Studios are led by both academic staff and professional practitioners, sometimes linking to external organisations or project briefs.

During the year the studios come together for major events such as Celebration Week – when students present work in progress to panels of external critics – and summer exhibitions.

Controversy erupted in late 2015 after London Metropolitan University unveiled plans to cut many of the Cass's signature programmes while moving the Cass from its traditional Aldgate location (which would be sold) to its Holloway campus; this plan attracted opposition from many of Britain's most renowned artists and designers.

[4] In March 2019 London Metropolitan University formally announced that The Cass would remain in Aldgate.

The decision was made in the wake of the George Floyd protests, and calls by the Black Lives Matter movement for the removal and revision of monuments and names commemorating historical figures connected with the slave trade.