An introductory note from the editor:
We started publishing US based regional and national lists in 2012 in response to myriad emails from aspiring animators seeking advice regarding the "best" schools in the US. The US-centric lists have been well-received, so much so that we now receive frequent requests to publish rankings of international animation schools. In preparing this year’s list, we surveyed over one hundred animation schools across the globe. Our end-goal is to give students access to ample information so they can make an informed decision about the school they choose to attend and the program they pursue. The criteria for this list includes the following, in no particular order:
- Academic reputation
- Admission selectivity
- Depth and breadth of the program
- Value as it relates to tuition and indebtedness
- Geographic location
No one school is perfect for everybody, and there is no single opinion that trumps all when it comes to which school is the “best”. Ultimately, every student has different needs regarding the academic rigor of a program, technology requirements, campus culture, tuition cost, and career focus. Our hope is that as 2018 begins, these comprehensive rankings are a starting point for students to discover the schools that are the best fit for them.
The top twenty five schools are ranked 1-25 at the bottom of the article. The remaining 75 schools are listed alphabetically by country, rather than ranked numerically.
Australian Schools:
Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Australia campus locations: Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.
AIE is 21 years old and has become one of the best art schools in the world! They offer three main programs that are comprehensive and each boast impressive student galleries: Game Art & Animation, Game Programming, and Game Design & Production. Each program runs two years and costs $21,000 for domestic students, and only $22,200 for international students. They also have plenty of scholarships, intro courses, and summer camps available!
Australian Film, Television, and Radio School. Sydney, Australia.
Also called AFTRS for short, this school has a few different options to choose from. The postgraduate options include certificates for Cinematography, Editing, and Screenwriting. They also have a 32 week part-time Diploma in 3D Animation & Visual Effects for more intense training. This costs $7,800 and orientation is in February. AFTRS have many short courses available as well.
Australian National University. Canberra, Australia.
The Australian National University (ANU) was founded in 1946 and they claim they have the highest ratio of teachers to students among Australia's top universities! They have two different three year undergraduate programs to choose from for Animation studies: Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Visual Arts. For their two year postgraduate options they offer Master of Design, Master of Digital Arts, and Master of Visual Arts. Each of those three Masters programs also have Advanced pathway options. International students should expect to pay $35,904 for the Bachelor programs, but fret not; their school offers dozens of scholarships, including a few full ride tuition scholarships!
Billy Blue College of Design. Australia campus locations: Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Billy Blue has a Digital Media Design program that explores skills in animation, film, TV, web, 3D design, visual effects, concept and character design, environment design, game art, and more! Its three year pathways include Bachelor of Digital Media (3D Design and Animation), Bachelor of Digital Media (Motion Design), and Bachelor of Digital Media (Interaction Design). They also have a one year Diploma Digital Media Design. Students may be eligible for accelerated graduation tracks, as well as FEE-HELP, which is an Australian Government loan program where some students don’t repay loan fees until their income rises above a minimum threshold, roughly $54,869 for the 2016-17 period.
North Metropolitan TAFE. Australia campus locations in East Perth and Joondalup.
Previously known as Central Institute of Technology, a TAFE institution is a Technical and Further Education institution. North Metropolitan TAFE offers many “Screen and Media” animation and game design programs, including one Certificate III program, two Certificate IV programs, two Diploma programs, and two Advanced Diploma programs. Their Diploma of Screen and Media (Animation and Games Design) is a one year program that cost $5,212.40 in 2017.
Deakin University Australia. Australia campuses at Cloud, Geelong Waterfront, Gellong Waurn Ponds, Melbourne, and Warrnambool.
Now that their Bachelor of Creative Arts (Animation and Motion Capture) program has been discontinued, they offer two programs that are more focused on different student needs. Their Bachelor of Design (3D Animation) and Bachelor of Film, Television, and Animation are both three year programs at the Burwood Campus in Melbourne. The tuition for both of these programs is roughly $6,500 per year.
Griffith University. Gold Coast, Nathan, and South Bank, Australia.
Griffith University currently has five Animation programs for aspiring artists, and one of their graduates even went on to become the Storyboard Director for The Simpsons at Film Roman! The five study options are Bachelor of Animation, Bachelor of Animation (Honours), Bachelor of Creative and Interactive Media, Graduate Certification in Interactive Media, and Master of Interactive Media. Those five options have full-time durations of, respectively, three years, one year, three years, half a year, and one to two years. Their site has a tuition calculator to help create accurate fee estimates.
Raffles College of Design and Commerce. North Sydney, Australia.
