community partners, students are able to demonstrate professional skill sets in their portfolios. This puts professional preparedness at the heart of everything we do. Companies like Ford, Stellantis, GM, Carhartt, Whirlpool, and 3M, to name a few, regularly offer sponsored projects with our students across various subject areas", says Dr. Ian Lambert, CCS Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.
In fact, in the 2021/2022 academic year, 713 companies engaged with CCS and their students- this includes anything from attending an industry day event to reviewing portfolios to sponsoring a studio project. And the graduate program alone had a 100 percent career placement rate (with a 90 percent knowledge rate). Furthermore, most of the College’s graduate degrees are STEM-designated, meaning that all international students can extend their visa to continue working in the US for up to three years after graduation.
"The College prides itself on being student focused & there is a strong ambition on creating a very inclusive learning environment"
Student and alumni testimonials reinforce this: “Saying that I learned more than I anticipated at CCS would be an understatement. Education at CCS is constantly evolving to find new ways to nurture the next generation of leaders in the design space. The industry experience of its faculty members has helped me to have the right mindset when entering the workforce and it still helps me. I have also been able to build strong networks while at CCS and this has helped me to grow in my career”, said alum Anuja Raja, now a Color and Materials designer at Ford Motor Company.
Being located in midtown Detroit allows CCS the perfect opportunity to engage with a thriving community of artists and designers. Not only is Detroit the only UNESCO City of Design in the United States, but it’s also home to a vast number of manufacturers, makers, entrepreneurs, technologists, educators, social innovators, artists, activists, thinkers, and doers. It is a city where creativity and innovation are at the heart of both community and business. The design has been described as Detroit’s hidden superpower.
“The community CCS has built over the years is diverse with students from different countries and backgrounds studying at the college. This allows the students to have cross-cultural learning and build strong connections and networks”, said second-year Graduate student Jyotsna Parthasarathy.
About College for Creative Studies
Located in the heart of Detroit, the College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a world-class institution that educates artists and designers to be leaders in the creative professions. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls nearly 1,400 students pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Master of Arts (MA), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees.
Students in the BFA program can major in Advertising Design, Art Practice, Communication Design, Craft and Material Studies, Entertainment Arts, Fashion Design, Film, Illustration, Interdisciplinary Art + Design, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design, and Transportation Design, in addition to a dual major Art Education program. Students in the graduate program can major in Art Education, Color and Materials Design, Sustainability, Interdisciplinary Design Studies, Motion Design, Transportation Design, and User Experience Design.
Dr. Ian Lambert, Dean-Graduate Studies & Research and Professor
A maker-researcher and designer, Ian has worked in both practice and academia for more than 30 years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Having lived and worked in Scotland, for almost 20 years, he relocated to Detroit in 2019.
With a plethora of notable publications to his name, Ian’s research interests lie in sustainability, material practice, and making-as-thinking. His award-winning collaborative work with ocean plastic on the west coast of Scotland has been widely published, and, bringing this work upstream, he is now a member of the Detroit River Coalition. Since 2020 he has collaborated with The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on the D.TREE Studio, an atelier exploring urban lumber and climate justice.
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