BSc (Hons) Computer Animation and Visual Effects

The UK's animation and visual effects (VFX) industry leads the world in producing blockbuster visuals for entertainment media, reinventing its technical and creative capabilities. With indie talent also thriving on the South Coast, there’s no better place to start your visual effects career than at Portsmouth.

Our Computer Animation and Visual Effects degree course will help you build skills in key areas such as concept drawing, 3D animation, physics-based simulation, and compositing, with guidance from a team of industry experts from across the entertainment and advertising sectors. Using our spectacular facilities, software and equipment, you'll enhance your artistic and technical expertise and improve your research skills in the technology you'll work with, which is vital to your development as an all-around artist.

You can also specialise and develop your professional portfolio through placement opportunities, client projects and the modules you’ll choose from your second year.

Transform yourself into an exceptional VFX artist, producer, animator, and stagecraft at Portsmouth – ready to take the creative and communication industries by storm.

Course highlights

• Maximise your creativity and learning by using world-class facilities like our Motion Capture Studio and Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality – housing the most advanced cinematic-standard equipment and virtual production suites of any university
• Familiarise yourself with professional software used in the industry, including NUKEX, Maya, 3DS Max, ZBrush, Houdini, Katana and Mari
• Learn from a team of experts who are industry leaders across various entertainment and communication sectors, including film, animation, advertising and computer games
• Collaborate with other students on other courses by getting involved in our annual University GameJam
• Gain valuable industry experience by taking an optional placement
• Take advantage of our strong industry links to build professional contacts, such as attending guest speaker lectures and the chance to win sponsored prizes for your final year project
• Improve your language skills by studying a foreign language as part of the Institute-Wide Language Programme (IWLP)

Accreditation

This course is professionally accredited by JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support) and SideFX as a Houdini Certified School.

We also work with visual effects studios, game developers and professional bodies such as TIGA (The Independent Games Association) to make sure the course stays up-to-date with industry trends.

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.