Raffles has programs for the following career paths: Digital Media, Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing, Graphic Design, Interior Design, and Photography. Both their Bachelor of Arts (Visual Communication) – Animation program and their Bachelor of Arts (Visual Communication) - Games Design program are three years full-time. Both programs have entry dates in February, April, July, and October, and both have Certificate IV alternative entry pathways.
RMIT University. Melbourne, Australia.
RMIT has three animation programs at the Melbourne City campus. The two undergraduate ones are Bachelor of Design (Animation and Interactive Media) which is three years full-time, and Bachelor of Media and Communications (Honours) which is one year full-time. Their postgraduate animation program is Master of Animation, Games, and Interactivity, which is two years full-time and costs roughly AU $22,080 per year. Those interested in game design have five undergraduate programs to choose from, as well as the postgraduate option mentioned above, and also a Research PhD in Media & Communication and a vocational Diploma of Screen and Media (Interactive Media).
SAE Institute Australia (SAE Sydney was formerly Qantm College). Including campuses from: SAE Brisbane, SAE Byron Bay, SAE Melbourne, SAE Perth, and SAE Sydney.
Out of the dozens of SAE Institutes located all around the world, this was the first one that opened back in 1976! SAE Australia has three animation programs: Bachelor of Animation (two years, six trimesters), Associate Degree of Animation (four trimesters), and a Diploma of 3D Animation (seven months, two trimesters). They also offer three game degrees: Bachelor of Games Development (two years, six trimesters), Associate Degree of Games Development (four trimesters), and a Diploma of Game Development (seven months, two trimesters. On top of this, they also offer three postgraduate degrees of varying design backgrounds.
Swinburne University of Technology. Hawthorn, Australia.
In the Games and Animation field of study, Swinburne University offers the six following programs: Animation, Digital and Interactive Games, Digital Media Design, Digital Media Technologies, Games Development, and Games & Interactivity. A full course guide can be downloaded for each of those programs on their site. They also have a stop-motion animation studio available to students!
University of Melbourne. Victoria, Australia.
The Victorian College of the Arts at University of Melbourne was founded way back in 1853 and has seen its School of Film and Television graduates enter the entertainment industry from all angles since 1968. They have a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation), Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) (Animation), Master of Fine Arts (Film and Television), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). They also have an Animation Major in Bachelor of Fine Arts, and have several scholarships available to their students to apply for!
Queensland University of Technology. Brisbane, Australia.
Also known as QUT, it was founded in 1989, and in 2016 it had 48,833 students! Their relevant undergraduate courses include Bachelor of Creative Industries, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film, Screen, and New Media), Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Arts), Bachelor of Games and Interactive Environments (Animation, or Game Design, or Software Technologies), Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation), and Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation). That last one is three years full-time and the next round starts in February 2018!
University of Technology Sydney. Sydney, Australia.
Its origins date back to the 1870s, but the university was founded in 1988, and as of 2013 they had 37,673 students and 3,110 members of their administrative staff. University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has several Bachelor program options for animators and game designers: Bachelor of Design in Animation, Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication, and Bachelor of Science in Games Development. They also have a Master of Animation and Visualisation, a Graduate Diploma in Animation and Visualisation, and combined degree options!
Canadian Schools:
Algonquin College. Ottawa, Canada.
This year the school celebrates its 50th year anniversary! Their one year Pre-Animation & Illustration course is $3,323 per semester for domestic students and a $4,527 premium for international students. For a more in depth education, they also have three year Animation program and a three year Game Development program. Each program costs roughly $4,300 per semester for domestic students and roughly a $4,500 premium for international students. Their site has the full breakdown of fees and curriculum for more information.
Capilano University. North Vancouver, Squamish, and Sunshine Coast, Canada.
Founded in 1968, they have over 11,000 students and they have a plethora of studies to choose from! The Capilano School of Motion Picture Arts has fourteen different programs in areas spanning Motion Picture Arts, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Documentary, Independent Filmmaking, Costuming, Digital Imaging, 2D Animation, 3D Animation, Lighting, Grip Work, and Game Design. Their 3D Animation graduates have gone on to work at Rockstar Vancouver, Electronic Arts, and Aardman Animation!
Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Vancouver, Canada.
Their Bachelor of Fine Arts includes studies for Integrated Media, Illustration, Photography, and Visual Effects. Their Bachelor of Media Arts provides programs for 2D & Experimental Animation, 3D Computer Animation, Film & Screen Arts, and New Media & Sound Arts. Emily Carr has several Majors postgraduate programs, and also certificate courses in Drawing, 2D Design, and 3D Design.
Humber College. Ontario, Canada.
