Department of Science Illustration
About the Science Illustration Program
The post-baccalaureate Science Illustration Certificate Program at California State University, Monterey Bay prepares students for a broad spectrum of successful freelance careers and staff positions. This Certificate Program can be completed within 12-15 months: Students attend 9 months of in person classes in our classroom and then pursue a professional internship.
There is no online version of the program available, but we offer several 2-week summer classes each year as part of our Summer of Science Illustration programming and online classes are often available.
Illustration by Reyn Ojiri
Our Certificate Program graduates have found jobs in a wide range of organizations, research institutions, museums, aquaria, and botanical gardens, including:
- Scientific American magazine
- National Geographic magazine
- California Academy of Sciences
- Smithsonian Institution
- American Museum of Natural History
- Scripps Institute of Oceanography
- Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
I’m actually still amazed by how much I learned over the span of ~10 months, and that I was able to become proficient enough to progress quickly from a student to freelancing professionally. This program opened doors for me in all sorts of unexpected places and embracing science illustration was one of the best choices I have ever made.
-Sarah Chen, Class of 2011
Illustration by Jillian Walters