MA (3D Computer Animation)

This industry-recognised master’s, accredited by screenskills, prepares you for careers in animation across film, tv, games, and interactive media. Graduates work at top studios like pixar, dreamworks, and sony, with some earning oscars and baftas. 

Why study MA 3D Computer Animation at BU?

• Industry-Ready Skills: Develop skills for a variety of fields including films, games, TV, commercials, scientific visualisation, virtual environments, and more, ensuring you're prepared for diverse career opportunities
• Collaborative Learning: Collaborate with students across NCCA Master’s courses and attend masterclasses and lectures from industry professionals and BU alumni from leading companies such as Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Framestore, and Industrial Light & Magic
• State-of-the-Art Facilities: Study in a professional studio environment with industry-standard 2D and 3D software, motion capture studio, green screen studio, and animation labs
• Strong Industry Links: Benefit from our connections with top VFX and animation studios like Pixar, DreamWorks, EA Games, and Sony Picture Image Works. Complete a Master’s project with dedicated production time, showcased at a degree show in London attended by top industry recruiters
• Recognised Excellence: Our Houdini and Rookies certifications highlight the quality of our courses, ensuring our students are highly sought after by industry leaders
• BFX Festival: Participate in the annual BFX Festival hosted by Bournemouth University, featuring a week-long schedule of inspiring talks, panels, and masterclasses delivered by industry experts, fostering the next generation of artists, technicians, and engineers.

Study at the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA)

• The NCCA is one of the most established and highly regarded centres for computer graphics and animation education and research. As one of very few research-intensive animation centres in the UK, our expertise not only ensures our courses remain at the forefront of education, but also helps to define new industry practices. 
• The NCCA is ranked as the UK’s top animation school, third in Europe and fourth internationally (Animation Career Review 2024 International Animation School Rankings).
• This course is industry-recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen-based industries, and carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries. 

Course details

• On this course you will be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners, demonstrators, technicians and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry.
• The course is split into four terms, each lasting ten weeks. The first three terms are the Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip), and the final term is the Master’s term.​

Core units

• Core Production Principles: This unit is the first practical unit on the course and establishes the core skills in computer animation tools that you’ll rely upon through the rest of the course. 
• Core Production Techniques: In this unit you’ll build upon the skills developed in Core Production Principles to expand your knowledge of animation techniques and add further depth to your computer animation practice. 
• Visual & Critical Studies: This unit provides the wider theoretical and critical context for your studies. It will introduce you to a range of conceptual tools and theoretical themes in moving image, to encourage debate and critical thinking in the field of computer animation. You will consider how to theoretically underpin your own creative practice within a contemporary context.
• Group Project: Working with students from the other NCCA Masters courses, you’ll conceptualise, design and execute a short, animated project, in a manner which is aligned with industry practice.
• Research & Development: This unit aims to assist you in developing an understanding of different research methodologies and their connections to creative practices in computer animation, visual effects and expanded fields of CGI. You will review three modes of research, i) research by publication, ii)  research by practice, and iii) industry led research. You should then be able to identify a relevant topic of inquiry and apply one of these modes in self-directed research.
• Production Development: During this unit you’ll develop your skills and knowledge in originating computer animation assets and content. With guidance from tutors, you’ll undertake conceptualisation, design and development of your own production project.
• Master's Portfolio: The focus of the third semester is completing the Master's component of your education. This project can be a standalone project or a continuation of the group project unit. In either case you can work alone or with other students. 

Placement

• You have the option to undertake a three-month placement during the Master’s Portfolio unit, providing an opportunity to apply your acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace. You are required to find your own placement; however, our Careers & Employability Service and your faculty placements officer are on hand to support you.

Programme specification

• Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.
• Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Your application

• This Masters in 3D Computer Animation programme has been specifically designed for students who wish to pursue a career in the field of computer animation, and is the perfect launch-pad for a career in a wide range of disciplines, including concept design, character and creature animation, shader development, groom, modelling, lighting, rigging, texturing, creature FX, real-time visualisation, rendering, look development, compositing and simulation.
• Our graduates work in a wide range of 3D fields, we place particular emphasis on future employability for film, games, television and visualisation. Applicants should be passionate about art, design and technology, whilst remain grounded, personable and determined to learn as much as they can whilst with us.

Careers

• Graduates from our computer animation courses are highly sought after within the industry. Our alumni have worked on many high-profile projects, including movies such as Venom, Paddington 2, Avatar, Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, Shrek, Guardians of Ga'hoole, the Harry Potter series, Sucker Punch, Happy Feet, Monsters vs Aliens, James Bond and Judge Dredd, among many others.
• They have also been involved with the animation for a range of computer games, such as Grand Theft Auto, Crysis 2 and Fable II. Our graduates have worked for a number of the world's top VFX and computer games studios, including Pixar, DreamWorks, EA Games and Sony Picture Image Works.

Typical starting job roles
The roles our 3D Computer Animation graduates are in include:

• 3D Artist
• Artist
• Software Developer
• Character Animator
• Technical Animator

Industries worked in

• Animation
• Gaming
• Film
• TV

Studios graduates have worked at

• Framestore
• Double Negative
• MPC
• Outpost VFX
• Blue-Zoo Animation
• The Foundry
• Creative Assembly 
• Union VFX
• Jellyfish Pictures
• Playground Games
• Weta Digital 
• Rock Paper Film 
• Method 
• EA
• Fortune Fish 
• TT Games/Travellers Tales
• Random 42
• Animal Logic
• Frontier Developments 
• Darkside Studio 
• Axis Animation 
• Illumination MacGuff
• Free Radical Design 
• Aardman Animations 
• Lionhead Studios 
• The Mill 
• Glassworks  
• Industrial Industrial and Magic
• Pixar and DreamWorks
• Illoura VFX
• Cinesite
• Ninja Theory
• Sony Cambridge
• Sony Liverpool
• Rock Star North
• Codemasters
• Criterion Games