Founded in 1967, Humber College has Certificate, Diploma, and Degree options in areas such as 3D Modelling and Visual Effects Production, Post Production, Visual & Digital Arts, Web Design & Interactive Media, Animation – 3D, and Game Programming. The Animation – 3D program is six semesters and has domestic fees of $6,976 for two semesters and international fees of $15,881 for two semesters.
LaSalle College International Vancouver. Vancouver, Canada.
LaSalle acquired The Art Institute of Vancouver earlier this year! Their Game Design & VFX studies are broken down into six different programs: Bachelor of Science in Game Programming (eleven quarters), 3D Modeling for Animation & Games (seven quarters), Animation Art & Design (seven quarters), VFX for Film & Television (seven quarters), Game Art & Design (seven quarters), and Visual & Game Programming (six quarters).
Ontario College of Art and Design. Toronto, Canada.
There are two undergraduate Digital Painting and Expanded Animation programs at the “OCAD University” that animators can pursue. One is an Integrated Media path and the other is a Drawing & Painting path. They also offer programs for Advertising, Drawing & Painting, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Integrated Media.
Visual College of Art and Design of Vancouver. Vancouver, Canada.
This school began as a branch of the Victoria College of Art and Design, and is now called VCAD by most of its students and faculty. The programs pathways they offer are Fashion Design, Marketing and Merchandising for Fashion, Architecture Design & Technology, Interior Design, 3D Modeling Animation Art & Design, Visual Effects Art & Design, Game Development & Design, and Graphic Design. Their Animation and Game Design programs are both six terms, and the school is offering up to $150,000 in scholarships in 2018!
French Schools:
ARTFX. Montpellier, France.
Founded in 2004, ARTFX has education for career paths such as Cinema, VFX Movies, 3D Animation for Film & TV, Post Production, Video Games, Virtual Reality, and Advertising. For the 2017/2018 period they currently have 370 students enrolled with 40 professors helping 70 students graduate each year to increase their 450 alumni base continue to expand. Their main 3D Animation program is a Master’s degree five year Digital Director Diploma course that teaches everything there is to know! Tuition for that program is €6,800 for the first year and €7,800 for years two through five after that.
Créapole. Paris, France.
Créapole has various first year preparatory classes that lead into second and third years of extensive training in one of the following paths: Fashion, Product Design, Transport Design, Interior Architecture, Animation Cinema & Video Game, Art Design, and Visual Communication & Multimedia. Fourth and fifth year additional training is also available. Not only does this school thrive on creative art styles, they also boast confidence. 90% of students find a job within just four months of graduation!
Ecole Emile Cohl. Lyon, France.
Artists who don’t have enough art skills to join this school can instead take their 38 hour a week preparatory class for €6,180. Their degree programs then follow a schedule of first year (several workshops, €7,890 total), VAE Program (nine months of illustration and short film creation, €2,130 total), second year (more workshops, €8,190 total), third year (advanced workshops, €8,520 total), fourth year (animation, game design, and publishing pathways, €8,070 total), and a fifth year €8,130 program that has specialization courses for a Master’s diploma that ends with a six month paid internship program!
La Poudrière. Valence, France.
Are you super artsy? This might be the school for you! La Poudrière’s mission is to offer students the opportunity to take overall responsibility for the production of (small) films without being locked into a single medium or piece of software. Their main foundational program is two years long but they also offer four and dive day courses for Graphic Authors & Literary Authors, Music Composition for the Animated Film, Storyboard & Staging, and Storyboard Reading.
LISAA L'Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués. Campus locations: Paris, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, France.
LISAA has all encompassing fields of study for both Graphic & Motion Design as well as Animation & Video Games. The latter includes programs such as MBA Video Game Production (one year), Master Supervisor & Director Animation & Special Effects (two years), Master's in Video Game Creative Director (two years), and the following three year programs: Bachelor 2D Animation, Bachelor 3D Animation, Bachelor 2D/3D Video Games, Bachelor Visual Effects, and Bachelor 2D/3D Animation. Tuition is usually €7,590 for the first Bachelor year and €8,990 each year after that, with courses in English sometimes costing slightly more. LISAA has really impressed in the past year and has potential to crack into the top 25 rankings next year!
SAE Institute Paris. Paris, France. Other campuses in several countries around the planet.
SAE Institute was established in 1976, and it currently has over 50 campuses in almost 30 countries around the world! SAE Paris has courses for Animation, Audio, Film, and Games. Their Animation and Games courses include two different two year Bachelor programs: Visual Effects Animation and Game Art Animation. Each program consists of a variety of training in 2D and 3D animation, as well as other VFX art and film editing.
School of Decorative Arts. Paris, France.
