A medical illustrator is a professional artist who is educated in both the life sciences and the visual communication fields. Medical illustrators often collaborate with scientists, physicians, and other specialists to translate the complex language of medical terminology into visual images that are able to be understood across broad audiences, such as patients or even the general public.
Medical illustrators promote education, research, patient care, public relations, and marketing efforts. With new discoveries being made in both science and technology, making sure that there is an accurate way to communicate the findings into an effective way for everyone is vital. Current technology allows the information to be readily available for a wide audience and displays the simplified, yet cultivated graphics and works of art. While medical illustrators still produce works in books and journals, some now even are art directors and producers of a broad range of work. This can be from anything such as animations and patient education to advanced computerized training simulations.
Annual income of a medical illustrator will range depending on various factors such as: experience, education, ability of the artist, type of work, and location. The median salary can range from $62,000 to $100,000, and if self-employed, $82,000 to $580,000, depending on entrepreneurial expertise (2013 AMI Survey data).
Minor in Pre-Medical Illustration
The minor in Pre-Medical Illustration is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the College of Applied and Natural Sciences, the College of Engineering and Science, and the College of Liberal Arts that will educate students in art and biology with special topics courses being an opportunity to merge the two disciplines. The minor is open to students in all disciplines but will fit well for students pursuing a BFA in Studio Art, a BS in Biological Sciences, or a BS in Biomedical Engineering with a Pre-Medical concentration. Students who complete the minor will have fulfilled the prerequisites for application to graduate school in medical illustration. In addition, students will have had the opportunity to work with the clients and build a portfolio that may include publication of their work in scientific periodicals and textbooks. Student who complete the minor may also pursue careers in biomedical research, medical school, physician's assistant school, nursing, or another area of medicine.
The minor in Pre-Medical Illustration consists of 47 hours of course material. A student minoring in pre-medical illustration must take 24 hours of specified Art, 23 hours of specified Biological Sciences. A student must pass all classes in the curriculum with a C or better.
Curriculum
The courses needed for the Pre-Medical Illustration minor are listed in the PDF below.