Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s student population has grown 50% over the past five years. The graduating class of 2022 is the largest in the school’s history. “That’s not a typical story in higher education,” says the college’s president, Jeff Morin. “On the horizon, there’s more and more interest in careers in art and design.”

This growth is due, in part, to MIAD’s ongoing expansion beyond traditional fine arts to include product design, interior architecture, communication design, illustration, animation and other evolving fields.

People are most familiar with our robust fine arts program,” says Morin. “Whenever I give a tour of the college, people are surprised to learn that three-fourths of our students major in a design field.” One such field is MIAD’s new animation track, in which students learn to create 2D and 3D animation, as well as virtual reality and video game animation. The college is also exploring the launch of a fashion and apparel-design program, with a textile lab already built.

“Milwaukee has always had a community of folks interested in this type of work,” says Morin. “While 50% of our students come from out of state, four out of five MIAD students stay local for their first job. We’re bringing people into Milwaukee’s creative pipeline.”