Programs

MFA Transportation Design
MFA Design

MFA Transportation Design

Curriculum Philosophy

The MFA Transportation Design concentration at CCS has been developed as a degree that combines research and practice. The program requires students to develop a keen awareness of global environmental issues and social change. The curriculum is designed to guide students to synthesize these external factors in their design work, translate them into a form that is meaningful in a business setting, and create products that resonate with a target market from all design and functional points of view.

In order to address one or more design problems, the major component of the curriculum is structured in a studio format. This format ensures that each student will participate in at least two team-based studio projects during his/her CCS graduate experience. Each project assignment will require that students follow a design development path that commences with an extensive and rigorous research phase. A project definition or project brief will grow out of the research findings, and will serve as the plan of work for the completion of the studio course. Students will be expected to work through the subsequent project phases by creating high-quality visual material (concept sketches, computer 2-D/3-D rendering) and a 3-D model, either hand-built or milled in either clay or other materials.

Another important objective of the studio component of the curriculum is to expose students to first-hand experience working with industry clients on commercially oriented, rigorous research projects. To this end, the program aims to provide each student with at least two opportunities to participate in industry-sponsored projects. As is established practice in the undergraduate curriculum, projects will only be accepted if they support the program’s curricula objectives. If accepted, students may gain academic credit through approved and formally structured industry internships.

The studio component of the curriculum is supported by significant lecture course requirements in history, business practices and the social sciences. These include courses that cover subjects such as design history presented in a historical and social context, research methodology practices, business practices, design management in a product development context, interaction design branding and related issues, sustainable manufacturing and environmental issues.

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminars will involve all CCS graduate students. In addition to being a platform for peer review and critique, the seminars will be a mechanism to expose students to industry and academic leaders in related fields. Social context, sustainability and ethics will be some of the themes addressed, possibly structured within a colloquial format. The seminars will require extensive reading, research, short fast paced design assignments, and individual and group presentations.

Subject to prior experience, schedule and other issues, enrolled students may be offered teaching assistantships in CCS’ undergraduate program. These would be paid, noncredit bearing assignments.

Curriculum Overview

Studio Requirements

Transportation Graduate Studio I, II & III course sequence is designed to progressively strengthen students’ design problem-solving skills. Students will be assigned formally structured design projects, each requiring a substantive research phase, a prototype or concept testing phase followed by concept refinement and concept presentation phases. Where appropriate, the research phase will require students to collaborate in teams, and in some instances the entire projects will be team based. Typically a project definition or project brief will grow out of the research findings and will serve as the plan of work for the completion of the studio course. Students will be expected to develop their design proposals by creating mock-ups and/or conceptual prototypes that would be subjected to a process of testing and iterative refinement. Students will also be expected to create high-quality visual material (concept sketches, computer 2-D/3-D renderings and layouts), and/or a 3-D model, either digitally created or hand built, as appropriate for the specific assignment. At the conclusion of these phases, the students will be required to make a clear and comprehensive verbal presentation to their faculty and peers. A written document articulating their research approach, their findings and the rationale and context of their design in support of the original project brief, will also be a requirement of these courses.

The intent is to secure industry-sponsored research projects for Graduate Studio II & III. If an appropriate sponsored project is not available for a particular semester, the studio faculty will develop an appropriate studio assignment based on the program’s curriculum requirements.

Assignments will emphasize a variety of skills including, but not limited to:

Research and problem-solving methods specific to each studio assignment,
applying methods taught in Design Context I & II
Report and proposal writing specific to each studio assignment,
based on practices taught in Business Practices I & II
Synthesis of research into concept/ideation development Computer- aided design and presentation skills
Model/prototype building
Beta testing
Verbal presentation techniques

Subject to prior approval by a student’s faculty graduate advisor, Graduate Studio II may be substituted for an industry internship. Open to graduate students only.

Studio Electives I, II & III will be opportunities for graduate students to select studio courses from CCS’ wide-ranging undergraduate programs—either to pursue personal creative interests, gain studio experience related to an intended thesis direction, or augment basic skills. Students will make their selection in consultation with their graduate advisor. Under certain circumstances, subject to a student’s prior experience and specific thesis project requirements, Studio Elective II may be substituted for a liberal arts elective.

Students may select upper-level undergraduate courses at the 400-level as electives in their graduate degree program. It is understood that graduate students enrolled in an undergraduate course will complete additionalresearch and or writing assignments relevant to the expectation of graduate study.