Founded in the 1920s, “École Nationale Superieure Des Arts Decoratifs” is often called just ENSAD, and it has roots dating back to the Royal Free School of Art that was founded way back in 1766! Students enter a five year program that starts off with a multidisciplinary three year foundation. The fourth year involves an internship and the fifth year culminates in a “Grand Project” diploma project. Tuition for the first year is €653 and it’s €648 per year after that.
School Georges Méliès. Château Georges Méliès, France.
This school used to be named “EESA - Ecole Europenne Superieur d'Animation” (European Graduate School of Animation) before it changed its name in 2010 to honor the famous filmmaker pioneer. Two years ago they opened a 3,000 m² building that has a movie theater with 150 seats, a film set, a recording studio, anatomy theaters, and other artist delights. Since then their courses and graduate work have improved greatly and this is a school to watch closely! Their relevant four year programs are Artisan of the Animated Image and Video Game Craftsman, and they also have several Master Classes and night class options.
German Schools:
Games Academy. Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany. Vancouver, Canada.
This school was founded in 2000 as Europe’s first college to solely focus on computer and video game production. They’ve expanded greatly in the past year and now offer even more robust courses. Their main Game Design degree is a one year program, but they also offer these three year programs as well: Game Programming, Game Production, and Digital Art. Programs can be as affordable as €395 a month, and several scholarships are available as well.
Hochschule Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. Darmstadt, Germany.
Also known as “h_da” by many locals, this school has about 15,000 students and its graduates are popular hires for German entertainment industry companies! Its BA Animation & Game Program is a seven semester course that covers everything an artist needs to make animations or games. The next application period will be January 3, 2018 to January 6, 2018, and students need to pass an entrance exam to be accepted.
Indian Schools:
Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics. Various locations in India.
Some of their students went on to work on Madagascar and Captain Planet, with over 1,300 grads finding jobs in 2015. They currently have three 3D Animation courses, three VFX courses, three Multimedia & Design courses, one Gaming Design course, and short courses in the following areas: Modelling & Texturing, Lighting, Animation, Maya Pro, MAX Pro, Digital Filmmaking, Stereoscopic Filmmaking, Compositing Plus, Design Viz Pro, Advanced Compositing, and Digital Photography.
The Digital Film School. Mumbai, India.
Aspiring 2D animators, keep scrolling, this is not the school for you! For other career paths, if you want to have classes in their 25,000 square foot post-production facility, then this might be the school for you! Their focus on VFX has dropped for an expanded focus on the aspects of film and TV. They have courses for Film Making, Screenplay Writing, Film & Television Direction, Cinematography, Film & Television Editing, Sound Recording & Engineering, and Acting. Those courses span anywhere from three to ten months each.
Toonz Academy. Kerala, India.
This school continues to grow more impressive each year! They offer Certification programs in both Nuke and Unity, and also have courses for Animation Film Making (AFMA, fifteen months), 3D Animation Course (3D FP, six months), Unity Game Development (3D – GDP, nine months), Visual Effects (VFXA, six months), and Graphic Design (DGMG, three months). Their AFMA program also ends with a three month internship at the Toonz Animation Studio in Technopark!
Italian Schools:
Istituto Europeo di Design. Rome, Milan, Florence, and Turin Italy.
This school has a variety of degrees spread across several campuses throughout Italy! Their Visual Communication Major in Computer Generated Animation is a three year course in Rome and Milan, and both also offer a similar Major in Illustration and Animation, as does the Turin campus. Milan has a specialized Animation Design degree and Madrid has short courses for Video Game Design and Writing. Milan offers training for 3D Studio Max, Mental Ray, V-Ray, Rhino, and other design software. Madrid has a higher level training program for 3D Animation and Game Environments.
Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti. Milano and Milan, Italy.
Nuova Accademia Di Belle Arti, also known as NABA, has two undergraduate Bachelor of Arts programs that focus on animation: New Technologies for Applied arts and Media Design & Multimedia Arts. Both last three years and will begin their next enrollment in October 2018, both have varying degrees of game design training, and both have roughly 89% of their graduates find employment! Summer short courses are also available for a wide range of art industries.
Mykey Studios. Milan, Italy.
Mykey Studios offers training courses in the exact area of expertise you’re looking for. Classes range anywhere from a few hours to dozens of hours, to several months in length. Some of the training they currently offer includes areas such as Maya Computer Animation, Creatures Design, Concept Art, Unreal Basics, Mari Essential, Motion Capture for Multimedia, Virtual Reality, 3ds Max & V-Ray Essential, AutoCAD Essential, FilmMaking, Nuke Core Module, After Effects, Houdini 101, and Nuke Essential. Their site lists the tuition fees for each course!
