How to Request DC Spaces for Classroom Use

The Digital Media Commons provides a wide array of opportunities for hands-on learning with DC technologies, from one-time workshops to full-semester engagement, with pedagogical and technical support for the many special technologies available here. DMC staff members are here to help you find the best fit for your course needs. Email dc-scheduling@umich.edu if you have questions that are not answered below.


Designated Learning Places

Classrooms in the Duderstadt Center are provided to support curricular and co-curricular learning that engage the special resources available in the DC.

Third floor classrooms host 20 – 60 learners:

Advanced Training Labs are used to teach software related to DC technologies.  

Image of a class being conducted in the Advanced Training Lab of the Duderstadt Center

Flex Labs are generally used for active, team-based learning related to DC technologies. 

Flex Labs are generally used for active, team-based learning related to DC technologies.
Image by Kaavya Ramachandhran, courtesy of the Alternate Reality Initiative
Specialized Studios

Specialized Studios host small groups and provide staff members to assist with activities:

U-M 3D Printing Club members work on a project in the Fabrication Studio

Classroom Reservations for Occasional Meetings

Requests for classrooms for occasional meetings (fewer than one every 2 weeks/7 weeks) may be initiated at any time by emailing dc-scheduling@umich.edu. A DC staff member member will contact you to discuss your request.


Classroom Reservations for Extended Use

Requests to use a classroom for seven (7) or more regular sessions per semester are accepted on a rolling basis.

  • Please review the criteria for courses… below
  • Submit requests no earlier than a semester (and ideally no later than a month) in advance of the semester requested. 
  • Requests will be reviewed by the DMC staff members who manage the requested resources to ensure that  the course meets DMC criteria and that the course activities can be accommodated.  We may contact you with questions or to discuss additional opportunities to support your goals. 
  • We make every effort to accommodate every class that needs to use our classrooms. If your meeting time is flexible at the time of your request, please let us know.

Please initiate your request by providing details about your course through this brief form: Request a DMC Room or Studio for a Regular Class 


Criteria for Courses Requesting Regularly Scheduled Classroom Use

The Duderstadt Center’s classrooms are specifically intended to enable courses whose activities require access to unique resources in the building.  Courses approved for 7+ regular sessions per semester will engage our staff and/or technologies and meet at least two of the following criteria:

  • Be offered by a NC school or college or be credit-bearing in a NC school or college
  • Accept students from multiple schools or colleges
  • Foster collaboration, especially across disciplines
  • Contribute to the growth and development of DC resources by exploring relevant technologies in an academic context and by sharing new knowledge
  • Support campus DEI objectives
  • Have been granted a special exception

Courses that have benefitted from DMC-managed learning places

Academic and future career success for students increasingly rely upon skills and knowledge they acquire collaborating in multidisciplinary teams, with technology-enabled resources, in project-based, real-world settings. U-M faculty are incorporating these learning experiences into many aspects of their teaching. Staff and instructors from groups throughout the DC provide resources essential to innovative curriculum development. These include:

  • Advising faculty and instructors on technologies and applications during course planning
  • Providing the advanced equipment, software, and collaborative spaces students need to do their work
  • Skills training and coaching of students and faculty on technologies, production environments, and industry best-practices

These activities provide scaffolding that enables faculty and students to engage in teaching and learning experiences early in their course work, free of time spent in unproductive resource planning and costly procurement.

Here is just a sampling of courses that have benefitted from the advice and resources available from DC groups.