Digital Viscom I & II is a sequence of courses designed to ensure that all students have the requisite high-quality sketching—ideation and presentation skills—required by the auto industry. Digital Viscom I will revisit traditional sketching fundamentals and will move into 2-D digital sketching programs using the Wakom tablet interface. Digital Viscom II will focus on 3-D Alias modeling. Open to graduate students only.

Graduate Thesis I & II are studio courses where each student will be required to create a body of work that is the culmination of his/her graduate study experience. The thesis requirements include a critical paper in support of the project’s outcomes—a paper that articulates the research component of the project and provides narrative that describes the project outcome in a social, economic and business context.

Students will be encouraged to seek industry sponsorship for their thesis projects with the assistance of the Director of the School of Graduate Studies and other corporate relation functionaries at the College.

Graduate Thesis II includes a formal writing tutorial where students will be given instruction in thesis writing and one-on-one help with their thesis paper. Open to graduate students only.

Academic Studies Requirements

Contextual Design Research I & II (common to both MFA Design and MFA Transportation Design students) are courses that provide students the knowledge and tools necessary to conduct thorough and effective research to inform their design work. Additionally the course aims to provide students a context within which to critically appraise their own design work and the design work of others. Design Research Methods will introduce students to both quantitative and qualitative research methods, with the emphasis being on ethnographic, observational processes applied to design and new product development. The relevance of methods such as secondary, observational techniques and experiential methodologies will be investigated through case-study analysis and handson, team-based field research assignments. Research methods applied to branding strategies will also be covered.

Creative problem-solving techniques including associative, clustering, grouping, hierarchal, comparison, detailed breakdowns, cause and effect, and system relations will also be included in the course. Open to graduate students only.

Business Practices I & II (common to both MFA Design and MFA Transportation Design students) teaches business issues and the vocabulary of business related to product development management in a global context. In addition to business issues related to the corporate setting, entrepreneurship and the operation of consulting offices will also be covered. Written assignments will include business plans and proposal writing. Open to graduate students only.

Graduate Seminar I, II & III (common to both MFA Design and MFA Transportation Design students) brings together the full cohort of CCS graduate students where they will be exposed to key contemporary issues influencing the design professions. Cross-disciplinary strategies for evolving their work will also be a theme. Students will attend lectures and workshops with visiting artists, designers, as well as related industry and academic leaders.

The seminars will also serve to advance both the investigative and critical writing skills of students. Social context, sustainability and ethics will be some of the themes addressed, possibly structured within a colloquial format. The seminars will require extensive reading, research, and short, fast-paced assignments set in the various workshops. Students will also participate in individual and group presentations in the seminars. Open to graduate students only.

Each Graduate Seminar will have a specific core class component to set the direction and intellectual rigor for each Seminar. The core classes are described below.

Graduate Seminar I
'A Cultural History of Detroit'
Detroit holds a unique position in the collective imagination of Americans. From Frontier outpost to "arsenal of democracy", Detroit has been both a romantic symbol of struggle for national sovereignty and the icon of U.S. industrial supremacy. The birthplace of important cultural and social movements, Detroit's shocking decline since the Second World War alternately has been seen as a warning and a challenge to various urban stakeholders. This graduate-level course will introduce students to the city's past through a critical reading of a variety of texts, both literal and visual.

Graduate Seminar II
'History of Modern Design'
This course examines the social, economic, political and cultural forces shaping trends in modern design. Beginning with the Industrial Revolution and continuing to present day, this course will review the prominent designers, their ideas and influences and the historical context in which they worked. Students will not only study examples of design directions and movements, but will discuss design research methodology, critical theory and analysis and subject-specific case studies.

Graduate Seminar III
'Ethics and Aesthetics: Studies in Value and Imagination'
In his Tractatus logico-philosophicus (1921), Wittgenstein observed that “Ethics and aesthetics are one and the same.” (6.421) Behind Wittgenstein’s statement is a long tradition that approaches the ethical and the aesthetic as manifestations of value. This then poses the question not merely what is value, but is value part of the world or part of the subject’s view on the world? Can value be said (hence open to truth values as propositions) or only shown (hence expressive or embodied)? This traditional opposition has been challenged, re-written and contested in late modernity and forces one of the central themes of this course, namely, what is value that its contestation should be manifested in ethics and aesthetics emphasizing the embodied dimension of experience where conflict is frequently between competing claims of the good? Relatedly, we shall look at the use of the aesthetic as a means or medium for the articulation of questions of moral autonomy. This course proposes a series of case studies from Plato and Sophocles (Antigone) through Kant, Romanticism and Schiller (on play) to Arendt, Nussbaum, Pippin and Wollheim as a means of studying the tension between the ethical and the aesthetic in the examination of the claims of (moral) autonomy.

