History of the College for Creative Studies

In 1906, the year Pablo Picasso heralded the Cubism movement and automobiles made their first tentative trips through Detroit's streets, a group of local civic leaders founded the Society of Arts and Crafts. Inspired by the English Arts and Crafts movement, the Society dedicated itself to keeping the ideals of beauty and craftsmanship alive in an industrialized world—in their words, to "encourage good and beautiful work as applied to useful service." The Society offered informal classes in basic design, drawing and woodcarving beginning in 1911, and opened a gallery to display and sell work by students and eminent modern artists.

In 1926 the Society became one of the first Arts and Crafts organizations in America to offer an educational program in the arts. From its inception, the school sought outstanding faculty and brought in noted painters, sculptors and craftspeople from around the world. In 1933 the Society made national news by recognizing the automobile as an art form. Industrial design and commercial art were soon added to the school's curriculum.

Recognizing the need to be part of Detroit's Cultural Center, the school moved in 1958 to its current location. In 1962, when the Michigan Department of Education authorized the granting of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design, the school officially became a College.

The Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts changed its name to the Center for Creative Studies-College of Art and Design in 1975. The Kresge-Ford Building was completed the same year. In 1997 the Academic Resource Center, now called the Manoogian Visual Resource Center, was added to the campus, housing Center Galleries and the library, followed by a parking structure in 1999.

In July of 2001, CCS changed its name to the College for Creative Studies to better reflect what the College does – educate talented students to become artists, designers, and leaders in their fields. In the fall of 2001, CCS inaugurated the new Walter B. Ford II Building, and renovated two historic homes next to campus to house the administration and admissions offices.

The Josephine F. Ford Sculpture Garden was added in fall of 2005, creating a central gathering place for the CCS Community. In 2007, the College renovated another home on historic Ferry Street to house Institutional Advancement and Human Resources.

In 2008, CCS embarked on its most ambitious project to date – the redevelopment of the 760,000 sq. ft. Argonaut Building. Through a $145 million redevelopment project, the College transformed General Motors’ historic building, located in Detroit’s New Center district, into the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education, which now becomes an integral part of Detroit’s Creative Economy initiative.

The Taubman Center serves as a second campus site for the College, housing CCS’s five undergraduate design departments and its new Master of Fine Arts degree programs in Design and Transportation Design. The Center enables CCS to expand its curriculum to new areas of the creative industries, improve facilities for every one of its departments, and connect to the community in exciting new ways. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world.

Today CCS is a recognized as a world leader in art and design education, preparing students to enter the new, global economy where creativity shapes better communities and societies. The College enrolls more than 1,400 students seeking Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 11 majors and Master of Fine Arts degrees in Design and Transportation Design. CCS also offers non-credit courses in the visual arts through its Continuing Education programs and annually provides over 4,000 high-risk Detroit youth with art and design education through Community Arts Partnerships programs.