College for Creative Studies
- Academics

Workload

The workload at CCS is intense and most students tend to lack much of a social life. However, the students are enormously talented and devoted to improving their skills.

Treated Like the Stepkids

CCS has some really good facilities and programs. But for my specific major (which is relatively new for the school) it seems like we're the unwanted stepchildren. First of all of our classes are in the basement, we rarely get to see the sunlight, and to top it off you can't get phone reception down there. They don't allow us 24 hour access to our computer labs (which they do for the other majors) we only get 24 hour access during finals and even then we have to beg to get it. There is a lot of drama between teachers (talking down to each other threatening each other), they are constantly moving in and out. The head of my department is a nice guy but he's been known to say disparaging things about 2d animation (he's someone who is a champion for 3d animation). Definitely room for improvement.

Tough, but Worth It

Professors at College for Creative Studies (CCS) have worked in the field/industry that they are teaching, or are working while teaching; so you get real world and classroom experience, which is something a lot of colleges don't offer. The professors are tough, along with the curriculum, and expectations are high but that's because they, along with the person who puts together the curriculum (which is the department head), know what the industry requires. Professors there have also been known to offer students internships, or help connect them with someone they might not have been able to connect with without their professor.

Seeing as CCS is an art and design school, the curriculum focuses on studio classes. Liberal arts classes are spread out throughout the student's time in college, so that they can dive right into their major starting their freshmen year, something a lot of colleges, mainly liberal arts colleges, do not allow. The liberal arts classes focus on art and design, or art and design are usually maneuvered into the discussion. Many of the liberal arts professors teach at liberal arts and community colleges while teaching at CCS, and hold the same level of expectation for CCS students as they do for nonCCS students. Students also have the ability to take classes outside their major, even if they do not have a minor. Each department also requires students take electives offered within their department that aren't required in the curriculum (ie Illustration majors can take Children's Book Illustration).

Some departments have specific focuses: Advertising-Art Direction and Copywriting; Entertainment Arts-Live Action, 2-D Animation, 3-D Animation, etc; Transportation Design-Automotive and Transportation (boats, air crafts, etc; Crafts: Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Ceramics). Each focus follows its own curriculum.

Registering for classes is fairly easy, finding the requirements for graduation can be a little difficult to find if you don't have the sheet saved someplace. Scheduling an appointment with your academic advisor can get difficult, especially if you wait too close to registration to do so. A couple weeks before registration, advisors send ALL students the list of classes that they are to take the following semester(s). Getting into a class that you do not have all the prerequisites is simple-talk to your advisor or someone in the office, go to your department head/administrator, and if they fill out the sheet okaying it, you go back to your advisor; if not, it stops there (sometimes this can be avoided by your advisor just calling and talking to either the department head or administrator).

All senior level students register on one day, juniors a week later, sophomores a week later and then freshmen a week later. Class status is determined by the amount of credits earned including credits taken that semester (ie already have 42 credits, taking a semester of 15 credits, total credits to determine status=58). All registration takes place online for the exception of registering with your advisor. It is HIGHLY encouraged to register the moment registration for your class level to register because classes fill up quickly. Switching and dropping classes are pretty easy, but it's best to do it in the beginning of the semester because you only get a certain percentage refunded as the semester goes on.

Getting ahold of your advisor can be pretty difficult when registration is not taking place or about to, so don't wait until the last minute to email your advisor a question.

The workload is EXTREMELY heavy; every studio requires at least six hours of homework worktime a week, liberal arts require at least three. Procrastination will lead to sleepless nights, and sometimes the best students end up pulling all nighters. Expectations are high, and if you do not present quality work in a presentation or critique, you will be torn a part. Detail is everything. Design classes require that all process work be documented and put into a binder or bound to be handed in. Semesters are 15 weeks long, each project has about 2, 3 weeks dedicated to it. Students are taking three, sometimes four, studio classes at a time. There have been many weeks where I averaged 20 hours of sleep a week (not including weekends) not because I procrastinated, but because of the workload.

Departments offer specialty classes-Advertising: Mobile App class, Social Media class, Guerrilla Advertising; Illustration: Children's Book Illustration; Entertainment Arts: Stop Motion (these are only a few, there are several, several more that are offered year after year). Independent study is also offered in every department.

We have one of the highest ranks Transportation Design Departments in the world.