CCS launches MFA degree programs

The College for Creative Studies in Michigan, USA, is set to launch new Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree programs in Design and Transportation Design. The new courses, which launch in Fall 2009, will give students a broad scope of skills and experience in 2D and 3D design, and will include a basic study in business that will take place at the University of Michigan's respected Stephen M Ross School of Business. CCS says that this will equip graduates with the tools required to implement concepts and make strategic decisions - increasingly important parts of a 21st century car designer's skillset.

Students will also participate in at least two team-based studio projects during the two-year Masters program, creating high-quality visual material (concept sketches, computer 2-D/3-D rendering) and a 3-D model, either hand-built or milled in clay or other materials. CCS says that they will gain at least two opportunities to take part in industry-sponsored projects and will be provided with a graduate seminar forum in which they can take part in peer-to-peer review and gain valuable exposure to industry and academic leaders.

The MFA in Transportation Design will be led by former Ford designer and Paul and Helen Farago Chair of Transportation Design, Larry Erickson.

Fall 2009 will also see the opening of the historic Argonaut Building as a secondary campus site. The newly renovated 760,000-square-foot conference center was designed by Albert Kahn in 1927 and served as GM's first research facility from 1936, housing the first automotive design studio in history, which was led by Harley Earl. Dormant since GM relocated to the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit in 1999, the Argonaut was recently donated to CCS by the US carmaker and will feature a 400-seat auditorium, state-of-the-art computing facilities, modeling shops, studios and galleries when it reopens this Fall.

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