Make What Matters

Have a passion for making? So do we–join us at KCAD!

Our hands-on degree programs put the same tools and cutting-edge technologies creative professionals use every day right at your fingertips, while our dynamic campus in the center of downtown Grand Rapids lets you learn in a likeminded community of fellow makers who are always ready to connect, collaborate, and explore new possibilities.

Students working with their hands in labs and other resource rooms

The KCAD Campus: A Maker's Paradise

Dow Center FLEXlab

Take your ideas from sketches to digital models to physical objects in our on-campus digital fabrication facility, featuring 3D printers and scanners, laser cutters, vinyl-cutting machines, wide-format printers, and more.

Th3 KCAD XR Lab

Experiment with extended reality (XR) technology—including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and everything in-between—to develop innovative ideas for real-world companies and organization in collaboration with Th3rd Coast Digital Solutions.

Cintiq Digital Drawing Lab

Take your drawings to a whole new level and experiment with endless creative possibilities using digital pens and touchscreen drawing tablets.

Audio Lab

Lay down samples, build beats, and record any sound you can imagine using professional audio production tools in our on-campus recording studio, featuring an isolated vocal booth, an assortment of microphones, and industry standard Pro Tools digital audio workstation software.

Metal Sculpture Studio

Roll up your sleeves and let the sparks fly in an expansive studio featuring mig and tig welders, a hydraulic shear, hydraulic slip roller, hydraulic iron worker, metals band saw, metal disc sander, large high-speed metal lathe, pneumatic planishing hammer, and more.

KCAD Woodshop

Kick up some dust in a spacious woodshop featuring over 30 pieces of equipment including a CNC machine, table saws, routers, sanders, a fully-ventilated walk-in spray paint and glue room, and more.

More KCAD Facilities

Images of students working together

The KCAD Community - Making Better Together

KCAD's supportive and close-knit community environment enables makers of all kinds to push each other to new heights of creative possibility. No matter what you're passionate about making, you'll won't have to look far to find others on campus—and off it—who feel the same.

Personal Interaction with Expert Faculty

KCAD's intentionally small class sizes and emphasis on one-on-one interaction with expert faculty mean that your professors are also your mentors. They'll meet you where you are, help you discover where you want to go, and help you build the the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to get there.

Real-World Collaborative Projects

Why spend all your time stuck in a classroom? At KCAD, your education will take you out into the exciting design and art communities of West Michigan, where you'll find plenty of opportunities to collaborate with companies, organizations, and industry professionals on creative projects that connect you to something larger than yourself and make a difference in the real world.

Spectrum Health Innovations, Steelcase, ArtPrize, Wolverine Worldwide, DisArt, Opera Grand Rapids, and the Grand Rapids Ballet are just a few recent collaborators our students have connected with.

Registered Student Organizations

Obsessed with animation? There's an KCAD RSO for that. Driven to make your own short films? Yep, there's an RSO for that too. Eager to explore the evolving field of interaction design? You guessed it—there's an RSO for that. Registered student organizations are a great way to grow your circle, enlarge your perspective, and make new things alongside fellow students who share similar interests.

KCAD Undergraduate Programs - Made for Makers

Learn more about how KCAD's specialized undergraduate degree programs can transform your passion for making into career opportunity:

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