University of Michigan. Graduate Program of Medical and Biological Illustration.

The Graduate Program of Medical and Biological Illustration trained medical and scientific illustrators between 1964 and 2004. Coursework included anatomy, pathology, various drawing techniques, medical sculpture and prosthetics, and other biocommunications topics.

The Graduate Program of Medical and Biological Illustration was formally established at the University of Michigan in 1964, and conferred degrees on a small number of individuals annually beginning in 1966. The program was interdepartmental, offered jointly by the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, the Medical School, and the School of Art. The Medical School provided space and budget for the program, and degrees were awarded by the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies in consultation with the School of Art.

The program's faculty resided either in the Medical School, the School of Art, or both. As such, the goals of the program were drawn from a combination of the objectives from each of the sponsoring institutions. The stated mission of the program was to "...continue graduating small numbers of highly skilled and versatile medical illustrators" (Box 1, Application for Accreditation Self-Evaluation Report, 1989, page 7). To this end, the students in the program were expected to have a strong background in the biological sciences, gain exposure to all areas of the biocommunication field in the course of the program, and master the skills needed to become "competent medical illustrators" (Box 1, Application for Accreditation Self-Evaluation Report, 1989, page 7). Coursework included such diverse topics as "anatomy, pathology, anatomical sketching, medical and scientific drawing techniques, surgical drawing, endoscopic drawing, advertising art and design, television graphics, museum methods, exhibit design, charts and graphs, and medical sculpture and prosthetics" (Box 1, Articles pertaining to UM program, 1956-1990, The Reporter Vol. 1, No. 2).

Although the program was founded in 1964 by Professor Gerald P. Hodge, who first came to the university in 1955, medical illustrators have been affiliated with the university since the early 20th century. Some of the earliest medical illustrators at the university include Emily S. Perry and Jeannette Young.

Medical illustrations were used in professional journals, medical texts, exhibits, and as teaching aids in lectures and on television. These illustrations were valued over photography because the artists could both delete "superfluous and confusing" material from a given view, and produce "schematic and diagrammatic" pictures (Box 1, Articles pertaining to UM program, 1956-1990, Visual Medicine Vol. 2, No. 3).

After all graduate programs and areas of emphasis were combined into a single, three-year MFA degree program in the School of Art & Design in the fall of 2003, the final class of the Graduate Program of Medical and Biological Illustration graduated in the spring of 2004 and the program was discontinued.