Top 50 Animation BFA Degree Programs – 2021 College Rankings

The School of Film/Video at California Institute of the Arts’ (CalArts) offers BFA degrees in Character Animation and Experimental Animation. The BFA in Character Animation is an “intensive” four-year program, that “provides comprehensive artistic and technical training to help each student develop as a fully-fledged animation artist within both the traditional and computer graphic (CG) animation environments,” says the school.

Courses for the program are taught by “a faculty of experienced professionals who work at the forefront of traditional, CG and independent animation.”

Course highlights include 2D Character Animation, CG Foundation, Digital Methods, and Film Workshop. During the final year of the BFA program, students have the opportunity to customize their curriculum according to their own areas of specific interest. Graduates of the program will enter the job market with a professional-caliber portfolio and four short individually made films. 

The BFA Track in the Experimental Animation program “emphasizes the creative development of a personal aesthetic in an interdisciplinary, artist-centered environment.” Courses for the program “blend practical knowledge with creative practice and critique, allowing for a detailed examination of animation art.” Course highlights include Animation Production, BFA Workshop, Hybrid Imaging, and Motion and Meaning.

Throughout both BFA programs, students will work closely with a mentor to achieve their academic and professional goals.

CalArts has produced hundreds of successful alumni including Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), Chris Buck (Frozen), John Lasseter (Toy Story, Cars), Mark Andrews (Brave), Stephen Hillenburg (creator of SpongeBob SquarePants), and Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood), to name a few.

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) offers a BFA in Animation that consists of 180 credit hours of study, including 80 in the major. Students may choose from four concentrations including 2D Animation, 3D Character Animation, Storytelling and Concept Development, and Technical Animation. Ten hours of additional electives allows students to create a focus in another area of interest.

Students will master 2D and 3D Animation, Character Animation, Digital Modeling, Drawing, Storyboarding, and more. Through Gradpath@SCAD, incoming BFA students will have the opportunity to earn their undergraduate degree and a graduate degree in an accelerated and continuous program of study. The BFA/MA takes as few as four years to complete and the BFA/MFA can be completed in as few as five years.

Graduates of SCAD’s animation programs have landed positions at major studios such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

The School of Visual Arts (SVA) offers a BFA degree in Animation as well as a BFA degree in Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects. In each, the faculty includes some of the best artists in the industry, who bring knowledge and experience in multiple disciplines straight from the studio into the classroom. You will not only learn innovative drawing techniques and methods of storytelling, but also industry standard software.

BFA Animation students are immersed in hands-on experience, whether studying traditional, stop-motion or computer animation. Special working relationships with alumni-owned Plymptoons, Titmouse and Augenblick studios—as well as with other independent animation creators throughout New York—provide extraordinary opportunities for internships and part-time employment. BFA Animation students have produced pieces for non-profit organizations and public service organizations such as Ted-ED, UNICEF, and UNESCO.

Students in BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects navigate a unique curriculum that focuses on the integration of 2D and 3D computer graphics within computer animation, visual effects and motion graphics. Students receive comprehensive instruction in 3D computer animation with advanced classes in 3D modeling, lighting, texturing, dynamics, character animation, and motion capture. Visual effects courses feature advanced instruction in digital video, green screen studio production, compositing, rotoscoping, and VFX animation.

Graduates of the BFA animation and computer arts programs at SVA have gone on to open their own studios or land positions at some of the world’s top companies and digital studios including Blue Sky Studios, Disney Animation, DreamWorks Animation, ILM, MTV, Nickelodeon, Pixar, Warner Bros. Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and independent studios around the world. They have become Academy-Award winners, Emmy-Award winners, Grammy winners, MacArthur Fellows, and Guggenheim Fellows.

Pratt Institute houses the School of Art, Department of Digital Art, which offers a Digital Arts BFA Program with two emphasis areas: 2D Animation and 3D Animation and Motion Arts. Both areas prepare students for positions in digital animation, experimental fine arts, and interactive media.

Students in the BFA program have many opportunities to intern at NYC production studios such as Cartoon Network, Curious Pictures, and Psyop Studios. Outside of NYC, options include Blue Sky Studios, Disney, and Sony Imageworks, to name a few.

After graduation, Pratt alumni can be found working at top studios such as Augenblick, Blue Sky Studios, Digital Domain, Disney Animation Studios, Gameloft, Industrial Light & Magic, NBCUniversal, Inc., Rhythm and Hues Studios, Sony Imageworks, and Titmouse.

Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU) offers a BFA in Film and Television with an Animation Area that “serves the needs of all Film and TV students for both animation and live-action projects,” says the school. The current curriculum “is varied and integrated with both traditional animation and 2D and 3D animation courses at fundamentals, intermediate and advanced levels, as well as storyboarding, titles, optical and digital effects, life drawing and history and criticism classes.”

The program consists of nineteen courses. Highlights include Action Analysis I & II, Advanced 3D Animation Production, Animation: From Pitching to Pipeline to Production, Drawing and Design for Animation, Experimental Animation, Life Drawing: Anatomy, Motion Design & Titles, Special Topics in 3D Computer Animation, Stop-Motion Animation, Storyboarding, Visual Effects and Compositing, and Writing for Animation.

Other program highlights include internship opportunities, study abroad experiences, and guest speakers. Past guests have included Chuck Jones, David Polonski, Frank Thomas, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roy E. Disney, among others.

Graduates of the Animation Program at Tisch have landed jobs at major studios such as DreamWorks, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and many others.

Brigham Young University’s (BYU) College of Fine Arts and Communications, Department of Design offers a BFA in Animation. In the BFA program, students study digital and traditional animation, illustration, figure drawing, and other topics. They also have opportunities to visit artist, film and gaming studios, study abroad, and complete an internship. All students will work on personal and group projects, and major films, and develop portfolios that will help them secure a position in the animation industry.

BFA candidates have the opportunity to gain entrance to the BYU Center for Animation (est. 2010), which operates under the direction of three colleges—the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, the College of Fine Arts and Communications, and the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Accepting just 20-25 students each year through the BFA (or BS) program, the BYU Center for Animation is a competitive, highly dynamic, hands-on program structured to provide students with the skill sets necessary for success in the animation, live-action, special effects, and game industries.

Graduates of the animation programs at BYU have landed positions at gaming and feature film companies such as Blizzard Entertainment, Blue Sky Studios, Digital Domain, Disney, DreamWorks, Hasbro, ILM, Nickelodeon, Pixar, Riot Games, and Sony Pictures Animation.

The Animation Department at California College of the Arts (CCA) houses the schools largest program—the BFA in Animation. Students in the program receive guidance from faculty, including visiting artists, who the school says are “part of animation teams for DreamWorks, Pixar, Tippett Studio, and other studios that have won prestigious awards for their animated films.”

With guidance from experienced faculty and industry professionals, students will learn how to make 2D animation, 3D animation, and visual effects for video games, as well as stop-motion animation, and more. “Courses hone technical expertise in timing and spacing, weight, and other key animation principles.” Students will “learn to combine the skills of both director and actor to create characters with authentic emotion and tell stories that make a real impact.”

Course highlights for the program include Advanced Animation 3D Tips & Tricks, Animation: Visual Storytelling, and Drawing for Animation as well as 3D Character Modeling, Acting for the Animator, Color & Design Visual Development, and Experimental Animation. Students will complete a number of workshops and projects, and internship opportunities are available.

In 2019, the BFA in Animation program began offering a Games Track. The option consists of a “series of courses that teach the discipline of Game Arts, the fundamentals of Game Design, the process of Games Development, and the nuances of Game Animation.” Course highlights include Game Design, Games Development, Game Making, and Worldbuilding. “Animators in the Games Track will produce collaborative and individual works of game art as their capstone projects.”

Graduates of CCA’s Animation programs have been hired at major animation studios and companies such as Cartoon Network, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation, and Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Graduates have also landed positions at game studios such as Electronic Arts, Phosphor Games, Vigil Games, and many others. 

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) houses the Film, Video, New Media, and Animation Department (FVNMA) that offers a BFA in Studio with a Concentration Animation. The Department says the program “endorses and encourages experimentation with radical form and content,” and is “open to many approaches to and understandings of experimental media art.” The Department is “dedicated” to helping students develop their “art practice in a variety of forms and contexts including the use of high definition video, new media art, experimental 3D animation, hand-drawn animation, and filmmaking.”

Students in the FVNMA department are taught by “award-winning pioneers,”  “revolutionaries,” and working professionals in the fields of experimental film, video, animation, nonfiction, narrative, installation, glitch, interactivity, art games, curating, archiving, and web-based art projects. Students also learn from “internationally renowned artists, critics, historians, and curators who regularly visit through the department and SAIC's Visiting Artists Program.”

Other FVNMA Department highlights include graduate projects and fall and spring critique weeks for MFA students, as well as access to world-class resources such as the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. Examples include The Gene Siskel Film Center, The Donna and Howard Stone Gallery for Film, Video, and New Media at the Modern Wing, and The Video Data Bank, which is considered the leading resource in the United States for videos by and about contemporary artists.

