It’s a unique collaboration between Marquette University and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design that benefits students from both institutions. The Marquette-MIAD cross-registration program offers students reciprocity correlated with their minor and an opportunity to enhance creative skills, increase knowledge of the arts and fulfill artistic desires.
Gracie Pionek, Comm ’23, first discovered the MIAD program while browsing Marquette’s course catalog her senior year in high school.
“I remember being so excited when I saw the classes I’d get to take at MIAD,” Pionek explains. “As a creative person, the chance to combine Marquette’s academic foundation with MIAD’s specialized courses felt like the perfect fit for me.”
The program has paid off for Pionek. She’s now a graphic designer for Pabst Theater Group where the classes she took in advertising and typography have proven to be fundamental to what she does every day.
Junior Ellie Sabo is one of 49 Marquette students in the program this academic year; she is majoring in digital media with a minor in graphic design. Sabo recently took her fourth and favorite course so far at MIAD that focuses on communication design.
“It’s been a great experience,” Sabo says. “You get to meet a bunch of new students who you wouldn’t typically meet at Marquette. The students are more artsy and creative. It’s really inspiring to even just walk around the hallways there because there’s art everywhere you look.”
The classes add content to her portfolio, which she’ll be able to use when she applies for jobs after graduation.
Preparing students for a creative future
Since 2005, an average of 30 Marquette students and 19 MIAD students per semester have used the program, resulting in nearly 4,000 credit hours completed between the two institutions.
Sheena Carey, director of the fine arts minor in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette, says the longtime partnership has been valuable and energizing for the students from both institutions.
“It has proven to be an essential part of the educational and career preparation for our advertising majors who want to be creative directors and provides an important outlet for any student who wants to hone their fine arts talents,” Carey says. “Students take a variety of courses at MIAD: Visual Language, 2D and 4D Computer Design, Systems of Drawing, Studio Principles, among others.”
Marquette students choose one of two 18-credit minors at MIAD: graphic design or fine studio art. Each minor offers a unique blend of creative conceptualizing, execution, theory and technology. MIAD students can choose from advertising, business, copywriting, psychology and games, and interactive media minors at Marquette.
“The Marquette-MIAD cross-registration program allows students at both colleges to expand their thinking and business acumen as they prepare for professional, creative careers often here in Milwaukee or Wisconsin,” says MIAD President Jeff Morin. “This connection also allows MIAD and Marquette students to further network in disciplines that may be on the fringes of curriculum at one college or the other. The program provides a cross-pollination of ideas and collaborative experiences.”
Stacey Steinberg is the executive director of marketing and communication at MIAD. Her team oversees recruitment communications for prospective MIAD students, which includes promoting the program.
“The study of the foundation of art and design history allows for enhanced knowledge and a continuation of support for a thriving Milwaukee art and design community,” Steinberg explains. “Additionally, students are learning to use software used in the industry, critique the work of others and work collaboratively to further creative ideas.”
Reflecting on her academic path, Pionek says if she hadn’t participated in the cross-registration program, it would have been much more difficult for her to break into the design field. It ultimately made all the difference to where she is today in her career.
“Pairing those classes with my Marquette courses in advertising and marketing gave me a unique edge,” Pionek says. “I’m incredibly thankful for this program. The support I received from both my professors and peers at MIAD and Marquette has been invaluable in shaping my career.”
As for Sabo, she says the MIAD classes complement her goals for the future.
“This summer, I’ll be a graphic design intern back in my hometown of Pittsburgh,” Sabo says. “Going through this program has allowed me to be in this position. I’m very grateful that I got the experience.”
