BFA and BS in Animation

Bring new worlds to life. Our courses involve you in every aspect of computer animation from ideation through modeling, texturing, rigging, animating, lighting, rendering and post-production as well as ancillary disciplines such as acting, computer programming and film. 

• Career opportunities include: film/broadcast animator, film/broadcast modeler, game animator, modeler, digital sculptor, designer, CAD designer, texture painter and motion graphic artist

Why animate at Jacksonville University?
Animation Now and For the Future.

• Our program is grounded in knowledge of animation as researched by our instructors and informed by the experiences of our alumni and professionals within the discipline. Our rigorous curriculum equips you with both immediately marketable skills and the ability to adapt to constant and extensive change within the animation industry.

Our Animation Program
Major & Minor

• Our program begins with the foundational skill building and work-habit development that fosters good animation practice. You are given opportunities to excel early in modeling and animation and expected to build on these core disciplines in more advanced areas of study. Our degree also rounds out your skillsets by exposing you to courses in film, web design, acting and computer programming. We’ve found that such breadth fosters both employability and adaptability for the future.

Pay for Your Education

• The Department of Media Arts offers Animation scholarships based on the creative merit and potential for growth you demonstrate with your portfolio. To be eligible, you have to create or have already created a digital portfolio, and you have to submit it either electronically or in person during one of our auditions.

We Breathe Life Into Everything We Do!

• "Animate" means literally “to give life to; make alive;” and that describes what we do at every level of production. The objective of Animation at Jacksonville University is to foster that level of “life-breathing” in every class you take and every project you create. Models are more than just points, lines and polygons; they tell compelling stories about the subject and your skill. You will learn the technical skills to create a fluid or particle simulation, but you as the artist-animator tell the story of the waterfall or lava flow that simulation is meant to represent through textures, lighting and rendering.
• The discipline of Animation in which you start your studies will not be the same as when you finish; it changes very, very quickly. Therefore, adaptability including the ability to learn and incorporate new developments quickly will separate you from mere operators of software. We find that exposing you to a broad range of disciplines within Animation and the broader range of the Arts and Sciences fosters adaptability and prepares you for a wide range of jobs within this field. Our liberal arts core is our great strength in this area.
• All our classes are small and taught by exhibiting artists, active filmmakers and practicing designers, who represent sterling examples of what you want to become. We keep our student to faculty ratio low, but students across multiple disciplines take our classes so you will gain experience working with future business people, nurses, athletes, doctors, and lawyers as well as other artists.

Visiting Artists

• We have welcomed visiting animators and artists at many levels and visited local businesses where our animators work after graduation.