Japanese Schools:
Kyoto Seika University. Kyoto, Japan.
Known as SEIKA to many, this school offers assistance to students from overseas with immigration and Visa issues. Their Faculty of Manga includes courses for Cartoon Art, Comic Art, Manga Production, Gag Manga, Character Design, and a four year Animation course. They also have a Master’s Program for artists who want to dig deeper!
Tokyo School of Anime. Tokyo, Japan.
One of the best schools in the world for aspiring anime artists! They offer much more than just anime degrees though, and have motion capture studios and a wide variety of other cutting-edge facilities. They offer programs for Anime Voice Actor, 2.5D Musical, eSports Professional Gamer, Anime Illustration, Figure Modeling, Sound Effect Engineer, Anime Staff, and Comics. The Anime Illustration program teaches various 2D and 3D software and skills for animation!
Malaysian Schools:
Limkokwing University. Cyberjaya, Malaysia.
Its students and faculty call it LUCT, and it has tons of glowing testimonials from international students! Limkokwing has Diplomas for Graphic Design, Animation, Animation & Multimedia, Games Art, and Digital Video. They also have a Bachelor BA (Hons) program for Animation, Games Technology, Games Design, Motion Graphics & Visual Effects, and Digital Film & Television, as well as a Masters program for Digital Film & Television.
The One Academy. Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Some of its grads have gone on to work at Lucasfilm and Ubisoft! They have degree programs for BA (Hons) Interactive Media Design and BA (Hons) Graphic Design, as well as a Digital Animation Diploma that teaches software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Digicel Flipbook, Premiere, Audition, Maya Complete, Maya Unlimited, After Effects, Autodesk Combustion, Flash. They have partnerships with several schools in Australia, New Zealand, USA, and the United Kingdom.
New Zealand Schools:
Animation College. Auckland, New Zealand.
Founded in 1989, this school won “Best Emerging Business 2016” at the Westpac Auckland Business Awards and it is now a member of Academic Colleges Group (ACG). It is one of eleven New Zealand schools that have Weta Workshop affiliations, along with Ara Institute of Canterbury, Auckland University of Technology, Edenz College, Massey University, Media Design School, Southern Institute of Technology, University of Auckland, University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, and Yoobee School of Design. Animation College has several Diplomas and Bachelor degrees to choose from, as well as an abundance of stellar student art galleries to prove it’s one of New Zealand’s best schools!
Massey University. Wellington, New Zealand.
The Wellington Campus has the College of Creative Arts, which focuses on several design programs. The most encompassing one is the Bachelor of Creative Media Production because it focuses on training for Film, TV, Animation, VFX, Game Development, and Web & Interactive. This degree is three years full-time and costs $812 per year for domestic undergraduate students and $6,502 per year for international undergraduate students.
Yoobee School of Design. Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington, New Zealand.
Yoobee began two decades ago and is already one of the best schools in the world for aspiring animators and game designers. The programs they offer are Foundation Course (iCreate), Graphic Design, Filmmaking, Animation & 3D Graphics, Game Art & Development, Web Development, and several short courses. Their Game Design program is two years long, but students also have the option of taking an online course that can be at the pace of their choosing. Their Animation programs vary in length from fifteen weeks, to 41 weeks, or online courses at their own pace.
Spanish Schools:
CICE, La Escuela Profesional de Nuevas. Madrid, Spain.
They have a 3D Animation, VFX Videogames and Virtual Reality program that’s split into several paths: (MAM) Master in 3D Animation with Maya - Official Autodesk, (MHX) Master in VFX Special 3D Effects with Houdini - Side FX, (MDO) Master in 3D Modeling with Zbrush - Official of Pixologic, (MAP) Master's Degree in Official Character Animation from Autodesk, (MCA) Master in Design and Concept Art - Official from Pixologic and Adobe, (MPV) Master in Videogame Development and Virtual Reality - Unity Official, (MAD) Master in 3D Video Game Design - Official Autodesk. Their other programs that might interest artists are Audiovisual Production, Motion Graphics and Sound and Design, Development and Apps. They have grants available for students as well as discounts for early enrollment!
Escola Superior de Cinema. Barcelona, Spain.
Known by ESCAC to its students, this school has an 800 hour Animation & Visual Effects Master's program that runs from September to June full-time. The competition to get in is high, and only twelve to eighteen students are accepted each year! This program costs £9,900 and the school's alumni have worked on several movies and television shows.
FX Animation Barcelona 3D & Film School. Barcelona, Spain.
