Medical Illustrator - Education

Education

Most medical illustrators in the profession have a Master's degree from an accredited graduate program in medical illustration or another advanced degree in either science or the arts. The Association of Medical Illustrators is a sponsor member of CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs), the organization that grants accreditation to the graduate programs in medical illustration upon recommendation of ARC-MI (Accreditation Review Committee for the Medical Illustrator) which is a standing committee of the AMI and a Committee on Accreditation of CAAHEP. Currently there are five accredited Programs in North America:

The Department of Art as Applied to Medicine on the East Baltimore Campus of the world famous Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions was the first program of its kind in the world. Endowed in 1911, the program has been in existence for over 90 years. In 1959, the Johns Hopkins University approved a two-year graduate program leading to the University-wide degree of Master of Arts in Medical and Biological Illustration. The academic calendar, faculty and student affairs are administered by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The program has been fully accredited since 1970, currently accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). The current Chair and Director of the program is Gary P. Lees, MS, CMI.

The Biomedical Visualization Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Applied Health Sciences is the second oldest school of medical illustration in the western hemisphere, founded in 1921 by Thomas Smith Jones (Jones also was co-founder of the Association of Medical Illustrators). The UIC program is located in the national healthcare and pharmaceutical hub of Chicago, and offers a market-based curriculum that includes the highest ends of technology (including the renowned Virtual Reality Medical Laboratory and a rigorous animation curriculum). Biomedical Visualization is located on the UIC Medical Center campus, home of the largest medical school in the United States. The UIC program blends the more traditional aspects of medical illustration and the emerging markets of digital, pharmaceutical, and "edutainment" industries. UIC also offers an extensive study in the field of anaplatology (facial and somatic prosthetics), medical sculpture, and an international internship program is available. A two-year Master of Science (MS) in Biomedical Visualization degree is awarded, and the program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

The Medical Illustration Graduate Program of the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta is fully accredited by (CAAHEP). Graduates receive a Master of Science in Medical Illustration. The first Master of Science degree in Medical Illustration at MCG was awarded in 1951. The program emphasizes anatomical and surgical illustration for print and electronic publication, as well as for projection and broadcast distribution. Because of the importance of good drawing skills, the students learn a variety of traditional illustration techniques during the first year. In addition, computer technologies and digital techniques, used to prepare both vector and raster images for print and motion media, are well and extensively integrated into the curriculum.

The Biomedical Communications Program at the University of Toronto. This program was begun in 1945 by Maria Wishart, a student of Max Brödel's. Faculty and graduates of the program contributed the drawings for Grant's Atlas of Anatomy, a renowned guide to dissection, structure, and function for medical students. The current two-year professional Master's program, offered through the Institute of Medical Science, emphasizes a research-based approach to the creation and evaluation of visual material for health promotion, medical education, and the process of scientific discovery.

The Biomedical Communication Graduate Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center was the first school in the world to offer a graduate degree in medical illustration in 1945. Lewis Boyd Waters, who studied under Max Brodel at Johns Hopkins in the 1920s, was a founding member of the medical school and was responsible for starting the master's program. Professor Waters died in 1969 and was later succeeded by several of his students who continued and expanded the program. The current program is offered through the Department of Biomedical Communications, and courses are taught by faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Southwestern Allied Health Sciences School. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. It is designed to be an interdisciplinary program that provides opportunities for development of the skills and knowledge needed in the application of communications arts and technology to the health sciences.