SCADpro: A Collaborative Design Studio

SCAD prepares talented students for creative professions through engaged teaching and learning in a positively oriented university environment. SCADpro, the university’s collaborative design studio, is powered by innovative students and guided by expert faculty. Serving as a leading bridge between academia and industry, SCADpro transforms creative education through strategic partnerships that produce real-world solutions and measurable impact.

With more than 800 completed assignments—including collaborations with nearly half of Forbes’ 100 most valuable companies—SCADpro has become the preeminent innovation engine in higher education. Its 2024–25 milestones, including record enrollment, expanded Fortune 500 partnerships, award-winning student work, and unprecedented project revenues, reinforce its position as a national leader in industry-academic collaboration and creative talent development.

SCADpro’s current partnerships reflect its ability to address complex challenges across diverse sectors. Multidisciplinary teams have designed new TV broadcast graphics for WWE, developed real-time technology concepts with Universal Creative, partnered with The Mayo Clinic to reduce patient fall injuries, redesigned café environments for The Coca-Cola Company, optimized Chick-fil-A’s queue efficiency, strengthened student-focused marketing concepts for Walmart, and created a Savannah-inspired color palette for Sherwin Williams. Additional collaborations span augmented reality experiences for CBS Sports and AI-driven mixed reality solutions for BMW’s marketing initiatives.

These partnerships embody SCAD’s ethos of rigorous education, professional collaboration, and career preparation. Students across all 40+ SCAD majors strengthen critical attributes—such as flexibility, communication, and project management—while completing assignments that count toward their degree requirements. More than 8,000 students have built standout portfolios through SCADpro, with many earning internships and full-time positions at IBM, Microsoft, Walt Disney Imagineering, NASA, Deloitte, Lenovo, and other leading companies.

SCADpro also supports entrepreneurship. Through SCAD StartUp, a weeklong business challenge led by SCADpro and the user experience design club FLUX, students develop original concepts and receive resources to advance them. After graduation, SCADpro continues supporting alumni as they launch companies, products, and services in the global marketplace.

Operating across SCAD’s three locations, SCADpro consistently sets new benchmarks for excellence and impact, preparing students for leadership roles in an increasingly competitive global environment.