Famous SAIC alumni include Cynthia Rowley, David Sedaris, Georgia O’Keeffe, Elizabeth Murray, Jeff Koons, LeRoy Neiman, Michelle Grabner, Nick Cave, and Richard Hunt.

DigiPen Institute of Technology offers a BFA in Digital Art and Animation designed to prepare students to create artwork at the professional level. In addition to excellent drawing skills, students will gain production experience, familiarity with modern studio processes, and storytelling abilities. As a student in the BFA program, aspiring animators can expect to “learn practice the many roles that make up the art production pipeline for games and animation,” says the school.

Course highlights for the program include 2D & 3D Animation, Art and Technology, Career Preparation, Cinematography for Visual Effects, Conceptual Illustration and Visual Development, Environment and Level Design, Production Pipeline, Storyboards, and Storytelling.

A core component of the BFA curriculum is Multidisciplinary Team Projects, which the school says provides the opportunity for students to “contribute on collaborative endeavors in student games, animated films, and more.” The semester- and year-long projects give students the opportunity to “see a project through from the concept stage to final, polished product.” Potential careers for graduates include Animator, Character Artist, Environmental/Asset Artist, Producer, Simulation and Effects Animator, UI Designer, and many others.

In addition to the Redmond campus, the BFA in Digital Art and Animation is available at the school’s international branch campuses including Digipen Europe-Bilbao and Digipen Singapore.

Graduates of the Digital Art Program at DigiPen have been hired at companies such as Activision, Amazon Game Studios, Animation Collective, Apple, ArenaNet, Blizzard Entertainment, Disney Online, DreamWorks Interactive, Electronic Arts, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Riot Games, Sony Online Entertainment, Sucker Punch Productions, Walt Disney Imagineering, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Zynga, and many others.

Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) offers a BFA in Animation that begins “with assignments that build skills while also encouraging inventive and experimental work across a variety of media,” says the school. The program covers technology and workflow, the creative process, and research and context with “classrooms, labs, and studios that facilitate and enhance the work of animation majors.”

Students will study Character Animation, Digitally Generated Animation, Documentary Animation, Emerging Technologies, Experimental Video, and Stop-Motion. Course highlights include Advanced Digital Animation, Design for Animators, Motion Graphics, Puppet Animation & Fabrication, Toolbox, and VFX Alchemy: Pixels & Grain. An Independent Study course, Course Assistantship, and Internship are also part of the program.

BFA coursework “culminates in a degree project consisting of a sustained film as well as a portfolio and reel highlighting students' professional and creative objectives.” Graduates of the program have gone on to land positions such as Animator, Freelance Animator, Junior Animation Artist, Medical Animator, and Medical Illustrator.

San Jose State University (SJSU) houses the College of Humanities and the Arts. The Department of Design here houses the Animation/Illustration (A/I) Program, which leads to a BFA. This professional degree “prepares students for careers in feature film animation, games, television, and any other media that uses animation and storytelling as a core communication tool,” says the school. The curriculum for the program covers color theory, conventional and digital painting, design, and perspective. Students will also study the principles of traditional and 3D animation, character design, modeling, physics of motion, storyboarding, and visual development.

Once students complete lower division courses, they will have the opportunity to specialize in their area of choice and complete an internship.

Graduates of the BFA in Animation/Illustration program have worked on films such as A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. and Shrek and they have been hired at more than 135 animation studios, game design companies, film studios, and academic institutions. Just a few include 20th Century Fox, Animation Mentor, Blue Sky Studios, Blizzard Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Cogswell Institute, Disney Animation, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Lucasfilm Animation, NBCUniversal Studios, Nickelodeon, Pixar, Sony/Columbia, and Zynga.

Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) offers a BFA in Studio with a Concentration in Animation and a BFA in Studio + Humanistic Studies through the school’s Animation Department.

Three pathways are available for the BFA including Traditional Narrative/2D, Stop-Motion, and 3D Animation. The program begins with a fundamental understanding of the art of movement then progresses through areas such as 2D hand-drawn animation, 3D computer imaging, animation history, stop-motion, and innovative combinations of these processes.

Unique course highlights for the program include 3D Character Animation: Performance, 3D Modeling Landscape, Animated Music Video, Animation in Unique Spaces, Astro-Animation, 3D Modeling Landscape, Virtual Reality for Artists, Virtual to Real: Rapid Prototype, and Stop-Motion Open Studio. The program culminates in a thesis film in students’ final year.