Liberal Arts Elective can be selected from any of CCS’ upper-level undergraduate liberal arts courses—either to pursue a personal creative interest or gain knowledge and experience related to an individual student’s intended thesis direction.

This course will be selected in consultation with each student’s graduate advisor. Students may select undergraduate courses at the 400-level as electives in their graduate degree program. It is understood that graduate students enrolled in an undergraduate course will complete additional research and writing assignments relevant to the expectation of graduate study.

MFA Design

Curriculum Philosophy

The program will be interdisciplinary in nature where students with a prior degree in any design discipline can be admitted. Additional key qualifying criteria will be:

Accomplished expertise in one or a number of existing 2-D or 3-D digital design tools
Demonstrated commitment to design
Interest in pushing the frontiers of new technologies and their applications

Students will be assigned to an interdisciplinary studio setting where they will work on individual as well as team projects (the program aims to ensure that each student participates in at least two team projects during his/her CCS graduate experience). Industry internships, as well as CCS undergraduate teaching assistantships will also be available to graduate students.

In addition to the technology issues discussed, the path of study will require students to develop a keen awareness of global environmental issues and social change. The curriculum is designed to help students synthesize these external factors, translate them into a form that is meaningful in a business setting, and create relevant design solutions. “Relevant” in this context requires that students’ design solutions resonate with an identified market segment, from all design and functional standpoints.

The major component of the curriculum is structured in a studio format for addressing one or more design problems. Each project assignment will require that students follow a design development path that commences with an extensive and rigorous research phase. A project definition or project brief will grow out of the research findings, and will serve as the plan of work for the completion of the studio course. Students will be expected to work through the subsequent project phases by creating high-quality visual material (concept sketches, computer 2-D/3-D renderings and layouts), and/or a 3-D model, either digitally created or hand built as appropriate.

One objective of the studio component of the curriculum is to expose students to first-hand experience working with industry clients on commercially oriented, rigorous research projects. To this end, the program aims to provide each student with at least two opportunities to participate in industry-sponsored projects. As is established practice in the undergraduate curriculum, projects will only be accepted if they support the program’s curricular objectives. If accepted, students may gain academic credit through these formally structured industry internships.

The studio component of the curriculum is supported by significant course requirements in business practices, social sciences and technology. These will include courses that cover subjects such as research methodology practices, business practices, design management, branding and related issues, the environment and sustainability, and interaction design and technology.

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminars will involve all CCS graduate students. In addition to being a platform for peer review and critique, the seminars will be a mechanism to expose students to industry and academic leaders in related fields. Social context, sustainability and ethics will be some of the themes addressed, possibly structured within a colloquial format. The seminars will require extensive reading, research, short fastpaced design assignments, and individual and group presentations.

Subject to prior experience, schedule and other issues, enrolled students may be offered teaching assistantships in CCS’ undergraduate program. These would be paid, noncredit bearing assignments.

Curriculum Overview

Studio Requirements

Design Graduate Studio I, II & III course sequence is designed to progressively strengthen students’ design problem-solving skills. Students will be assigned formally structured design projects, each requiring a substantive research phase, a prototype or concept testing phase followed by concept refinement and concept presentation phases. Where appropriate, the research phase will require students to collaborate in teams, and in some instances the entire projects will be team based. Typically a project definition or project brief will grow out of the research findings and will serve as the plan of work for the completion of the studio course. Students will be expected to develop their design proposals by creating mock-ups and/or conceptual prototypes that would be subjected to a process of testing and iterative refinement. Students will also be expected to create high-quality visual material (concept sketches, computer 2-D/3-D renderings and layouts), and/or a 3-D model, either digitally created or hand built, as appropriate for the specific assignment. At the conclusion of these assignments, students will be required to make a clear and comprehensive verbal presentation to their faculty and peers. A written document articulating their research approach, their findings and the rationale and context of their design, in support of the original project brief, will also be a requirement of these courses.

The intent is to secure industry sponsored research projects for Graduate Studio II & II . If an appropriate sponsored project is not available for a particular semester, the studio faculty will develop an appropriate studio assignment based on the program’s curriculum requirements.

