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Where did people who work as animators at Pixar go to college?
| College | Location | % of Employee Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| Academy of Art University | San Francisco, California | 10% |
| California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) | Santa Clarita, California | 10% |
| Sheridan College | Ontario, Canada | 5% |
| Ringling College of Art and Design | Sarasota, Florida | 5% |
| Brigham Young University (BYU) | Provo, Utah | 3% |
| Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) | Savannah, Georgia | 3% |
| San Francisco State University | San Francisco, California | 2% |
| University of Southern California (USC) | Los Angeles, California | 2% |
| Texas A&M University (TAMU) | College Station, Texas | 2% |
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | Los Angeles, California | 2% |
| Gobelins | Paris, France | 2% |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, California | 2% |
| New York University (NYU) | New York, New York | 2% |
| Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) | Providence, Rhode Island | 2% |
| Ohio State University (OSU) | Columbus, Ohio | 1% |
| Bournemouth University | Bournemouth, England | 1% |
| University of Washington (UW) | Seattle, Washingtom | 1% |
| Vancouver Film School (VFS) | British Columbia, Canada | 1% |
| Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1% |
| Pratt Institute | New York, New York | 1% |
| School of the Art Institute Chicago (SAIC) | Chicago, Illinois | 1% |
| California College of the Arts (CCOA) | San Francisco, California | 1% |
| Columbia College Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1% |
| Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) | Laguna Beach, California | 1% |
| University of Central Florida (UCF) | Orlando, Florida | 1% |
| University of Pennsylvania (Penn) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1% |
We analyzed the academic backgrounds of over 1000 current and former Pixar employees who worked as animators, or in animation related jobs, at Pixar. The percentages of the schools and colleges listed above represent the amount of current and former Pixar animators that have a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree from that institution. We listed only those schools and colleges above 1% in our analysis. In total, the 27 schools listed above represent 57% of the degrees we considered. There were 207 additional schools and colleges representing the remaining 43% of degrees.
Academy of Art University, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, and California College of the Arts are each in the same major metropolitan area as Pixar.
Notes:
- For the purposes of our analysis, we only listed above the colleges offering animation related bachelor's and master’s degrees.
- Many current and ex-Pixar employees have academic backgrounds that include unfinished degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificate programs, and other continuing training programs. While these are all relevant and important educational experiences, we excluded them from our analysis in an effort to focus on degree granting programs.
- Non-degree granting animation career training programs offered by Animation Mentor, The Animation Collaborative, Animsquad, iAnimate, and AnimSchool are not included in our analysis but it is worth noting these programs are enormously popular among current and former Pixar animators. These programs are often utilized by working, professional animators to enhance their skill set in specific areas.
- While most professional animators have a formal college degree in animation, there are some professional animators who studied a major other than animation in college. These people are included in our analysis.
- This data is not meant to indicate nor suggest that Pixar actively recruits from any of these schools or colleges. It only conveys from which schools and colleges current and former Pixar animators earned their degrees.
- This analysis is as of May, 2022.