Hi Margaret,

There are several other great programs that offer high quality undergrad majors in Sci. illustration. The 3 that come to mind, as I have taken numerous interns from all of them over the past 10 years are Virginia Commonwealth University, Rochester Institute of Technology and U. of Georgia.

If you are invested in post graduate work, I think getting an MS from one of the medical/scientific illustration graduate schools will benefit your career more than a certificate. If you see your future clients as academic science people, a master degree does count. Also, from what I have seen, the masters programs will get you more up to speed in the technology and digital programs that are the future of making a living as a scientific illustrator/communicator.

Taina

Taina Litwak, CMI

Litwak Illustration Studio

13029 Chestnut Oak Drive

Darnestown, MD 20878

office: 202-633-4561

mobile: 240-750-9245

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Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2020 09:45:55 -0500

From: Margaret Oliver <[log in to unmask]>

Subject: Comparing certificate programs in the U.S.

Good morning everyone,

I've been wanting to attend a certificate program for natural science

illustration for a long time and finally feel in a position to start going

forward with it (very exciting). I'm hoping to hear people's thoughts on

these three programs in particular:

CSU Monterey Bay, UW, and RISD.

Although I have a couple science degrees I've had a decent amount of formal

art training over the years and I feel like Monterey Bay and UW are both

more geared towards people who already have most of the necessary art

skills, since they require portfolios), whereas RISD is open enrollment and

requires some core coursework to start off (not necessarily a bad idea to

get some refreshers while also learning new skills and techniques). RISD's

program is also by far the longest at ~3 years (CSU is ~10 months +

internship, UW is 8 months) but interested students can get started

whenever they want to (a major plus in my book). Unfortunately, UW is on

hiatus until October 2021 for restructuring and since I know Monterey Bay

is pretty competitive I would plan on spending the next year preparing my

portfolio and getting the required letters of recommendation.

I know I've seen a few things in GNSI's journal over the years on Monterey

Bay's program and I get the sense that it and UW might both prepare their

students for entering the field a little better. But RISD has such a good

reputation as a whole!

Does anyone have strong opinions or thoughts about any of these programs?

Thanks very much for any advice you're willing to offer!

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