BFA

Animation

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Animation is the art of bringing entirely new worlds and characters to life.

As a top-ranked animation program in the Midwest, CCS ensures you’ll master the production pipeline for feature and television animation, games, and advertising. In this program, you’ll explore both the theoretical and technical sides of character performance, design, story, and world-building in a mixed visual medium. Through hands-on studio courses, you’ll receive direct mentorship from working animation professionals – your faculty! Get ready to dive deep into character performance, concept design, and world-building to create a professional animation portfolio.

78%

Entertainment Arts
Placement Rate
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STEM-Designated
Program

Toon Boom
Center of Excellence

Unreal Authorized

CCS Animation gives you the flexibility to customize your curriculum. You can focus your studies on specialized industry tracks.

Gael Borges

Scene of a person sitting at a desk in front of a window with a birght sun. — Tayrn Porter

A character made of lined paper in the fashion of a wrestler — Bastian Keller

Digial drawing of a person in a bathtub — Violet Twomey

City street with some garbage in the front corner — Jordan Guevara

Lael Levy

Experiential Learning

Hands-on opportunities that help bring
your imagination to life.

We partner with the creative industry to ensure you gain professional, real-world experience long before graduation.

A student smiling standing in front of their board at Animation's Industry Day

Your Future, In Motion

With our extensive industry connections spanning over a century, we ensure that the active learning our students engage in aligns with industry needs, preparing them for careers.

Learn More about Experiential Learning at CCS

An interior view of a busy animation studio classroom. In the foreground and midground, multiple students wearing headphones are seated at long rows of angled drafting tables. Each table features an illuminated circular light box used for traditional 2D animation sketching. The students, including one in a bright pink jacket and another in a plaid shirt, are intently focused on drawing. In the background, rows of desktop computers and digital drawing tablets line the wall of the well-lit room.

Cutting-Edge Spaces for Creative Minds

Enjoy unlimited access to industry-standard facilities
that prepare you for real-world production.

Take a Virtual Tour of Animation Schedule a Campus Tour

Internationally, nationally and right here in Detroit, Animation graduates pursue multiple avenues upon graduation

*Note: This information was gathered using Lightcast Labor Market Analytics and includes the median salary for the lifetime of a career in these specific professions. CCS alumni outcomes may vary.

Possible Career Choices

3D Artist

3D Character Artist

3D Modeler

3D Production Artist

3D Visualization Artist

Animator

Armature Builder

CG Artist

Character Animator

Cinematographer

Cinematics Director

Colorist

Compositor

Concept Artist

Creative Visualization Designer

Digital Designer

Digital Media Creator

Digital Product Designer

Director

Editor

Environment Artist

Flash Artist

FX Artist

Game Artist/Designer/Developer

Hair and Cloth Artist

Interactive Imaging

Layout Artist

Level Artist

Lighting Artist

Look Development Artist

Maquette Builder

Matchmover

Matte Painter

Mocap Artist

Motion Graphics Artist

Multimedia Specialist

Rigger

Stop Motion Animator

Storyboard Artist

Texture Painter

VFX Artist

VFX Supervisor

Videographer

Video Game Specialist

Video Producer

Weapon Artist

Web Artist

Angela McBride ’12

Lighter, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Dillan Murrillo ’21

CG Animator, Wildbrain
Marisa Livingston ’14

Character Design Supervisor, Titmouse

News & Events

Hear more about CCS’s community of artists, designers, and creative thinkers.

Through collaborative projects, industry partnerships, and citywide exhibitions, students push boundaries, forge connections, and draw on Detroit’s energy to shape bold ideas and future creative leaders.

Explore CCS News Events

AnimationEntertainment Arts

2026 Kresge Artist Fellowship Application Cycle Begins

December 3, 2025

Metropolitan Detroit artists are invited to apply for a 2026 Kresge Artist Fellowship, a $50,000 no strings attached award recognizing…

AcademicsAnimation

The Detroit Difference: CCS Students at the Forefront of Local Innovation

October 13, 2025

Located in the heart of midtown Detroit, CCS’s prime location offers unparalleled opportunities for art and design collaboration. Our students…

blurry brown and green plant image with the word season over top in white.

