They make a way. - Maryland Institute College of Art

During the 2011-12 academic year, MICA
saw an unprecedented convergence of training,
technology, tools, and resources focused on
producing a graduate prepared to tackle the
toughest challenges. Imagine the curriculum
of an accounting major, a pre-medicine major,
even an engineering major. Their undergraduate
matriculation is characterized primarily by
theory—by memorizing the information provided
by a professor and then recounting it back to
them under pressure. Even steps toward application
are often simply expansions of theoretical
exercises. Like a traditional undergraduate, MICA
undergraduates are taught how to think critically
and analyze, but that is where the parallels stop.
Ultimately, MICA students are expected to go
beyond mere application and produce something
new and unprecedented, a task in academia
normally relegated to PhD candidates.
CHOSEN
To even get the opportunity to study at MICA,
graduate study applicants must have already
proven themselves, and high school students must
have stood out not only artistically, but also in
their ability to excel academically and engage
in their communities. For example, the 2011-12
entering freshman class, the largest ever, had an
average SAT score more than 150 points above
the U.S. national average, and came from 54
countries around the world. For Vice President
of Admission Theresa Bedoya, the concept of a
“smart artist” is a recruiting keystone. “Making art
isn’t just about using the tools, computers, and
skills to create a product; you have to come up
Students work with material from MICA’s acquisition of assets for letterpress printing from the Globe Poster Company.
with ideas,” explains Bedoya. “You are constantly
being pushed to be creative and original. Ideas
come from lots of different places, and the more
you are engaged with thinking, talking, discussing,
and reading, the more it stimulates your mind so
that you can develop those conceptual skills along
with your artmaking skills. So you have the hand
and the brain—thinking and creating together.”
According to Bedoya, that intellectual ability also
increases a student’s value to other students on
campus, who push each other to generate new
ideas for unique projects. That’s why the work the
students produce is as well-regarded not only for its
technical merit, but also for the thought put into
it. And that gives them a competitive advantage.
MICA’s artistic preparation is one of the toughest
academic regimens at any college in the world.
Excellence is demanded, and the extraordinary is
recommended. At the same time, however, the most
exacting instructor may simultaneously be the most
accommodating mentor, and students are supported
by an administration and staff who delight in their
achievement. That unique system of personal and
professional development yields graduates who are
driven to establish themselves as creative leaders.
FOUNDATION
Sincere support from faculty and staff is critical
for a young student who, in a very short time,
will be expected to spend countless hours creating
something that may ultimately be sharply evaluated
by faculty, visiting artists, and critics considered
to be among the world’s foremost experts. Students
must develop the ability to remain focused
during long nights of hard work and to eschew
distractions that most college students have
the liberty to indulge in. And though the MICA
regimen will test them intensely, they are set up
for success as soon as they hit campus.
MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART 2012 ANNUAL REPORT
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