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Online Bachelor’s Specialization in Pre-Professional Art Therapy

Unlock your own creativity

As the saying goes, you need to help yourself before you can help others—tapping into the source of your own creativity will provide the basis for your study of art therapy. You’ll gain experience in a wide range of artistic media and approaches, including drawing, painting, and sculpture.

You’ll also cover complete foundational coursework in psychology and human development. MIU’s unique approach to unifying knowledge across disciplines also means that everything you learn will be integrated with your own individual self-development.


Prepare for your future in art therapy

This specialization will prepare you for most graduate programs in art therapy, which is a necessary prerequisite to becoming a licensed art therapist. Art therapy can also be incorporated into other therapeutic practices, if you decide to pursue graduate school in a related field.

In addition to fulfilling all the requirements needed to apply to graduate school for art therapy, we offer some distinctive features that you won’t find anywhere else and can greatly enhance your experience.

MIU offers America’s only accredited degrees in several fields including:

You’ll have the option to take courses in some of these other fields for your elective(s), giving you the opportunity for a broad and well-rounded exposure to other healing modalities.


Develop a broad portfolio under the guidance of nationally-recognized faculty

One strength of our art therapy program is the exceptional quality of our faculty. Their track record of providing outstanding guidance and support to help our students get accepted to prestigious graduate schools is unparalleled in a university of our size.

You’ll get one-on-one attention from faculty in our small classes. You’ll also take a capstone Art Therapy Portfolio Development course that teaches you how to build the portfolio and supplemental materials you’ll need to apply to top graduate programs.

Recent graduates of MIU art programs have attended and/or received scholarships, paid teaching assistantships, or salaried fellowships at the University of Iowa, Penn State, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Yale University, among others.


Explore inner awareness

MIU provides a unique perspective on traditional psychology, with a focus on developing one’s full potential in the light of consciousness. Self-development and self-awareness are emphasized in all aspects of your university experience.

Our classes will offer you the understanding and tools necessary to begin navigating and articulating the inner workings of the mind. Each course helps build a foundation for future opportunities in impactful careers promoting healing and well-being.

What is art therapy?

logoThe American Association of Art Therapy describes art therapy as a mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.

Uses and benefits

logoArt therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. It improves cognitive and sensorimotor functions, fosters self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivates emotional resilience, promotes insight, and enhances social skills.

Your career opportunities


In our online specialization, you’ll complete the prerequisites to apply to most graduate programs in art therapy. The licensing available after graduate school is necessary to pursue a board certified career in art therapy.

Get started by contacting Adriene

Adriene Crimson, admissions counselorAdriene Crimson is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Adriene will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with the program director or faculty.

Contact Adriene >

International applicants may connect with us through our international inquiry form.


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Online and easy for transfer students

If you transfer in 60 or more credits, your degree can be completed in as little as four semesters. Transfer students can inquire with their admissions counselor to learn the exact number of credits needed to graduate.

This online program allows for maximum flexibility – live and learn wherever suits you best! Earn your degree full- or part-time, whatever works best for you.

TM & Consciousness-Based Education

MIU is the only university that integrates the study of consciousness with practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM®) technique, a powerful tool to promote inner peace and wellness. All students at MIU learn the TM technique, giving them a unique edge as they approach the understanding, exploration, and increase of creativity in their own lives.

You’ll have the opportunity to focus on self-development in addition to gaining the knowledge and skills that you need to succeed — this is the essence of our Consciousness-BasedSM approach to education. We also encourage you to put self-care first and prioritize your own well-being as the basis of being able to support others through the transformative power of art therapy.

Featured faculty

sean downey

Sean Downey

sean downey

Sean Downey received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from Boston University. He has had recent solo exhibitions at Steven Zevitas Gallery (Boston, MA) and LaMontagne Gallery (Boston, MA), and has been included in recent group exhibitions at Richard Heller Gallery (Santa Monica, CA), Abigail Ogilvy Gallery (Boston, MA), the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA (Portland, ME), the Leroy Neiman Gallery at Columbia University (New York, NY), LaMontagne Gallery (Boston, MA), and Park Place Gallery (Brooklyn, NY). He is a 2013 recipient of the Blanche E. Colman Award, a 2014 recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship, and a 2015 MacDowell Colony Fellow.

Degree requirements

To graduate with a Specialization in Pre-Professional Art Therapy, students must complete:

  • required courses for the Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences or any other bachelor’s degree program you choose
  • 32 additional credits of courses to prepare for art therapy including studio art, psychology, and electives

Featured courses

drawing-for-beginners

Drawing for Beginners: The Art of Noticing

drawing-for-beginners

This course will focus on observational drawing as a way to activate seeing and strengthen perception. Students will learn a variety of basic observational drawing approaches and techniques for creating convincing drawings from life.

Painting-the-senses

Painting the Senses

Painting-the-senses

You will explore how paintings and sculptures mirror the qualities and potentials of your own consciousness. You will discover that the greatest art allows us to transcend through all layers of awareness: the senses, intellect, and feelings to universal consciousness, the Unified Field of Awareness deep within everyone.

3D-design

3D Design

3D-design

This course studies the dynamics of three-dimensional design. The media and methods of study emphasized in studio work will include paper, clay, plaster, cardboard, wood, and wire.

models of human development

Models of Human Development

models of human development

We explore models of human development across the lifespan that explain the
transformations of your sense of self through the lifespan. This course allows you to locate your life experience in perspectives on social, mental and ego development and the experience of higher states of consciousness.

Cost & Aid for bachelor’s degree, 2025-26

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