Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) was established in 1942. The school serves more than 12,000 students, making it New Jersey’s largest private university. More than 100 degrees and disciplines are offered across two New Jersey campuses (Madison and Teaneck) and two FDU locations outside the U.S. including Oxfordshire, England, and the Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The school also has extension sites throughout New Jersey, and partner institutions and study abroad opportunities around the world.
Programs for aspiring animators are offered through the School of Art, which is part of FDU’s Becton College. Options include a BA in Film and Animation, MA and MFA degrees in Animation, BA-MA and BA-MFA combined degrees, and Minors in 3D Video Game Animation, Animation, Film Production, Studio Arts, and Cinema Studies. The BA offers three concentrations including 3D Animation, 2D Animation, and Video Game Animation. Common course titles for the undergraduate programs include Character Animation using CAT, History of Animation & Special Effects, Logo and Product Animation, Motion Capture, Storytelling, 3D Computer Animation, and Vector Animation.
FDU’s MA and MFA degrees in Animation offer concentrations in 3D Character Animation, Visual Effects, and Video Games. The MA requires 36 credit hours of study and the MFA requires 60 credit hours. Both programs require completion of a thesis.
Per the school, the combined BA-MA in Animation “offers FDU students the option to complete both the Bachelor and Master degrees in Animation. This program is designed for animation students seeking additional training at the graduate level that goes beyond their undergraduate education.” The BA-MFA is designed for “talented, highly motivated students seeking specialized training at the terminal degree level in addition to their undergraduate education in animation.”
The curriculum for the terminal degree “culminates in a major Thesis work, incorporates motion capture and virtual reality technology, gives students experience in working on group projects, and also promotes career readiness.” The graduate and undergraduate programs offer access to FDU’s internship program, “which allows students to gain real world experience by completing industry internships for clients such as MTV, ABC, Nickelodeon, Blue Sky Studios, DreamWorks, NBC Universal at CNBC, NJ Jets, World Wresting Entertainment, and Viacom among others.”
Alumni have landed positions at ABC, Animated Storyboards, Blue Sky Studios, Blindhack Software, CCG Metamedia, Curious Pictures, DreamWorks, Entertainment at Fox Interactive, High Five Games, Marvel Comics, Pixel Light Digital Media, Skyline Entertainment, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Tribe Pictures, Viacom, Verizon, Whisper Productions, and many others.