Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

For the 2010-2011 academic year, tuition for full time students is:

• $998.00 per credit hour
• $14,970.00 per semester
• $29,940.00 per year

Tuition Payment Options

1. Full payment of tuition and fees at the time of registration.
2. Deferred payment of tuition and fees. Students must pay a minimum of $100 at the time of registration. All tuition and fees must be paid in full by September 30th for the Fall semester and January 31st for the Winter semester.
3. Tuition Management Systems (TMS) Interest-Free Monthly Payment Plan- the College for Creative Studies accepts tuition payments through TMS. TMS offers monthly interest-free payment plans as a way to pay the remainder of your tuition and fees. There is a $55.00 annual enrollment fee for this option. For enrollment or additional information please call 1-800-343-0911 or visit www.afford.com/collegeforcreativestudies.

Merit Based Scholarships

CCS awards scholarships based strictly on academic excellence and artistic ability. Scholarships are awarded for the purpose of assisting students with tuition costs. Students receiving tuition assistance from their employers will have their actual tuition scholarship reduced accordingly. Applicants are automatically considered for scholarship money upon completion of admission requirements.

Merit Scholarships are awarded based on the portfolio review and academic achievement of the applicant. Notification is mailed with the applicant's acceptance letter. Recipients must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 to continue receiving these scholarships.

National Gold & Silver Key Scholastic winners will receive an additional $2000 and $1000 scholarship, respectively. Accepted students will be notified following the announcement of national winners in March.

Award of Excellence Competition in March determines the winners of our highest scholarships. Qualified applicants are nominated by either their high school or college art instructor, or their CCS Admissions Counselor. Details of the competition are announced each December.

Need Based Grants and Scholarships

Eligibility for need-based grants financial aid is determined by an analysis of family resources for the most recent calendar year to assess a family's ability to contribute to college costs. To receive federal or state financial aid from CCS, students must demonstrate financial need, be accepted for enrollment in the degree program, attend the College on at least a half-time basis, maintain satisfactory academic progress and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. In addition, a student must be registered with Selective Service (or be exempt) and cannot owe a refund on previous Title IV funds received or be in default on any student loan.

Loan Programs

There are a limited number of Federal Work-Study Program, Michigan Work-Study Program and Student Employment Program positions available in various offices on campus. Check with the Financial Aid office for available positions.

A complete list of scholarship opportunities can be found on the website or by contacting the Financial Aid Office at 313.664.7495.

Yes, there are options to live on either campus location.

THE A. ALFRED TAUBMAN CENTER FOR DESIGN EDUCATION
The Taubman Center offers accommodations for two to three people per room. Rooms are furnished with beds, storage units, wardrobe, a couch, coffee table and a bedside table. Each room is approximately 500 square feet and has its own private bath, a large closet and upper storage area. Rooms are also wired for basic cable, room to room phone service and have wireless Internet access.

The Taubman Center is built on the philosophy of community, so just outside the student’s living quarters are work spaces, fitness rooms and lounge areas for students to interact. Each floor also houses a laundry room. Continuing with the theme of community, a full-service dining area is just a few floors below. Students living in the Taubman Center are required to have a meal plan.

THE ART CENTRE BUILDING
The Art Centre Building (ACB) offers suite-style accommodations for students. The size of each suite varies, ranging from approximately 700-square-feet to approximately 1,200-square-feet. The 4-6 person option has two or more bedrooms and two bathrooms. The 2-3 person option has one bedroom and one bathroom. ACB suites include a living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Each student is provided a bed, dresser, and dining chair. The living room is furnished with two couches, two end tables, and a coffee table. The kitchen comes with a refrigerator and a stove. In addition, each bedroom has one bedside table and there is a dining room table located in the dining room.

Ethernet cable connections are provided in every suite. Cable television service is also available, but not provided.

