BA (Hons) Animation

Create worlds where anything is possible. Our animation degree, recognised by screenskills, immerses you in the visual arts industry, teaching you how to delight audiences and viewers. Encourage your imagination to run wild and see your ideas flourish on screen. 

Fancy following in the footsteps of those working in pioneering studios like Disney, Pixar and Aardman? From film to television, virtual reality to web animation and video games, our BA (Hons) Animation degree teaches you how to bring visual art forms to life. You’ll learn how to tell stories and engage audiences by creating the illusion of movement.

Animate your learning

• The course is based around practical learning. Up for the challenge of working on live animation briefs from industry experts? Want to test your creative limits and see your ideas on screens big or small? The practical teaching on the animation course reveals how to make your animation ambitions a reality.
• Over the three years you’ll experience the whole animation process – from idea generation and character creation to pitching, animated performance and post-production. We’ll also bring you face-to-face with artists from leading animation houses to give you networking opportunities that could propel your career.

Industry-recognised course

• This animation degree is recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen-based industries. It carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries. We’re also a member of UK Screen Alliance/Animation UK, an organisation that provides a voice for TV, film and animation studios across the UK. Membership massively expands our – and your – access to professional animators, filmmakers and tv producers.

Course features

• International students can apply
• Learn a language option available
• Professional accreditation
• Sandwich year option available
• Studying abroad option available
• Work placement opportunity

What you'll study
Year 1

• You’ll build the foundations of your creative and practical animation skills during the first year of your animation course. We’ll cover commercial and experimental animation techniques as well as learning about character and performance. Dramatic creation and film structure are also on the agenda. You’ll find out how to take ideas from conception to final piece by working on briefs.

Compulsory modules:

• Applying Animation
• Making It Move: Animation Techniques 
• Performance and Character: Animation Techniques 2
• What is Animation: Animation in Context
• Working in Creative Industries

One of:

• Global Popular Culture
• New Venture Creation
• Photography
• Language 1

Year 2

• In the second year of your animation course, you’ll take a closer look at rigging, animation, sound, lighting, cinematography and post-production to develop your practical experience in Year 2. Working on the theory behind this visual art form you’ll get to understand commercial and avant-garde animation in context. We’ll also give you opportunities to enhance your communication skills through presenting your ideas on a variety of animation projects.

Compulsory modules:

• Animation Light: Staging and Performance
• Animation Studio Skills

Four of:

• A Sense of Place: Animation and Environment
• Animation and the Avant-Garde
• Animation and the Real World
• Animation on Screen
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Fan Cultures and Subcultures
• Studio Case Study 1: Disney – Princess or Pariah
• Language 2

Year 3

• In your final year of this animation degree, you’ll become familiar with the real-life aspects of running and working within a professional animation studio. Hear from industry guest speakers and work out your future career path.
• Finally, you’ll get to show your creative abilities and technical skills on a comprehensive animation project, and complete a dissertation in an area of animation that interests you most.

Compulsory modules:

• Animation Project: Pre-Production
• Animation Project: Production
• Creative Enterprise and Employment Portfolio
• Dissertation/Research Project

One of:

• Animation and Representation
• Studio Case Study 2: Ghibli – Anime and Globalised Subculture
• Language 3

How you'll study

• Teaching and learning for the animation course takes place through workshops, lectures, seminars and screenings. Your learning will be supported by a Personal Tutor, individual or group tutorials and an experienced team of specialist technicians. You will also have the opportunity to attend annual Animation festivals, such as Manchester Animation Festival MAF.

How you'll be assessed

• Assessment will be via written and practical assignments, research projects and individual and group presentations.

Who will be teaching you

• The animation course is taught by an enthusiastic, experienced team with a wide range of interests and practical animation industry experience. Lecturers are research-active in animation and the media and have experience in using the variety of resources available to you.

Learning resources

• Practical animation work is supported by four dedicated animation studios equipped with 24″ HD Cintiq Wacom Touch monitors, Rostrum camera stations, Rotational light-boxes, 3D Printer and industry standard software: Adobe Creative Suite (including Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Flash), Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, Harmony Premium, Autodesk Maya, Cinema 4D, ZBrush and VRay. Mac studio facilities provide access to the latest editing and audio software (AVID ProTools 11, Apple Logic X, Propellerhead Reason 7, Adobe SoundBooth CE, Native Instruments Komplete Ultimate, and Sibelius).
• The stop-motion studio is designed to professional standards, utilising Canon EOS 700D/850D with 18-135mm IS Lens, Dragon Frame, Dedo lighting and motion control camera movement technologies. For Foley-FX work and voiceover production, you will utilise our audio post-production studios which come equipped with AVID ProTools HDX digital recording systems with C|24 control surfaces, as well as Waves and IK Multimedia, and a range of microphones. There are also several dedicated rehearsal rooms which provide electronic keyboards and a range of acoustic and electric guitars, effects modules and practice amps.

Your future career

You’ll graduate with a degree endorsed by ScreenSkills and be ready to dive into this vibrant and creative industry. A broad range of career paths could await you. Our graduates have secured rewarding roles such as:

• Animator at nDreams
• Senior motion designer at Crucial-FX
• 3D animator at Creative Soup
• Animator at Framestore
• Graphic designer at New Balance

Through this animation degree you’ll also have invaluable opportunities to network with members of the creative community that give a flavour of what the industry is really like.

Building a strong network within this burgeoning industry could set you up to find the animation career path best suited to your skills and interests.

Course changes

• Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.
• Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.