Graduate Transportation Design at the College for Creative Studies
The Graduate Transportation Design at the College for Creative Studies looks to immerse students into the entire design process, from research and sketching to animation analysis.
Course details
School: College for Creative Studies
Course: Graduate Transportation Design
Type: graduate
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Course dates: September 2027 to May 2028
Application deadline: 15 February 2027
The College for Creative Studies’ Graduate Transportation Design program focuses on the complete design process, including extensive research, sketching and 3D rendering, animation, core competencies analysis, and more.
Special projects explore innovation through forms and materials, functionality, and engineering.
Students apply to this understanding a real-world strategy that includes business practices, research, brand identity, vehicle architecture, and mobility as a system.
Our curriculum is led by faculty who understand what it takes to succeed in the design industry because they have been or currently are successful industry practitioners and leaders.
Students learn not only to become critical thinkers and strategic designers but to be professionals because creative talent and execution skills alone do not guarantee career advancement or entrepreneurial success.
Students are taught to work effectively in teams both as leaders and as team peers.
They learn to champion their ideas through formal presentations and rigorous critiques led by industry professionals who are in positions to recruit and hire promising talent.
What will I learn during this course?
- synthesize knowledge and skills to create visionary, attractive, and socially responsible transportation solutions that meet professional standards
- articulate and argue concepts and proposals persuasively through professional writing and presentations
- design advanced vehicle and vehicle system concepts with significant technological and conceptual reach, pushing the horizon of aesthetic and market desirability
- apply an understanding of business, technology, culture, and social responsibility, both individually and collaboratively, to elevate the practice of transportation design
What are the requirements?
- a recent CV
- a relevant portfolio
- statement of purpose
- transcripts
- letters of recommendation
- English proficiency
What facilities and resources are available?
- 24-hour studio spaces
- industry-level technology and equipment
- a state-of-the-art foundry
- shops and material libraries
- a model shop with facilities to fabricate designs, including a rapid prototyping studio with 3D printers, CNC five-axis mills, laser cutters and a car-sized ventilated spray booth
What career prospects can I expect upon graduating?
Students can have possible careers in the following fields:
- airplane designer
- alias modeler
- automotive color & trim designer
- automotive exterior designer
- automotive interior designer
- autonomous vehicle designer
- bicycle designer
- clay modeler/sculptor
- concept hardware artist
- creative designer
- design engineer
- digital modeler/sculptor
- industrial designer
- market researcher
- mass transit designer
- mobility systems designer
- motorcycle designer
- recreational vehicle designer
- surface designer
- transportation systems designer
- ux designer
- vehicle exterior designer
- vehicle interior designer
- virtual reality designer
- watercraft designer
Who teaches this course?
Raphael Zammit, chair of MA/MFA Transportation Design.