This school specializes in two branches of training: 3D and Cinema. Both pathways provide students with everything they could need to land their dream job! For 3D they offer courses and Master’s programs in areas such as Visual Effects, 2D/3D Animation, Character Design, and Video Games. As for software, here’s their cutting-edge list of software training: LightWave, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, 3DStudioMax, V-Ray, Forest Pack, Rail Clone, ProTools, Premier, DaVinci, After Effects, Avid, Nuke, Mari, CaraVR, and Syntheyes! This school is on fire lately! Check out their graduate demo reel videos!
L’idem Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain. Le Soler, France.
Their programs are broken up into three main categories: 2D / 3D Animation for Video Games, Graphic Design, and Visual Communications. Their animation program trains students in Nuke, 3D Studio Max, Toon Boom, Maya, Unity, Final Cut, Premiere, After Effects, and Photoshop. Check out their site’s portfolio section to see the artwork students have created in the past!
Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Barcelona, Spain.
Polytechnic University of Catalonia is also known as Barcelona Tech or UPC to many, and it is the largest engineering university in Catalonia, Spain. They offer the following three Bachelor’s degrees in Design & Multimedia Technology: Multimedia Studies (four years), Video Game Design & Development (four years), and Design, Animation, & Digital Art (three years). The Video Game Design & Development degree can also be taken in English!
U-Tad. Madrid, Spain.
U-Tad specializes in five areas of study: Animation, Visual Design, Video Games, Engineering, and International Business. Their Animation Bachelor’s Degree is a four year program taught in Spanish, and they also offer these four postgraduate programs: Master’s in 3D Character Animation, Professional Master’s in 3D Lighting & VFX, Expert in Character Design, and Expert in Rigging & Character FX.
British Schools:
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. Dundee, Scotland.
Also known as DJCAD, this school has a four year BSc (Hons) Digital Interaction Design degree that’s a fun blend of product design, graphic design, computing, and user research. Their BDes (Hons) Animation degree is a three year full-time program that costs £1,820 per year for Scottish and EU students, £9,250 per year for students from the rest of UK, and £16,450 per year for international students. They also have a one year full-time MSc Animation & VFX postgraduate course that costs £6,950 per year for Scottish, UK, and EU students, and £16,450 per year for international students.
Escape Studios, Pearson College London. London, United Kingdom.
They have three undergraduate BA / MArt degrees to choose from: Computer Animation – The Art of Computer Animation, Video Games – The Art of Video Games, and VFX – The Art of Visual Effects. Each is three years and has tuition fees set at £9,250. Its four Postgraduate MA degrees are Game Art, Visual Effects Production (3D), and Visual Effects Production (Compositing). Each is one year with tuition fees set at £17,500. Want something shorter? They have over twenty short courses that range from five to twenty weeks in the topics of Programming, Production, Houdini, Motion Graphics, Video Games, Pre-Production, Animation, 2D VFX, and 3D VFX.
Ravensbourne. London, United Kingdom.
The School of Media at Ravensbourne has a three year BA (Hons) Animation program that’s £9,250 for EU students, £13,500 for new international Tier 4 Visa students, and £10,800 for new international Non-Tier 4 students. They also have a three year BA (Hons) Games Design program that has the same fees as their Animation program. Some students for both programs may be eligible for 5% discounts in some cases, so reach out to their admissions staff!
Southampton Solent University. Southampton, United Kingdom.
Solent’s main campus has over 11,000 students and spends their tuition on cutting edge technology and education. There are a whopping 17 Art & Design programs to choose from at their school, including BA (Hons) Animation, BA (Hons) Digital Animation, BA (Hons) Graphic Design, BA (Hons) Illustration, BA (Hons) Product Design, and BA (Hons) Special Effects. All of those programs are three years long full time and for the 2018/2019 academic year period should cost roughly £9,250 per year for EU students and £12,500 per year for international students. They also have five game design degrees of similar pricing!
University of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Hertfordshire has lots options! Their undergraduate programs to consider are BA (Hons) 3D Computer Animation and Modelling, BA (Hons) 2D Animation and Character for Digital Media, BA (Hons) 3D Games Art & Design, BA (Hons) Visual Effects for Film and Television, BA (Hons) Model Design (Character and Creative Effects), and BSc (Hons) Music Composition and Technology for Film and Games. Their postgraduate options are Animation (MA), Digital Media Arts (MA), Experience Design (MA), and Film and Television (MA).
University of Portsmouth. Portsmouth, England.