Alumni EventsAlumni News CalendarDetroitIn-PersonWoodward Lecture

Woodward Lecture Series: Season Talks

September 10, 2026 11:30 AM College for Creative Studies, Wendell W. Anderson Jr. Auditorium, Walter B. Ford II Building

Two students working at a table. Behind them is a large mood board fill of images, writing and inspiration.

Complete your Application

Submitting your application for admission is the first step to becoming part of one of the best art and design schools in the world.

Apply Today Apply with CommonApp

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Submit your Transcripts

We accept unofficial or official transcripts for application. Official GED results may be accepted in place of a high school transcript.

Visit Undergraduate Admissions Visit Graduate Admissions

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Show us your Work

If the department you are applying to requires a portfolio, please take a look at our portfolio guidelines.

Submit your Portfolio with Slideroom Request a Portfolio Review

Unlock Essential Admissions Info.

Fill out our inquiry form to receive personalized updates, tips, and can’t miss info from our Admissions team.

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MAMFA

Color & Materials Design

Minor in Design for Sustainability Minor in Footwear Design Chat with the Chair Support CCS

The Color and Materials Design program is the only accredited graduate-level CMF program worldwide, attracting designers globally from the fields of product, transportation, fashion, interior, user experience, textile, and animation design, as well as fine art, crafts, architecture, engineering, and the natural and social sciences.

Exploration of materials through form, color, and finish.

Darpan Hans

80%

Placement Rate
Learn More

STEM-Designated
Program

The program curriculum encourages a mindset where forward-thinking color, material, and finish strategies are framed to connect functional and emotional meaning to products, environments, and experiences.

Degrees Offered

Color & Materials Design Program offers 2 types of Degrees

60 Credits

2-year Full-time MFA

Upon graduation, students in the MFA Color & Materials Design program will be able to:

Apply advanced knowledge of the properties, taxonomies, and applications of color, materials, and finishes with the intent to solve design problems with a broad range of industries.
Undertake independent research and demonstrate competency in its analysis and interpretation appropriate to the line of inquiry.
Utilize advanced research, ideation, prototyping, and testing of materials, leading to the idea generation of relevant material concepts regarding function, human connection, technological advancement, and sustainability.
Interpret, translate, and anticipate trends and their potential to impact the behaviors of diverse consumers, communities, and cultures.
Develop a contextual understanding of relevant factors that inform innovation and evidence of original thought, that results in creativity and the generation of unique ideas.
Understand material attributes in the context of attributes, manufacturing process, and their aesthetic and functional potential.

30 Credits

2-year Part-time MA

Upon graduation, students in the MA Color & Materials Design program will be able to:

Undertake independent research and demonstrate competency in its analysis and interpretation appropriate to the line of inquiry.
Utilize advanced research, ideation, prototyping, and testing of materials, leading to the idea generation of relevant material concepts regarding function, human connection, technological advancement, and sustainability.
Interpret, translate, and anticipate trends and their potential to impact the behaviors of diverse consumers, communities, and cultures.
Develop a contextual understanding of relevant factors that inform innovation and evidence of original thought, that results in creativity and the generation of unique ideas.

A student organizing and laying out form samples for testing

Installation of small porcelain bowls evoking emotion through light. — Vasylyna Zaderetska

Weaving exploring with acrylic hair — Tullio Dimichele

Exploration of materials through form and culture: teeth; grills — O'Dell Carson III

Color & Materials Design student reviewing work on a wall.

CMF tray for Ford F150 Sponsored Project — Kiara Wu

Often working in cross-collaborations through experiential learning with industry partners, students strive to achieve expertise in deciphering patterns within markets, cultures and geographic regions to develop narratives that offer innovative perspectives, mindful of the impact of their design decisions in terms of societal effects, product life-cycle, and sustainability.

Explore more Color & Materials Design Student Work

Biodesign project of temporary bio-based spray paint system.