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Graduate Admissions

Students in our Graduate Studies programs will address the issues of sustainable communities, new modes of mobility, human-technology experience, color and materials solutions and supporting art educators. They will develop deep knowledge and skills that will enable them to make a powerful effective impact on people’s lives through design.

Graduate Application Requirements

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One of the best ways to learn about CCS is to see campus for yourself. Whether in a virtual or in-person format, students have opportunities to check out our facilities, hear from faculty and students and view our inclusive and supportive campus.

Graduate Admissions Events

The College for Creative Studies admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

Program-Specific Requirements

Read below for the specific requirements of each Graduate Program at CCS.

Art Education

Art Education Requirements

• General Application
• Portfolios/Examples of Student Works (see below for guidelines)
• Artist-Educator Essay (see below for criteria)
• Resume/CV
• Letters of Recommendation
• Transcripts

Additional Information

The Portfolios/Examples of Student Works and Artist-Educator Essay will be uploaded to the program-specific SlideRoom application.

Art Education Portfolios/Examples of Student Works are assessed on the presence of the following criteria:

Ideation and Design thinking/Concept development
Creativity/Curiosity
Craftsmanship and Presentation quality/ Communication
Meaning Making/Social awareness/Empathy
The ability to work in interdisciplinary teams, e.g. group projects and collaborations. (Please see below regarding Submission of Collaborative Projects)

All submissions are subject to CCS' Academic Integrity Policy. Works submitted must be your own original works; reference and inspiration images should be labeled as such.

Art Education Artist-Educator Essays Criteria

Please specifically address the following (1 paragraph each):

Both teaching and art-making are creative processes.

What do you wonder about as both an artist and a teacher? What kinds of questions do you find yourself asking? If you had time to pursue these questions through artistic practice and curriculum design, what would you hope to investigate and why?
Art does something. It provokes, informs, and can inspire action. In designing lessons and encounters for students, describe your vision and core values around the importance of the creative process.
Describe how an MA in Art Education from CCS will support your professional development goals as an artist and educator

Color & Materials Design

Color and Materials Design Requirements

General Application
Portfolio (see below for portfolio guidelines)
Personal Statement (see below for criteria)
Resume/CV
Letters of Recommendation
Transcripts
International Requirements (see requirements above)

Additional Information

The Portfolio and Statement of Purpose will be uploaded to the program-specific SlideRoom application.

Color and Materials Design Portfolio Guidelines
Portfolios may display examples of work and experiences from a range of undergraduate disciplines, including but not limited to Architecture, Crafts, Fashion, Fine Arts, Illustration, Interior Design, Industrial or Product Design, Photography, Textiles and Transportation Design.

Applicants to Color & Materials Design should include a minimum of six projects in their portfolio, including academic, personal and professional work. Submit a variety of work that shares the breadth of your skills, however seemingly unrelated to color and materials design.

Portfolios should show use of Adobe Creative Suite, specifically Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and additionally, any rendering software if those skills are established.

We look for work that demonstrates:

- A strong interest in color, materials and finish [CMF] design in conjunction with providing insight into your individual work
- The use of CMF design to make aesthetic selections that express the functional and emotional attributes of products, artifacts or experiences
- Both research and making practices e.g. hand skills including drawing, model-making and prototyping, evidence of construction and making
- Good organization and design in presenting ideas and concepts
- Engagement with sustainability and human-centered design methods in developing relevant ideas
- Material based innovation
- The ability to write and communicate in English at a professional level
- The ability to work in interdisciplinary teams, e.g. group projects and collaborations. (Please see below regarding Submission of Collaborative Projects)

All submissions are subject to CCS' Academic Integrity Policy. Works submitted must be your own original works; reference and inspiration images should be labeled as such.

Color and Materials Design Statement of Purpose Criteria

Applicants for the Color and Materials Design program must submit a 750-1000 word statement of purpose that outlines the following:

Your rationale for applying to the Color & Materials Design Graduate Program
Your motivation for studying design
What are you hoping to achieve in your graduate education? E.g. Do your interests lie in research-based practice or professional color and materials design practice?
Describe the qualities and characteristics, both personal and professional, that you feel you will bring to an interdisciplinary collaborative project

Interdisciplinary Design & Media

Interdisciplinary Design & Media Requirements

General Application
Personal Statement (see below for criteria)
Resume/CV
Letters of Recommendation
Transcripts
International Requirements (see requirements above)

Interdisciplinary Design & Media Personal Statement Criteria

Applicants for the Interdisciplinary Design Studies program must submit a 1000 - 2000 word statement of purpose (with references) that outlines the following:

What is your motivation for advancing your creative practice at the graduate level? What are your goals in inter- and multidisciplinary practice?

What are your career aspirations and personal development goals?

Why do you think CCS is the place for you?

What characteristics, both personal and professional, do you feel you will contribute to a team-based project?

Transportation Design

Transportation Design Requirements

General Application
Portfolio (see below for portfolio guidelines)
Personal Statement (see below for criteria)
Resume/CV
Letters of Recommendation
Transcripts
International Requirements (see requirements above)

Applicants to the Graduate Transportation Design program may be recommended to enroll in an additional year of study for their selected degree (MA or MFA) based on the review of the below materials. The recommendation could result in an offer of admissions to a 2 year MA or 3 year MFA program. Details regarding this will be shared during the admissions interview.

