Dual Enrollment and Gap Year Students
Earn College Credit
High School Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors can take college-level art and design courses before graduating. Students who graduated from high school in 2025.
Save Money
Students can take a $5,406 undergraduate course for $900. Many students are also eligible to receive additional funds via the State of Michigan School Aid Act. (Funding varies by school district but typically ranges between $550 – $800 per course.)
Build Your Portfolio
A strong art and design portfolio is the key to admissions. Students participating in dual enrollment create college-level work which can translate into better scholarship offers.
Explore the options:
CoursesApply & RegisterContact
For more information about Dual Enrollment contact the Office of Precollege and Continuing Studies at 313.664.7456.
2025-26 Academic Year Dual Enrollment Courses
Communication Design: Typography I
Focusing on type’s role in communication, students explore aesthetics, hierarchy and language nuances using analog and digital tools, while developing their own perspectives.
Fall Semester – In Person
Communication Design: Typography II
Building on Typography I, students expand their ability to work with typographic form, understanding the nuance of language-based messages, and organization through projects that introduce organizational systems, grids, and the associated nomenclature working with analog and digital tools.
Winter Semester – In Person
Entertainment Arts: 2D Digital Animation
Learn animation basics like compositing, motion graphics, rendering and puppeting with a focus on digital workflows.
Fall Semester – In Person
Winter Semester – Online
Entertainment Arts: Animation I
Master the fundamentals of character animation, including timing, weight, physics and body mechanics.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Entertainment Arts: Creative Visualization
Develop storytelling skills for animation, games and live action through creative writing and pre-visualization exercises.
Fall Semester – In Person and Online
Entertainment Arts: Game Ideation
Explore game ideation, including story, design and development, with a focus on narrative delivery. Students will study the history of video games, game design documentation and project management while experimenting with storytelling methods.
Fall Semester – In Person
Entertainment Arts: Intro to 3D Computer Graphics
Dive into 3D animation basics like modeling, texturing and rendering using Maya. Winter Semester In Person Fashion Design: Essential Skills Learn drafting, sewing and human proportions to create garments and prepare for college-level fashion design.
Fall Semester – In Person
Film: Intro to Filmmaking
Discover visual storytelling through hands-on projects covering cameras, editing, sound and lighting. Create short films in fiction, non-fiction and experimental formats.
Winter Semester – In Person
Film: Language and Techniques
This course introduces filmmaking through hands-on camera exercises, screenings, readings and discussions, covering production roles, techniques, terminology, history and theory.
Fall Semester – In Person
Foundations: 2D Design
Principles Explore 2D design and color theory through hands-on projects.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person and Online
Foundations: 2D and 3D Integrated Design
Combine 2D and 3D design skills to create projects that explore aesthetics, meaning and craft.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Foundations: 3D Design: Form and Space
Learn 3D design essentials through hands-on projects and critiques.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Foundations: 3D Techniques
Get hands-on with wood and metal shop tools to learn fabrication and construction techniques.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Foundations: 4D Design
Explore time-based media, coding and interactivity to design and prototype engaging projects.
Fall Semester – In Person
Foundations: Color and Light Studies
Study color through creative projects and experiments, exploring its evolving cultural and scientific significance.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Foundations: Design Color and Context
Examine color interaction and its role in design across various media and printing processes.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Foundations: Digital Techniques
Learn to create digital imagery using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, essential for modern design.
Fall and Winter Semesters – Online
Foundations: Drawing I: Rapid Concepts
Focus on quick concept development through perspective, value and line variance.
Fall Semester – Online and In person at CCS Detroit and CASA Oak Park, MI
Winter Semester –Â Online
Foundations: Drawing II: Style and Skill
Develop your personal style and enhance drawing skills, focusing on figure drawing and composition.
Prerequisite: Drawing I: Rapid Concepts.
Fall Semester – Online and In Person
Winter Semester – Online and In Person at CCS Detroit and at CASA, Oak Park, MI
Foundations: Process and Making
Learn essential tools and techniques for high-quality model construction in design.
Fall and Winter Semesters – In Person
Illustration: Figurative Illustration I
Develop figure drawing skills with a focus on light and shadow, anatomy, proportion and art history.
Fall Semester – Online
Illustration: Painting and Image Making
Develop figure drawing skills with a focus on light and shadow, anatomy, proportion and art history.
Winter Semester – In Person
Interior Design: Freshman Studio I
Learn technical drawing and graphic communication for interior design concepts and presentations.
Fall Semester – In Person
Interior Design: Freshman Studio II
Build on foundational design skills with a focus on creative thinking.
Prerequisite: Freshman Studio I
Winter Semester – In Person
Liberal Arts: Western Art History Survey
Western art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, exploring its cultural and social contexts.
Fall and Winter Semesters – Online
Liberal Arts: Composition I
This course focuses on analyzing written and visual texts, thesis-driven writing and creative projects while developing skills in reading, essay organization, citation, revision and presentations.
Fall Semester – In Person
Liberal Arts: Composition II
In the second composition course, students will focus on research strategies, writing, formatting, revision, editing and presentations.
Winter Semester – In Person
Photography: Black and White Photography
Learn camera techniques, composition and darkroom skills, with an emphasis on how subject, technique and intent work together to create powerful images.
Fall Semester – In Person
Product Design: Intro to Product Design
Explore the design process, focusing on user needs, materials and manufacturing methods.
Fall Semester – Online
Transportation Design: Freshman Studio I
Learn 3D drafting techniques to create transportation design sketches, renderings and basic models.
Fall Semester – Online
Registration Information
Option 1: Students Seeking Financial Support from Their Michigan School District
Students who wish to receive financial support from their Michigan school district must follow these steps.
Step 1
Submit an approval letter or form from your high school guidance counselor or principal stating that you are approved to participate and the dollar amount that the district will pay toward the $900 cost of tuition to [email protected]
Step 2
Once the approval letter or form is received from the student, the student will receive further instructions on how to register for their dual enrollment course(s) with a specific discount code for their school district.
If a counselor, principal or administrator submits the approval letter or form via email to [email protected]Â the following information must be provided:
- Student first and last name;
- Student email address;
- Parent/guardian first and last name;
- Parent/guardian email address;
- Student or parent/guardian phone number.
Option 2: Enrolling Without Financial Support from Their Michigan School District
If you would like to take a dual enrollment course without the financial support of your school district, you can register directly after March 1st.
Registration Due Dates*
Registration for Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 dual enrollment opens on March 1, 2025 online at CCSclasses.com. Seats are filled on a first come first serve basis. We recommend submitting your approval letter or form by May 1st. However, some seats may still be available until August 25, 2025.
*Summer semester courses are not eligible for Dual Enrollment tuition assistance but are available at the CCS Summer tuition rate.
Contact Us
Do you have questions about Dual Enrollment?
Precollege and Continuing Studies Department
O: 313-664-7456
M: 248-840-1728
[email protected]
Are you a dual enrollment student with questions about your portfolio or admissions?
Olivia Ezinga
Assistant Director of Admissions
O: 313-664-7824
M: 313-268-6613
[email protected]
https://calendly.com/oliviaezinga/dual_enrollment