B.F.A. in Animation

The undergraduate journey at scad begins with the scad core, a series of foundation studies and general education courses focused on developing key critical thinking and communication skills. 

Foundation studies: 30 hours

• DRAW 100 Drawing I: Form and Space
• DSGN 100 Design I: Elements and Organization
• DRAW 101 Drawing II: Composition and Media
• DSGN 101 Color: Theory and Application

Select one of these three options:

• DSGN 102 Design II: 3D Form in Space
• DRAW 200 Life Drawing I
• DRAW 240 Inventing Environments

Select one of these two options:

• DRAW 206 Drawing for Storyboarding
• DSGN 208 Storyboarding Essentials

General education: 55 hours

• COMM 105 Speaking of Ideas
• BUSI 110 Business I: Fundamentals
• CTXT 121 Visual Culture in Context: Pre-Modern Global Perspectives
• CTXT 122 Visual Culture in Context: Making Modernities
• ENGL 123 Ideas to Ink: Critical Concepts in Academic Writing
• DIGI 130 Digital Communication
• ENGL 142 Foundations of Story

Select one of these three options:

• CINE 205 Reading Films
• CINE 275 History of Cinema
• ARLH or ARTH elective
• BUSI 220 Business II: Economic Principles
• General education elective
• Mathematics/natural sciences elective

Major curriculum: 80 hours

• ANIM 190 Survey of Animation: Professional Pathways
• ANIM 223 Historical Adventures in Cinematic Animation
• ANIM 390 Animation Business and Professional Practices

Select one of these two options:

• ANIM 395 Collaborative Experiences in Animation
• SANM 560 Collaborative Experiences in the School of Animation and Motion
• ANIM 408 Animated Capstone Film: Preproduction
• ANIM 448 Animated Capstone Film: Production
• ANIM 488 Animated Capstone Film: Postproduction

Select one of these three options:

• ANIM 479 Undergraduate Internship
• 500-level SCADpro elective
• Business-focused elective
• ANIM, ARVR, DWRI, FILM, GAME, ILLU, ITGM, MOME, SANM, SEQA, SNDS, STEC, or VSFX elective

Select one concentration to complete the major curriculum:
2D animation

• ANIM 202 Core Principles of 2D Animation
• ANIM 272 2D Animation: Character Set-up and Pipeline Creation
• ANIM 332 2D Animation: Character Performance Essentials
• ANIM 352 2D Animation Effects: Mastering the Elements
• ANIM 372 Collaborative Experiences: 2D Production Pipeline
• ANIM 382 2D Animation: Digital Production and Compositing
• ANIM 402 2D Animation: Expressive Character Acting

3D character animation

• ANIM 253 Core Principles of 3D Character Animation
• ANIM 303 3D Character Animation: Performance Essentials
• ANIM 313 Collaborative Experiences: 3D Production Pipeline
• ANIM 323 3D Character Animation: Expressive Character Acting
• ANIM 353 3D Character Animation: Creatures and Quadrupeds
• ANIM 383 3D Character Animation: Performance Through Dialogue
• ANIM 423 3D Character Animation: Believability and Nuance

Storytelling and concept development

• ANIM 275 Core Principles of Animated Storytelling and Concept Development
• ANIM 315 Story and Concept: Narrative Principles for Animation
• ANIM 325 Story and Concept: Visual Design and World Building
• ANIM 335 Story and Concept: Animation Character and Creature Design
• ANIM 345 Story and Concept: Storyboarding and Staging
• ANIM 365 Story and Concept: Seeding the Narrative
• ANIM 385 Story and Concept: Concept Development for Animation

Technical animation

• ANIM 249 Core Principles of Technical Animation
• ANIM 289 Technical Animation: Fundamentals of Character Rigging
• ANIM 349 Technical Animation: Digital Modeling for Environments and Props
• ANIM 359 Technical Animation: Organic Surface Modeling
• ANIM 369 Technical Animation: Animation Look Development
• ANIM 379 Technical Animation: Lighting for Animation
• ANIM 419 Technical Animation: Cloth and Hair for Animation

Additional electives: 15 hours

• Free elective
• Free elective
• Free elective

Careers in animation

• Become a story and concept artist. Become a character technical director. Become a 3D animator. Today's animators are the storytellers who drive an entire industry, employing their unique artistic prowess in film, television, and online media. Isn't it time you joined them?

Launch your career as a professional:

• 2D animator
• 3D animator
• Storyboard artist
• Animation producer
• Character FX artist
• Character FX technical director
• Texture/lighting director
• Digital modeler
• Stop-motion fabricator

And get recruited and hired by the best of the best:

• Pixar
• DreamWorks
• Electronic Arts
• Xbox Game Studios
• Nickelodeon
• Sony Pictures Imageworks
• Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Epic Games
• Lucasfilm

SCAD will see you to success
We support our students both within the classroom and beyond. As part of that effort, the SCAD office for career and alumni success offers students and graduates an array of career-building services, including:

• Résumé development
• Portfolio building
• Mock interviews
• Self-promotion

Assistance finding internships and employment opportunities
With professional guidance and one-on-one advising, SCAD will help you kick-start your creative career.