Educational Experience

Educational Experience

Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country's only school devoted exclusively to graduate education in art, architecture, and design.

Like real life, graduate study at the Academy is self-directed and relatively unscripted. And yet, students are guided, supported, and challenged by the Academy community.

Both the departments and the Academy-wide programs are free from conventional classes and traditional grades. This allows the school to be specialized and flexible — responsive to student and faculty interests. The academic program is both rigorous and yet approachable. The program takes the form of lectures, discussions, workshops, student-initiated symposia, critiques with visiting curators, dinners with guest thinkers, and debates in the studio kitchens. The Academy-wide academic programs are open to all students at the Academy — regardless of their primary studio department — and are designed to foster inter-departmental exchange.

Overview

Educational Experience

The eleven departments immerse students in a deep disciplinary dialog.

Educational Experience

Rhonda Khalifeh, 2017

Educational Experience

The eleven departments immerse students in a deep disciplinary dialog.

The Academy offers graduate study for a Master’s Degree in one of eleven departments: 2D Design, 3D Design, 4D Design, Architecture, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. These activities are synchronized with Academy-wide offerings, including a Critical Studies program, a lecture series, professional practices sessions, and the programs of Cranbrook Art Museum. The eleven departments immerse students in a deep disciplinary dialog which is balanced by many interdisciplinary opportunities, including elective study. At the end of this two-year period, students prepare a written Master’s Statement and exhibit their work in the Graduate Degree Exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum.

Educational Experience

To live and work with other artists, designers, and architects on a historically significant, exquisitely designed campus is an unusual and remarkable way to study.

Educational Experience

Photo by PD Rearick

Educational Experience

To live and work with other artists, designers, and architects on a historically significant, exquisitely designed campus is an unusual and remarkable way to study.

In addition to the planned programs, the nature of study at Cranbrook develops from the character of the individuals, the chemistry of the group, and the singularity of the architectural environment. While it is a place of long-standing creativity and legacy, it is also a living and working community that is always changing and growing.

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