The ACB has a fitness center that is open 24-hours-a-day with cable television and air conditioning. Located near the fitness center are coin-operated laundry facilities and a spray/work room that students can use for messy projects.

STAFF
We have a dedicated and energetic staff ready to assist you during your stay in CCS student housing. The staff consists of 10 resident assistants in the Art Centre Building and 8 resident assistants in the Taubman Center. The resident assistants are upper-class students that assist residents and plan programs and activities. In addition to the resident assistants, there are professional staff members who live in our campus housing.

Taubman Center 2-3 students per unit
- with 1875 dining dollars per semester - $4250
- with 1450 dining dollars per semester - $3850
- with 725 dining dollars per semester - $3150

Art Center Building 2-3 students per unit
- with 1875 dining dollars per semester - $4250
- with 1450 dining dollars per semester - $3850
- with 725 dining dollars per semester - $3150
- housing with no meal plan - $2450

Art Center Building 4-6 students per unit
- with 1875 dining dollars per semester - $3850
- with 1450 dining dollars per semester - $3450
- with 725 dining dollars per semester - $2750
- housing with no meal plan - $2050

Yes. Meal plans are required for students living in the Argonaut Building, and optional for students living in the Art Center Building.

The Office of Student Life can assist you in your search for off-campus housing in the surrounding areas. Their number is 313.664.7686. The University Cultural Center Association Website (www.detroitmidtown.com) provides listings for apartment and townhouse rentals near the Medical Center, Cultural Center, CCS, and Wayne State University. The New Center Council Website (www.newcenter.com) provides listings for apartment around the Taubman Center.

While our residence hall is very popular, you are not required to live on campus as a freshman.

Located within five blocks of CCS are grocery, drug store and art supply stores, so a car is not a necessity. If you do choose to bring a vehicle, however, a secure parking structure is available.

1382 undergraduate students were enrolled for the 2009 fall semester.

All efforts are made to assist CCS students with disabilities. Assistance in educational matters is provided through the Student Success Center. Other types of assistance for students with physical disabilities are provided through the Office of Student Life. Students with a physical and/or learning disability must provide the College with documentation of their disability before any assistance can be provided.

The average age of a student at CCS is 22.

The Office of Student Life provides a variety of social and educational programs and activities for students, including Welcome Week activities, Tuesday Music Series (local bands performing in the CCS cafeteria at lunchtime), open-mike competitions, movies, and periodic free mini massage sessions. Students are also entitled to free general admission to the Detroit Institute of Arts. At the Student Activities Corner, located in the Academic Resource Center (ARC), activities such as knitting classes, lunch-time movies, drum circles, and yoga classes are held. Fitness rooms with cardio and weight equipment are located on both campus locations. The fitness rooms are available for use by all students during the academic year, and health screenings and wellness programs are sponsored on campus.

Student Organizations include Black Artists Researching Trends (B.A.R.T.), Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA), Innovative, Diverse Educational Activities (IDEA), English Conversation Group, Multicultural Student Collective, Student Budget Committee and Student Government.

Departmental Organizations include American Society of Interior Designers (A.S.I.D.),
Children's Book Society, Glass Odyssey Organized Society for Enrichment (G.O.O.S.E )
Industrial Design Society of America (I.D.S.A.), and SIGGMO, the CCS student chapter of SIGGRAPH

CCS has two campus locations approximately one mile apart. Our Ford campus is located in the Cultural Center of Detroit, also referred to as Midtown. We are conveniently located within blocks of most major freeways and the Medical Center, and within walking distance to the Detroit Public Library, Wayne State University and the Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Film Theater. The Taubman Center is in the area known as New Center, just a few blocks from the historic Fischer Building and around the corner from the Detroit Amtrak train station.

The College for Creative Studies has one of the safest college campuses in Michigan. The following are campus crime statistics. For a complete listing of crime statistics, please visit the Campus Information page.

The CCS campus is made up of 16 acres, with approximately 225,000 square feet of instruction space in eight buildings.