For the 2015/2016 period they had 18,745 undergraduate students, 3,315 postgraduate students, and 1,490 people on their academic staff! Their BSc (Hons) undergraduate options are Computer Animation & Visual Effects, Computer Games Enterprise, Computer Games Technology, Computer Science, and Creative Media Technologies. Their BA (Hons) undergraduate options are Animation, Fashion & Textile Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Photography. They also have several postgraduate options for those programs, as well as Data Visualisation Design (MA) and Creative Technologies (MSc). Their postgraduate options are Animation (MA), Digital Media Arts (MA), Experience Design (MA), and Film and Television (MA). The 2018/2019 tuition for Animation students should be roughly £9,250 for domestic students and £14,000 for international students.
University of West England. Bristol, United Kingdom.
UWE Bristol has a BA (Hons) Animation program that’s three years full-time or six years part-time, and it costs £9,250 a year for EU students, £12,500 per year for international students. UWE Bristol also has programs like FdSC Games & Production, BSc (Hons) Digital Media, BSc (Hons) Games Technology, MSc Commercial Games Development, MSc Creative Technology, MA Cinematography, MSc/PGDip/PGCert options for Animation as well. UWE has a variety of postgraduate scholarships available, and most of their programs boast a 90% employment rate (or higher) within six months of graduation!
Schools in Other Regions:
Ballyfermot College of Further Education. Dublin, Ireland.
The Irish School of Animation at Ballyfermot College has six animation and game design programs: Animation Drawing Studies (one year), Computer Games & Interactive Entertainment Development (one year), HND in Creative Media Production for Computer Game Design (two years), HND IN Visual Effects and 3D Technology (two years), and a BA (Hons) Visual Media in Animation / Game Design (two years). They also have a variety of Design, Digital Media, and VFX degrees to choose from!
Beijing Film Academy. Beijing, China.
The Animation School of Beijing Film Academy (BFA) began in 2000, and in 2013 they opened up their International Program for courses taught in English. They have eight course terms that can span up to four years and they all focus on Production, Technique, Technology, Historical, and Theoretical classes. At least half of all courses are taught in a Production aspect, which allows students to learn hands-on! While not applicable to their English language programs, six students for their Chinese language programs will be eligible for one scholarship of 30,000 RMB, two for 20,000 RMB, and three for 10,000!
Cadritech Computacao Grafica. São Paulo, Brazil.
Cadritech was founded in 1995, and they mainly train students in specific software while also offering three programs that span 80 to 240 hours that cover a variety of software packages. Their current software training includes Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Autodesk Inventor, Rhinoceros (Rhino 3D), AutoDac, Maquete c / V-Ray, Navisworks, Revit, Revit MEP, SketchUp, Maya, and V-Ray p / SketchUp.
Chungkang College of Cultural Industries. Icheon, South Korea.
This school claims to be largest animation education institute in Korea, and after looking at their impressive facilities and student galleries, I’m inclined to believe them! Their fields of study are Animation, Comic, Game Content, Food, Fashion, Musical, Mobile IT, and Department of Early Childhood Education. Both their Animation and Game programs are three years long, and both have jaw dropping graduate art to showcase! This school might be a top 25 rankings contender for next year!
Haute École Albert Jacquard. Namur, Belgium.
Also known as HEAJ, this school has programs for 2D Animation & Digital Illustration, 3D Animation Movies, 3D Visual Effects, Computer Graphics, Design Web & Mobile, Graphic & Advertising Communication, Video Game Animation, Video Game Art, Video Game Technical Art, and Visual Arts. In addition to this, they also have a Video Game Honours year program and a Master’s in Transmedia Architecture.
HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. Utrecht, Netherlands.
HKU has a Games and Interaction program that offers Dutch courses in Game Art, Game Design, Game Development, and Interactive Design. They also have a Dutch Bachelors of Animation that’s a four year full-time course (240 ECTS) that requires students to first pass an entrance test.
Image Campus. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Image Campus has seven main fields of study: Robotics, Video Games, Animation, 3D, VFX, Illustration, and Web / Mobile. Their Animation studies include three different three year programs that focus on Cinema, Video Games, or Cartoons, and they also have separate study options such as software training, short courses, and clinics. Their other fields of study also have similar options of varying time commitments to let you customize your education however you’d like!
Kaywon School of Art and Design. Euiwang-shi, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
This school in South Korea has these four enticing areas of study: Game Media (for students who want to program games), Digital Media Design (for students who want to be visual web/mobile designers), Moving Image Design (for students who want to work in video production, video editing, and VFX), and Animation (for students who want to work in 2D or 3D cartoons, anime, or other animation careers). They have sister universities located all around the globe, so be sure to do some homework before you decide to relocate!
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. Budapest, Hungary.
