Community Education & Professional Education
Convenient learning options for curious creatives, professionals, and degree-seekers.

Expand your career skills and options.
Advance your professional skills, pivot your career, or pursue competitive graduate degrees while building valuable creative connections for future collaborations. Our non-degree Professional Practice offerings are taught by industry experts and structured to make MICA’s rigorous art and design instruction accessible to working adults.

Cultivate your creative interests.
Explore new skills or deepen your practice with access to MICA’s specialized resources and equipment and personalized support from our experienced artist-instructors. You’ll get hands-on experience that results in finished pieces and plenty of interactive critique and feedback along the way.
Professional Practice
Advanced
Workshop: Advanced Figma
Saturday, June 3; 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
ONLINE: Figma is the ultimate collaboration tool and can help streamline your design process. Along with being an industry-standard design tool that creates high-fidelity prototypes. In this Workshop you will learn how to design and build interactive prototypes with Figma. You’ll dive deep into creating responsive user interfaces at scale. You’ll learn how to create data-driven prototypes and utilize the vast amount of community-made plug-ins. Personal licenses are free.
Cost: $95. This workshop will be held online via Zoom.
Register NowNitin Sampathi
Professional Practice
Beginner
Photoshop 101
Thursdays, Jun. 8 - Aug. 10; 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
ONLINE: A course for artists, designers and photographers getting started with Photoshop. The basics of color correction, retouching, image manipulation, layers & masks, and Smart Objects & Smart Filters will be covered. Digital file formats and best practices will also be covered. This course will be taught online using Zoom & Canvas and Adobe Creative Suite access is included for the duration of the workshop.
Cost: $695. Online via Zoom.
Register NowRandy Morgan
Professional Practice
Beginner
Graphic Design 101
Wednesdays, Jun. 7 - 21; 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
ONLINE: Explore the methods and tools to create effective designs for marketing, web, print, branded spaces and objects. Join the world of visual design with MICA, learning best practices from expert instructors that bring your business alive. In a workshop format, we will explore a range of visual exercises that can be applied to a variety of designed objects.
Cost: $175. Online Via Zoom.
Join the WaitlistOlivia OZ Sanders
Professional Practice
Beginner
Workshop: App Design
Wednesdays, Jul. 5 - Jul. 26; 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
ONLINE: Learn the basic skills necessary for designing a mobile app. This is a project based course where students will brainstorm a problem, identify their users and their goals, and then design and prototype a solution. In addition to learning some technical skills in User Interface (UI) design, by the end of this course, students will have created a fully developed plan and prototype with the tools needed to bring their app design to life.
Cost: $95. Online via Zoom
Register NowNitin Sampathi
Professional Practice
Beginner
Workshop: Video Editing for Social Media
Mondays, Jun. 5 - 26; 6:00 pm - 9:20 pm
ONLINE: One of the best ways to attract and retain followers on your social media accounts is to use video. This 3 evening workshop will cover the best practices for video editing using Adobe Premiere. The class will cover formats, combine images, video clips, telling a short story, special effects, and how to combine type and sound successfully.
Cost: $175. Online via Zoom.
*Note: no class on Monday, June 19.
Register NowTrish Moore
Professional Practice
Beginner
Developing Critical Literacies – Reading in the Content Area, Part I
Wednesdays, June 28 - August 2, 5 pm - 8 pm
Online: A literacy course focused on strategies for integrating literacy with visual art at all levels, PreK-12, this seminar involves the development of art experiences, grounded in chosen themes and aligned with MD art and literacy standards, which become the framework for integrating relevant and developmentally appropriate literacy strategies for visual art students, PreK-12. Class meetings involve artistic responses, presentations, discussions, and lectures. This course will promote alignment and expedited feedback around lesson planning and art + literacy integration, ensuring that students grow and flourish in teaching literacy as the root of the arts.
It fulfills 3-credits toward Maryland Teaching Certification and is approved by the Maryland State Department of Education, meeting the standards for Literacy in the Content Area – Part I. Cost: $1,350. Credits: 3. Online via Zoom.
Register NowLisa Stuart
Professional Practice
Beginner
Methods and Strategies for Teaching Art
Tuesdays and Thursdays, June 20 - July 13, 1 pm - 4 pm
Online: A methods course focused on strategies used in teaching Visual Art, PreK-12, this seminar involves the search of one’s own studio investigations for metaphors and themes, which then become the focus of the construction of units of study. Students develop unit materials including research on art and artists, formation of an elegant problem, experimentation with materials, creation of a prototype, design of teaching visuals, assessment process and criteria, and a written unit plan with ideas for adapting the unit to different grade levels.
Cost: $1,350. Credits: 3. Online via Zoom.
Register NowNan Park
What our students
are saying
“I actually love the remote delivery. I still have access to the instructor and peers, but I don’t have to cart all my painting supplies (and wet canvases) back and forth every week!”
“Superb balance of information, demonstration, peer sharing, and hands-on application.”
“I most liked the lectures and class critiques. The teacher is a master at eliciting class participation and gleaning the important points of the lessons through the works.”
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FAQs
Are payment plans available?
Open Studies offers payment plans for all offerings! Enroll now and pay later with equal payment installments. For more details and to begin the process, please contact Open Studies Registration Staff at openstudies@mica.edu.
How will I access the software needed for the class?
Once enrolled, you will receive a MICA email with a link to your Student Getting Started Guide. Please check the email that you used to register for the course or workshop.
To note: The email you receive once you are enrolled will also include login instructions to access tools and software necessary for your class such as Canvas, Adobe Creative Suite, Zoom, and Google Drive.
I'm interested in taking a class in person. What are the COVID-19 related guidelines?
We are in Operational Mode 5 to ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable educational experience with MICA. See Operational Mode 5 webpage for more information; this info will also be included in the Getting Started Guide with your registration confirmation email. Masks are encouraged, but not required.
I’m not sure if this class is for me. How can I talk to someone?
Contact the Office of Open Studies at (410) 225-2219 or openstudies@mica.edu
How will I interact with classmates if I choose an online course?
Classes will be held synchronously via Zoom, where peer and instructor discussions and critiques will be conducted.
How will I get my materials?
A materials list is included in the Student Getting Started Guide (PDF) once a student is registered and enrolled in the course. Materials will also be available to purchase through the MICA Art Store at https://shop.mica.edu/art-supplies/.
I see this course is for credit. What’s this for?
Students enrolled in this course also receive non-degree credits. Some teachers may be able to apply these credits towards renewals of teaching certifications.
Will I be on zoom the entire time?
Class format and “zoom time” will be structured to accommodate the needs of each class. Most classes incorporate a mix of instructor-led discussion, critique and independent work time.
What time zone are the courses held?
All courses and workshops are scheduled for an EST time zone.
What if I need to drop the class, how can I get a refund?
Please fill out this form to drop the course you are enrolled in and then submit a written request for a refund to openstudies@mica.edu including your full name and course information before the start of the second class.
Questions?
Contact Us
Office of Open Studies
Baltimore, MD 21217
openstudies@mica.edu