Select Page

Career Resources

MIAD Career Services offers students a variety of resources to supplement their education and help them achieve their professional goals. Information is available to students from their first year through their senior year and as a MIAD graduate.

Career & Professional Development Resources and Assistance

Career services staff offer resources and advice to students as they learn of and research career options and pursue their professions of choice. Common topics of discussion include:

  • Assessing interests and skills
  • Exploring visual design and art professions
  • Developing resumes/profiles, cover/application letters, and other job search correspondence
  • Preparing for and practicing for interviews
  • Researching prospective employers
  • Networking with professionals, including alumni
  • Becoming involved with professional associations and organizations
  • Using job listing resources
  • Learning about salaries and benefits
  • Preparing for self-employment and freelancing
  • Locating opportunities for exhibiting and selling artwork
  • Researching and applying to graduate schools, artist residencies, and other post-graduate education and training opportunities
  • Pursuing grants and funding

Career Web and Library Resources

Career and job search resources are primarily available through the MIAD Handshake website and the MIAD Library.

Handshake is a web-based system with curated opportunities for visual art/design students and graduates. The opportunities include professional jobs (full-time, part-time, temporary/seasonal); professional experience opportunities such as internships, co-ops, and fellowships; freelance and commission projects; exhibiting opportunities. The Handshake site also contains a searchable directory of businesses/organizations who are prospective employers/clients. Student/graduate profiles that are viewed by employers can be set up on the Handshake system. The site also contains a resources section with additional career/professional information for seeking professional opportunities and locating employer prospects. Handshake can be accessed through the MIAD OneLogin web page.

The MIAD Library has a “Career Section” with a variety of career and professional development books. They contain detailed information about specific art/design careers and how to prepare oneself for specific professions. In addition, the library subscribes to many profession-specific magazines.

Students are strongly encouraged to regularly use the above resources to learn about the variety of career opportunities available to designers and artists and to develop a strategy on how to become engaged with their profession and pursue opportunities. Any questions relating to careers and professional development opportunities may be directed to the Career Services Staff.

News

Pallas Textiles competition provides real-world experience

First-place winner Sophia Simonson ’28 created Refractions as part of her MIAD studies in Interior Architecture and Design. She is one of 20 students studying at MIAD through a cross-registration program with Concordia University. MIAD students Kaitlyn Powers ’26 (Illustration) and Natalie Spetell ’27 (Product Design), both of whom have minors in Communication Design, received Honorable Mentions.

Meet Carmen Briones and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Echo

Carmen Briones ‘26 (Product Design) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Cambria, Wis., president of the MIAD IDSA student chapter and an intern at SI Jacobson Manufacturing. Briones designed a device called “Echo” that removes ovarian cysts without surgery.

Meet Eeshaan Dutt and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Indra Supreme

Eeshan Dutt ‘26 (Illustration) is a President’s (Honor) List student from India and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. Dutt’s work centers on visual storytelling through sequential art, where he explores how narratives can engage and connect with audiences.