Assignments will emphasize a variety of skills including, but not limited to:

Research and problem-solving methods specific to each studio assignment,
applying methods taught in Design Context I & II
Report and proposal writing specific to each studio assignment,
based on practices taught in Business Practices I & II
Synthesis of reserach into concept/ideation development
Computer-aided design and presentation skills
Model/prototype building
Beta testing
Verbal presentation techniques

Subject to prior approval by a student’s faculty graduate advisor, Graduate Studio II may be substituted for an industry internship. Open to graduate students only.

Studio Elective I, II & III will be opportunities for graduate students to select studio courses from CCS’ wide-ranging undergraduate programs—either to pursue personal creative interests, gain studio experience related to an intended thesis direction, or augment basic skills. Students will make their selection in consultation with their graduate advisor. Under certain circumstances, subject to a student’s prior experience and specific thesis project requirements, Studio Elective II may be substituted for a liberal arts elective.

Students may select upper-level undergraduate courses at the 400-level as electives in their graduate degree program. It is understood that graduate students enrolled in an undergraduate course will complete additional research and or writing assignments relevant to the expectation of graduate study.

Graduate Theses I & II are studio courses where each student will be required to create a body of work that is the culmination of his/her graduate study experience. The thesis requirements include a criticaal paper in support of the project's outcomes—a paper that articulates the research component of the project and provides narrative that describes the project outcome into a social, economic and business context.

Graduate Thesis II includes a forma writing tutorial where students will be given instruction in thesis writing and one-on-one help with their thesis paper. Open to graduate students only.

Academic Studies Requirements

Interaction Design I & II is a setting where students are given a theoretical/academic background and hands-on experience in designing interaction devices connecting humans to technology. Themes covered include, but are not limited to interface and ambient interaction, sound design and the physical nature of form that condition human interaction. The labs will be interdisciplinary, requiring 2-D and 3-D designers to work collaboratively with technologists, cognitive psychologists and ergonomists in order to accomplish meaningful human interaction design solutions. The role of cultural predisposition, cognition, perception, audio effect, haptics (touch), kinesthetics (gesture and muscle memory) and the synthesis of convergent technology in human communication will be explored. Various prototyping techniques will be applied to testing interface devices/concepts created in class. Open to graduate students only.

Business Practices I & II (common to both MFA Design and MFA Transportation Design students) teaches business issues and the vocabulary of business related to product development management in a global context. In addition to management matters specific to corporate settings, entrepreneurship and the operation of consulting offices will also be covered. Written assignments will include business plans and proposal writing. Development of verbal presentation skills will also be a feature of this course sequence. Open to graduate students only.

Each graduate seminar will have a specific core class component to set the direction and intellectual rigor for each Seminar. The core classes are described below.

Gradual Seminar I
'A Cultural History of Detroit'
Detroit holds a unique position in the collective imagination of Americans. From Frontier outpost to "arsenal of democracy", Detroit has been both a romantic symbol of struggle for national sovereignty and the icon of U.S. industrial supremacy. The birthplace of important cultural and social movements, Detroit's shocking decline since the Second World War alternately has been seen as a warning and a challenge to various urban stakeholders. This graduate-level course will introduce students to the city's past through a critical reading of a variety of texts, both literal and visual.

Graduate Seminar II
'History of Modern Design'
This course examines the social, economic, political and cultural forces shaping trends in modern design. Beginning with the Industrial Revolution and continuing to present day, this course will review the prominent designers, their ideas and influences and the historical context in which they worked. Students will not only study examples of design directions and movements, but will discuss design research methodology, critical theory and analysis and subject-specific case studies.

Graduate Seminar III
'Ethics and Aesthetics: Studies in Value and Imagination'
In his Tractatus logico-philosophicus (1921), Wittgenstein observed that “Ethics and aesthetics are one and the same.” (6.421) Behind Wittgenstein’s statement is a long tradition that approaches the ethical and the aesthetic as manifestations of value. This then poses the question not merely what is value, but is value part of the world or part of the subject’s view on the world? Can value be said (hence open to truth values as propositions) or only shown (hence expressive or embodied)? This traditional opposition has been challenged, re-written and contested in late modernity and forces one of the central themes of this course, namely, what is value that its contestation should be manifested in ethics and aesthetics emphasizing the embodied dimension of experience where conflict is frequently between competing claims of the good? Relatedly, we shall look at the use of the aesthetic as a means or medium for the articulation of questions of moral autonomy. This course proposes a series of case studies from Plato and Sophocles (Antigone) through Kant, Romanticism and Schiller (on play) to Arendt, Nussbaum, Pippin and Wollheim as a means of studying the tension between the ethical and the aesthetic in the examination of the claims of (moral) autonomy.