Additional Information

The Portfolio and Statement of Purpose will be uploaded to the program-specific SlideRoom application.

Transportation Design Program Portfolio Guidelines

Upload items that communicate your technical and design expertise and problem-solving skills. NOTE: It is required that applicants for the Transportation Design program include a significant number of original sketches in their portfolio submission and/or an additional sketchbook.

Your portfolio should include a minimum of 3-4 design projects including academic, personal and professional.
All projects must have a clear representation of the phases of the design process – including your project brief, research, target market development, concept ideation, development and final renderings and models – presented in a fluid, clear, systematic manner that is graphically composed.
All projects should be collectively presented in / submitted as a single PDF.
Submissions should demonstrate your technical creative skills including freehand sketching in accurate perspective, use of 2D rendering and 3D modeling and rendering software such as Photoshop, Alias, Blender, ZBrush etc.
Include a significant amount of original process sketches and/or a separate sketch book as a PDF attachment in SlideRoom.
The portfolio should reveal a high level of skill in critical thinking, creative conceptualization, overall project development, and visual communication of this development as well as final design results.
All project design work presented in your portfolio should be exclusively created by you unless otherwise noted. (Creative work from another student participating in a group project with you should be clearly identified as not your work. However, research & inspiration imagery/video/animations do not need to be identified if it is evident they are not your work.)

Transportation Design Statement of Purpose Criteria:

Applicants must submit a 500-1000 word statement of purpose that outlines the following:

What is your understanding of and motivation for studying Transportation Design?
What are you hoping to achieve in your graduate education? Career path and/or personal enrichment?
Why do you think CCS is the place for you?

What characteristics, both personal and professional, do you feel you will contribute in team-based projects and to the field of Transportation Design?

All submissions are subject to CCS' Academic Integrity Policy. Works submitted must be your own original works; reference and inspiration images should be labeled as such.

User Experience Design

User Experience Design Requirements

General Application
Portfolio (see below for portfolio guidelines)
Personal Statement (see below for criteria)
Resume/CV
Letters of Recommendation
Transcripts
International Requirements (see requirements above)

Additional Information

The Portfolio and Statement of Purpose will be uploaded to the program-specific SlideRoom application.

User Experience Design Program Portfolio Guidelines

The graduate studies program in User Experience (UX) Design seeks students with the maturity and discipline to engage in an intensive, two-year commitment to prepare for a fulfilling career. Candidate’s submissions will be reviewed for clarity of intentions, structure of thinking, and demonstration of discipline and process. Critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity are essential. Point-of-view about user experiences and interaction design and self-awareness as to career aspirations, which may not be fully formed, are also important.

Portfolios and/or other forms of evidence such as dissertations and thesis projects, may display experience from a wide range of domains, including but not limited to interaction design, product design, industrial design, interior design and architecture, software design, and graphic design; even expertise in engineering, computing, technology, psychology, social sciences, and humanities are welcome. However, they must reflect one or more of the following.
- Design skills: user research, conceptual organization, disciplined process
- Systems skills: holistic viewpoints and systemic modeling in order to understand complex situations and needs, and to design for their improvement.
- Technical skills: evidence of manual dexterity, whether in physical materials, software interfaces, or human interactions, including iteration, refinement, and convergence toward the exploration of ideas.
- Visual thinking skills: evidence of the ability to visualize ideas and systems, and prototyping using images, plans, diagrams, and physical models.
- Technological awareness: Familiarity with new and emerging technologies in AI, AR, robotics, HMI, HCI and mobility systems.

Applicants from non-traditional design and visual arts backgrounds will need to develop competency in Adobe® visualization software (Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) before commencing the program.

Added consideration will be given to applicants who possess one or more of the following optional skills:
- Professional experience with design or implementation teams in any of the domains mentioned above
- Empathy for social, economic, and global challenges, including but not limited to energy, natural resources, income disparity, and social justice
- Implementation of web, app, or other general coding skills for front-end, back-end, platforms, cloud, and APIs
- Proficiency in toolsets for 2D, 3D, animation, and prototyping of all kinds.

All submissions are subject to CCS' Academic Integrity Policy. Works submitted must be your own original works; reference and inspiration images should be labeled as such.

User Experience (UX) Design Statement of Purpose Criteria:

Applicants for the User Experience Design program must submit a 1000-2000 word statement of purpose (with references) that outlines the following:

What is your motivation for studying design in the context of technologically mediated user experiences?
What are you hoping to achieve in your graduate education? Career path and/or personal enrichment?
Why do you think CCS is the place for you?
What characteristics, both personal and professional, do you feel you will contribute to a team-based project?

Graduate Admissions

Graduate Application Requirements

Deadlines

Complete the Online Application

Transcripts

Submit Resume/CV

Letters of Recommendation

English Proficiency Exam

Program-Specific Requirements

Eligibility

Request an Appointment

Experience CCS for Yourself

Deadlines

Transcripts

Upload a current transcript(s) (unofficial or official electronic version) of your transcript. Official copies will be requested if offered admissions.

Resume/CV

Letters of Recommendation

Program-Specific Requirements

Art Education

Color & Materials Design

Interdisciplinary Design & Media

Transportation Design

User Experience Design

Eligibility