The new A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education houses the Advertising Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Product Design and Transportation Design undergraduate departments as well as the Graduate programs in Design and Transportation Design. The building also houses the Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies, an art and design middle school and high school, a conference center, a full service cafeteria and loft-style dorms. The classrooms in the Taubman Center were created to be flexible and open to change. The building is a state-of-the-art wireless communications facility and has a clay modeling studio with a spray booth, and a rapid prototyping machine.

The Walter B. Ford II Building is a state-of-the art facility wired with a single digital network to carry voice, data, and video. The building houses high-tech flexible classrooms incorporating both traditional and computer workstations and a 250-seat auditorium equipped with the capacity to project digital images and sound. In addition, the building also provides space on each floor for the exhibition of student work.

The CCS computer labs (containing more than 555 workstations), wood shop, metal shop, and foundry are open to students in all departments. CCS is the only school in Michigan with a hot glass studio and a foundry that pours iron (in addition to bronze and aluminum). The art library is also a great resource.

The student to faculty ratio is 11:1

56%. The national average is 56.1 for private, 46.2 for traditional select.

CCS Experience Course

The CCS experience course is a one credit course designed to assist students in adjusting to campus culture, academic expectation and life as a college student. Topics include career exploration, time management, and community service, as well as campus technology, personal budgeting and presentation skills. This course is required for conditionally admitted students, and highly recommended for all students.

Student Success Center

The Student Success Center is a user friendly environment staffed by a learning specialist, master tutor and peer tutors. All of the services are free and provide every student with the possibility to boost classroom performance, build learning strategies, hone study and writing skills and develop confidence. The most popular service is the one-on-one tutorial assistance in all courses offered at CCS. Tutorials are tailored to each individual's learning style and academic needs. This individual approach often results in reduced student stress, improved productivity and better grades. The Student Success Center also offers a fully equipped computer lab with programs such as Maya, Alias, Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash. Students can work on their own or one-on-one with a peer tutor.

Students with learning challenges will discover a variety of supplementary services that will enhance productivity and reduce stress. Included are private test taking environments as well as assigned readers for dyslexic students. Student Success Seminars are provided for conditionally admitted students, and probationary students are encouraged to schedule visits to the Success Center throughout the semester.

Students are not required to have a computer, however, it is strongly recommended that students in Graphic Design purchase a laptop for their work. All technology needed to complete assignments is available on computers located in CCS computer labs or through AV checkout. The CCS Bookstore is an Apple Campus Reseller offering all Apple hardware and software products with educationally discounted pricing for students.

There are many resources nearby that sell a variety of supplies. The closest are the CCS Bookstore on campus and Utrecht on Woodward at Warren, just a few blocks away.

Career Services supports both current students and alumni in their search for full-time, part-time and freelance employment opportunities. On-campus recruitment events, workshops, and Career Day sessions are available to students. In addition, the online Job Book allows students and alumni to search job postings and available internships, as well as upload their resume and sample work for employers to review. The CCS Career Services Office prepares students for life after graduation by offering guidance on resume, cover letter preparation, interview skills, job search techniques and provides students with information about various career paths open to artists and designers.

For F1 students, work on-campus does not have to be authorized by the immigration and Naturalization Service. On-campus employment is limited to 20 hours per week while school is in session and is defined as work within the physical boundaries of the campus and paid by CCS. Some examples would be working in the library, the bookstore or serving as a resident assistant in the resident hall.

Upon admission, an enrollment deposit is required. In addition, the student must complete a financial statement verifying they have enough funds to finance their education at CCS. Once the student has been admitted and we receive both the enrollment deposit and the financial statement, an I-20 form will be issued.

While international students are not awarded U.S. Government aid, they are eligible to receive the merit-based scholarships that all students are considered for upon admission.

International students can find assistance with text interpretation as well as participate in conversation groups to help sharpen English speaking skills.