This historic school was founded back in 1870 as the Hungarian University of Arts and Design. It changed its name in 2006, and its students often call it MOME now. They have 11 BA programs (six semesters; 180 credit hours) and 12 MA programs (four semesters; 120 credit hours), and their fields of study include Animation, Architecture, Art & Design Theory, Ceramic Design, Glass Design, Graphic Design, Industrial & Product Design, Media Design, Metalwork & Jewelry Design, Photography, and Fashion & Textile Design.
Nanyang Polytechnic. Singapore.
Students like to call it NYP for short, and enjoy benefits of the school being partnered with many industry companies involved in research and development collaboration projects. Their tuition is listed as S$340 for Singapore citizens, S$2,250 for permanent residents, and S$9,300 or more for international students. Their School of Design has four core design programs, as well as three GCE 0 Level design courses, three design Integrated Programs, a Games Art & Design ITE Program, and four SPM / UEC design programs.
Nayzak Animation School. Cairo, Egypt.
Their Animation Track (15,000 EGP, five diplomas per year) includes Concept Art, 2D Animation, 3D Character Creation, 3D Environment Creation, and 3D Character Animation. However, some of those courses first require students to take one or more of these elective classes: Drawing, Scriptwriting, Digital Painting, 3D Animation Introduction, and Matte Painting. Their Design Track (12,000 EGP, four Diplomas per year) includes Brand & Advertisement Design, Motion Graphics, Graphic Design Fundamentals, and Illustration, where some of these also have prerequisites. The talent coming out of this school in the past year has been exciting; keep an eye on them!
Noroff Instituttet. Kristiansand, Norway.
Noroff's University College has a Bachelor program for four areas of learning: Applied Data Science, Digital Research, Interactive Media – Animation, and Interactive Media – Games. They also have programs for VFX – Visual Effects, Graphic Design, Filmmaking, Technical Design with 2D / 3D, and 3D programs for Game Design, Film Production, and Design & Animation. Want a shorter course? No problem! They have over a dozen online courses!
Playground Squad. Falun, Sweden.
This famous school keeps it simple. You pick if you want to be an Artist, Designer, or Programmer, and they help you become an expert in one of those three career paths. One of their team of graduates made the world famous mobile game, Angry Birds, so they’ve proven how valuable their training can be! Because of that, it’s often highly competitive to get accepted by this school due to all the applications they get. Those that do get in may apply for financial aid (studiestöd) through CSN.
SAE Institute Dubai. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Similar campuses in the Middle East: SAE Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and SAE Amman in Jordan.
SAE Dubai has five Bachelor Degree programs: Bachelor of Animation, Bachelor of Film, Bachelor of Audio, Bachelor of Games, and Bachelor of Design. Their Bachelor of Animation has a 3,000 AED registration fee, a 2,000 AED equipment deposit fee, a 9,800 AED resource fee, and tuition can be two years accelerated for 132,000 AED or three years for the same price. Have other questions? Check out their site and take advantage of their live chat feature with a school representative!
The Animation School. Cape Town & Johannesburg, South Africa.
Other than some part time Saturday courses, this school only offers one animation degree, and that’s all it needs. In 2017, five groups of their students won animation awards with their talented short film projects, and two students even won a prize where they got flown out to Nickelodeon in Los Angeles! A few years ago, some of their grads created the animated film Khumba at Triggerfish Animation Studios in Cape Town!
TRUEMAX Academy School of CGI & Animation. Copenhagen, Denmark.
Truemax has had guest teachers from projects such as BioShock 2, Mulan, Jurassic Park III, and even Avatar! Their main program is 3D Digital Artist, which is a three and a half year full-time course that’s approved for SU (state funded student grants). International students are welcome, but it’s taught in English, and ends with a six month apprenticeship at a 3D company during the last term! It spans seven semesters where the first six each cost between 47.500 DKK to 64.200 DKK, with the last semester being the free internship. Their three short courses are 3D Fundamentals Online (up to 6 months; 3.270 DKK), Classic Drawing (twelve weeks; 24.000 DKK), and Modelling for Games (three weeks; prices still pending).
Universidad Veritas. San José, Costa Rica.
Their Technician 2D Animation program runs five semesters, and their License in Digital Animation program spans eleven semesters and includes nine different animation classes. Universidad Veritas also offers programs for Technician in Graphic Design, License in Film & TV, and a License in Advertising (Visual Communication).
University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Wits School of Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand has an MA in Digital Animation that runs one year with most courses costing R25,000 to R57,000. The Wits School of Arts also has a four year Game Design BA Digital Arts program where courses usually cost R38,728 to R48,550. For a shorter game design program, their School of Electrical and Information Engineering has a three year Digital Arts program with courses usually costing R38,728 to R48,550 per course.
Top 25 International Animation Schools:
