Photo: Amelia Burns (Photography 2023)
Cranbrook Academy of Art Virtual Visit Day
Welcome! We have created this virtual space to provide you with a tour of Cranbrook Academy of Art, the top graduate-only MFA and M.Arch program in the United States, to highlight our campus. We hope it will give you some insight into our remarkable campus.
On this page, you will find a short campus tour detailing a brief history of Cranbrook Academy of Art along with introductory videos of individual spaces and the people that will help you utilize these resources.
Your prospective department will reach out to you to set up tours of their space and studios. Each department conducts its tours differently, so be on the lookout for an email from the department head or a department assistant.
Photo: Brian Kovach (Photography '21)
Next Steps
Next Steps
Frequently Asked Questions
Deposit information – Once you receive your admission packet you will have two weeks (14 days) to send back the acceptance form and your $1,000 studio deposit. Studio deposits can be paid by check, international wire, or online with a credit card. We require a $1,000 deposit to save your studio space for the fall semester. This will be added as a credit to your account balance in the fall.
Housing information – If you are interested in living on campus there is information in your admission packet on how to request a dorm room for the 2023-2024 academic year. On-campus housing is dormitory-style with shared bathroom facilities. If you would like to live off-campus, we will send out information in the summer months detailing areas to live close to campus, apartments, and landlords that have been kept in the Cranbrook family. We are working all summer and are ready to answer any questions you have about the area you are moving to.
Still have lingering questions? – We’re always available to chat and answer any questions that come up as you make your decision. We’re available by phone or email: 248.645.3300 or caaadmissions@cranbrook.edu.
Explore Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art Campus – A World Apart
Explore the Cranbrook Academy of Art campus exterior on a brief walking tour with Kevin Adkisson, Curator at the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. Points of interest include Arts and Crafts “5D” courtyard, Administration Building, Academy Way, Saarinen and Milles Houses, Dormitories, Jonah Fountain, Cranbrook Art Museum, Triton Pools, and New Studios.
Central Materials Lab Overview
The Central Materials Lab is run by a combination of staff (including Academy alumni) and students who are able to educate you in fabrication methods to achieve your designs. The Central Materials Lab is home to the woodshop, foundry, and courtyard. The foundry (no longer iron-pouring) houses metal fabrication tools. The courtyard has a large fully-ventilated spray booth. The Academy regularly adds to shared tools available to students and Artists-in-Residence (see a list at the 3:55 mark).
Central Media Lab Tour
The Central Media Lab is run by a combination of staff (including Academy alumni) and students where students have access to a range of media resources to check out or use in the lab. The Central Media Lab features a computer lab, large format printers, cameras, separate lighting and sound studios, and a viewing room.
Library Tour and Collection
The Cranbrook Academy of Art Library is located directly across from Cranbrook Art Museum. It has a diverse collection of books, periodicals, digital media, and the archive of student Thesis books. New materials are added on a regular basis.
Cranbrook Art Museum and Collections Wing Tour
Take a brief walk through Cranbrook Art Museum and its Collections Wing with Head Preparator, Jon Geiger. The #CAMCollection is home to more than 7,000 objects including the largest collection of works by Cranbrook Academy of Art Alumni. The deSalle Auditorium and Fika Cafe are located on the lower level of the museum. Several Academy alumni work at the museum including Director, Andrew Satake Blauvelt.
Beverly Fishman (Painting Artist-in-Residence, 1992–2019), "Rise"
Cranbrook and Detroit
The Academy’s campus is approximately 30 miles north of the city of Detroit. It provides an ideal location for creative inspiration when you need a break from the immersive studio practice. Cranbrook has had a close association with the city of Detroit since its very beginnings.
Cranbrook architects, including Eliel and Eero Saarinen, designed master plans, buildings, or public spaces in Detroit. Cranbrook founder, George Gough Booth, was among the founders and first president of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now the College for Creative Studies) and donated several works to the Detroit Institute of Arts, including the iron gates leading into the Rivera Court.
Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni and faculty continue to play a leading role in Detroit’s creative community, from the great Spirit of Detroit sculpture by former Cranbrook instructor Marshall Fredericks to the installation in the Fort Street/Cass People Mover station by Sandra Jo Osip, a 1983 Metalsmithing graduate, to the design of Selden Standard by 2008 Architecture graduate Tadd Heidgerken.
Get to know area artists, collectors, supporters, and the many galleries that feature current student and alumni work. Explore museums and galleries in the city and the surrounding area through this list curated by Art Detroit Now.
Over the past 15 years, Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni have begun to stay in the city after graduation in increasing numbers. They are educators, working at institutions such as Lawrence Tech, the College for Creative Studies, the University of Detroit, and Wayne State University. They run community projects, such as Burnside Farms, Talking Dolls, Detroit SOUP, and Power House Productions, many of which were initially funded by awards they earned while students at Cranbrook. Many Academy graduates set up studios, galleries, and professional practices, where they not only create the work they sell around the world, but they also employ their neighbors. There is simply no creative enterprise in Detroit right now that does not have a Cranbrook connection.
Detroit is also a UNESCO City of Design. Look ahead to see activities you can take part in during Detroit Month of Design every September.
