GRADUATE STUDIES

The only U.S. city designated as a UNESCO City of Design, Detroit is the ideal ground for incubating the next generation of creative innovators. CCS brings the city’s resources and learning opportunities to students through its curriculum—including social—impact partnerships and creative projects with local design and business communities.

CCS graduate studies program prepares students for a sustainable career in design, not just a job. New designers have to be prepared to meet future challenges. We make sure they are. The programs integrate both thinking and making—transforming ideas into applicable and relevant solutions. An education in design thinking can be applied to a wide variety of problems: delivering new products, new services and new ways of running or creating businesses. We educate designers who have a firm grasp of the business practices that most new hires typically learn on the job; they learn to lead and to drive business value. Graduates emerge ready to build a career at an agency, consultancy, non-profit or begin an entrepreneurial pursuit.

CCS supports cross-pollination, promoting discourse across disciplines. Electives allow students to build on their unique interests by taking courses from any graduate or undergraduate program. Students can also participate in a number of interdisciplinary collaborative projects that explore new ideas, approaches and skills.

A proven approach to curricula and real-world experience. Students entering the graduate degree programs share a foundation curriculum of research, studio, and business practices. Concentration on a single program gives students the opportunity to focus on technology components and work on industry-specific projects.