The MIAD Experience

The First-Year Experience (FYE) nurtures growth and individuality of each artist and designer. It challenges students to ask deeper questions about the nature of visual culture, art, design, technology, media, materials, influences and process. In FYE studio courses, students are immersed in making in two, three and four dimensions. Students also meet professionals in the majors and learn digital technologies that are essential for today’s creative marketplace.

MIAD’s Illustration program prepares students to be a professional illustrator by teaching the language of visual communication with an emphasis on creative problem solving. Students work in a variety of media, from traditional to digital and motion graphics, to create a personal style that distinguishes their work. Students build a professional portfolio and develop strong design skills while learning to properly prepare work for publication in multiple formats. Students gain real-world experience by working with professional clients and making professional connections through courses like MIAD’s Illustration Seminar.

New Studio Practice: Fine Arts is a venue for contemporary creative thinking and making, grounded in the tradition of rigorous and committed studio practices, and enhanced by innovative approaches to marrying skill and concept in the creative world. Interdisciplinary exploration and integrated learning of fine art media — disciplines in drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and more — are supported by an increased emphasis on professional preparation and practice under the guidance of outstanding faculty mentoring and advising. Students apply learned knowledge to the creative world as a responsible art citizen and make visual work with a comprehensive understanding of how their creative identity relates to the world around them. 

Artists and designers from different programs and backgrounds come together in Liberal Studies classes to explore new perspectives and unique interpretations. This collaboration is one of the interactions that makes MIAD a rich community of thinkers and makers who support each other’s work in academic and studio settings. Liberal studies includes courses in art history, the humanities, science and writing.

At MIAD, a vibrant array of sponsored and client partnerships, exhibitions, visiting professionals, field experiences, study abroad and off-site coursework provide opportunities to go beyond the traditional classroom. One experience unique to MIAD students is the annual Interior Architecture and Design cardboard shelters project. Students design and build cardboard shelters, and then sleep overnight in their shelters in Catalano Square, across the street from MIAD’s main academic building.

Study abroad and travel programs provide students with unique opportunities to broaden their worldview, immerse themselves in another culture or environment and positively influence their work as designers and artists. One example: MIAD Illustration and Product Design students worked alongside scientists from the Carthage Institute of Paleontology in a fossil excavation partnership in Southeastern Montana. Each MIAD student recorded and illustrated discoveries in a field journal. MIAD students found a T-Rex tooth, uncovered the vertebra of a Triceratops from a surface collect and unearthed a 66 million-year-old turtle shell.

The MIAD campus is a hub of creativity. It is an interactive, dynamic, breathing space where students learn and connect with peers through research, creation and discussion. MIAD’s campus — our main academic building and our residence hall  — are located in Milwaukee’s vibrant Historic Third Ward. The main academic building is home to the MIAD Innovation Center, MIAD’s Galleries, the Emerging Technology Center, the 3D Lab (the largest woodshop in the state), among other labs and student studio spaces.

MIAD’s 3D and Sculpture lab space boasts approximately 20,000 square feet of workable space for students in all disciplines to work and create. The lab supplies the needed machinery and technology for working in wood, metal, plastics, vacuum forming, model building, bronze casting, ceramics, clay and much more.

MIAD’s residence hall Two50Two is conveniently located across the street from MIAD’s main academic building. Two50Two is much more than luxury apartment- style suites where students study and sleep. Our residence hall provides opportunities for students to get involved in campus activities and social groups, take on leadership roles within the community, meet new people and immerse themselves in the thriving art and design district of Milwaukee.

MIAD graduates are individuals whose passions have become lifelong careers. MIAD alumni are employed in every facet of visual art and design. Nearly 30 percent of MIAD graduates own their own businesses; many begin freelancing before graduation. MIAD graduates work for employers such as Engberg Anderson Architects, Kohl’s Corporation, GE Healthcare, Google, Hanson Dodge Creative, Laughlin Constable, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Tool, Nike and Pokémon.