Medical Illustration

Overview

The Medical Illustration program of Rochester Institute of Technology collaborates with scientists, physicians, and other health care professionals, medical illustrators translate complex scientific information into visual images that support medical education, science research, patient care, advertising, and litigation. Illustration projects are designed for use in print, projection, broadcast media, and distribution via the web and mobile devices.

The two-year program emphasizes visual problem solving, determining the best approach to communicate a difficult concept. Students also gain real world experience by collaborating with medical researchers and observing live surgery in an operating room. The program culminates with the production of a thesis project, which requires extensive background research and an original body of artwork on a complex medical topic.

Careers and employment

Graduates of the MFA medical illustration find work with hospitals, medical schools, research centers, museums, medical publishers, advertising agencies, web design firms, animation studios, law firms, and a variety of other creative agencies. Since the MFA is considered the terminal degree in the arts, graduates may also find employment in academia, teaching in a wide range of computer graphics, scientific illustration, and art programs. Organizations that employ our include:

• Science magazine (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

• Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Rochester Medical Center

• New England Journal of Medicine

• Roswell Park Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY

• MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation

• Cell Press (publishers of Cell and other scientific journals)

• Nucleus Global (medical communications)

• Custom Learning Designs (pharmaceutical advertising)

• The Presentation Group (courtroom graphics)

• Bryan Christie Design (pharmaceutical advertising)

• Emmi Solutions (web and interactive media)

• Cleveland Institute of Art (scientific illustration program)

• Illustrated Verdict (courtroom graphics)

• National Capital Area Medical Simulation Lab, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (developing virtual surgical simulators)

• Visible Body/Argosy Medical Publishing (medical publishing and interactive media)

• Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

• Springer Healthcare Communications (medical publishing)

• Legal Art Works (courtroom graphics)