BA (Hons) Animation

Visual communication and entertainment have become a dominant force in the last 20 years, with animation at their core. Animators are in demand across various creative industries, including television, film, web, computer games, education, and marketing.

With our Animation degree course, you'll gain the sought-after technical skills, artistic insight, and platform diversity to apply your talent to any form of visual arts, media, or communication. You'll develop advanced abilities in character animation, visual storytelling, compositing and editing, and learn from active industry professionals who’ve directed animations for Disney, Warner Bros., and Cartoon Network and produced special effects for prominent film franchises like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia.

At the end of the course, you’ll be primed for a successful career in 2D or 3D animation across multiple industries.

Course highlights

• Practise the techniques that animators use in the film industry, such as the performance capture process used in the film Avatar
• Learn industry-standard software and production methods and use professional animation equipment, including Adobe Creative Cloud, Autodesk Maya, TV Paint, and Wacom Cintiq digital drawing displays
• Meet prospective employers and industry contacts by showcasing your work at our student screening in London
• Gain valuable industry experience and knowledge by taking an optional placement year – either with a company or as self-employed
• Demonstrate your technical proficiency to industry peers by earning Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) accreditation
• Impress the public and potential employers by showcasing your final-year work at our annual Graduate Shows
• Put your artistry and skills to a prize-winning test by participating in our annual University GameJam.

Accreditation

This Animation degree course is accredited by JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Services), a group of industry professionals and employers.

The JAMES accreditation lets potential employers know that this course gives you the relevant skills and abilities you need to work in the animation industry when you graduate. This gives you an edge over students who didn’t do an accredited course when you’re applying for jobs.

JAMES reviews our accreditation every three years to ensure the Animation course content remains up-to-date with industry trends and developments. So you’ll always be learning skills relevant to your career.

We’re proud to be a breath of fresh air in the academic world – a place where everyone gets the support they need to achieve their best. We’re always discovering. We don’t fit the mould, we break it. Just as the world keeps moving, so do we.

We’re closely involved with our local community, and we take our ideas into the global marketplace. We partner with businesses, industry, and government to set the course for a better future. And we educate and transform the lives of our students to help them achieve their potential. We stand out, not just in the UK but in the world. We excel in research areas from cosmology and astrophysics to cybersecurity, forensics, and sport science. Since the first day we opened our doors, we've looked towards the future. And we're here to help you shape it.