The BFA in Animation + Humanistic Studies covers animation studies along with philosophy and ethics, social and natural sciences, and social and political history. Course highlights for the program include Art Matters, Character Animation, Drawing, Digital Tools For Animation, Electronic Media & Culture Elements of Visual Thinking, and Stop-Motion.

MICA animation graduates have been hired by Blue Sky Studios, Disney, DreamWorks, Laika, MTV, and other major companies and studios. Many MICA graduates have continued their education in graduate programs or have successful careers as freelance artists in the animation industry.

California State University Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton or CSU Fullerton) houses the College of the Arts, which houses the Visual Arts Department. Through the Department, aspiring animators can earn a BFA in Art with an Entertainment Art/Animation Concentration. 

This 132-unit program requires a minimum of 81 units in art: The 12 units of studio art “Admission Requirements” plus 12 units of Art History and 57 units of art. The major is divided into 21 units of lower-division preparation and 48 upper-division units. In addition to the minimum 69-unit requirement for the BFA degree, students must meet the other university requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

Course highlights for the program include 3D Character Modeling, 3D Environment Modeling, and 3D Rigging & Animation, Cartooning and Caricature, Design for Interactive Art, Digital Narrative Illustration, Elements of Sequential Art, Lighting and Compositing, Motion Graphics Design, Video Art and Moving Image, Visual Development and Background Painting, and Writing in the Visual Arts.

Group Projects, Independent Research, a BFA Capstone and Internship in Art are also part of the program.

Through a partnership with Nickelodeon Studios, the Entertainment Art/Animation area has “developed educational opportunities to further the career goals of its students.” In addition to Nickelodeon, graduates of the BFA program have landed positions at Cartoon Network, Disney Feature Animation, Disney TV Animation, Electronic Arts, Lucasfilm, Sony Games, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, to name a few.

Graduates have also worked on productions such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Avatar, Ice Age 2, Spiderman 3, SpongeBob Squarepants, Superman Returns, and The Simpsons.

Florida State University’s (FSU) BFA in Animation and Digital Arts and the BFA in Motion Picture Arts programs are offered in the College of Motion Picture Arts, home of the FSU Film School.

The Motion Picture Arts programs allow students to learn both filmmaking and animation skills through core requirements and electives. Course highlights include 3D Computer Animation, 3D Computer Graphics, Character Animation, Compositing, History & Practice of Visual Effects and Animation, Lighting, Texturing and Rendering, Stop-Motion Animation, and Visual Effects.

The Animation and Digital Arts degree is a three-year program within a four-year degree that provides the opportunity for students to “explore the evolution of filmmaking and master the tools and practices of today’s industry,” says the school. During the first year of the programs, students will work in collaboration with other Film School students on foundational coursework. For animation students, following is a “deep dive into the tools and techniques of 3D animation.”

Course highlights include Character Animation, Character Art, Lighting, Texturing, and Rendering, Motion Picture Editing, Reality and Illusion in World Cinema, Story Development & Screenwriting, and of course, 3D Animation.

Other program highlights include the opportunity to work alongside industry professionals, the chance to make create four major films before graduation, one of which is an area-specific thesis film, and participation in the Torchlight Program.

The Torchlight Program gives FSU animation students who would like to freelance or start their own studios the opportunity to learn about current and emerging business practices of the motion picture industry. This non-degree-granting academic program “functions as a gateway between school and career by providing instruction in current and emerging business practices of the motion picture industry,” says the school. The program offers coursework in key areas such as Distribution, Marketing, and Motion Picture Financing.

FSU Torchlight students “have had the opportunity to present, market, publicize, promote and otherwise theatrically distribute a stunning array of independent motion pictures in a variety of markets throughout the United States and Canada.”

FSU College of Motion Picture Arts graduates are prepared to seek positions such as Animatics Supervisor, Animation Supervisor, Animator, CG Lighter, Effects Animator, Modeler, Rigger, Storyboard Artist, Visual Effects Coordinator, and many others.

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD) offers an Animation Program with 2D and 3D Animation Emphases.

Animation program highlights include 2D and 3D Drawing, Character Design, Line of Action, Modeling, Stop-Motion, and Storyboarding. With small class sizes, students will explore these areas and every level of animation through hands-on training led by experienced artists in the field.

The animation programs at RMCAD may be completed in four years and they lead to the BFA degree. Students will leave the programs with a polished portfolio of their work.

RMCAD animation graduates are prepared to seek positions such as 3D Artist, Animator, Character Developer, Digital Videographer, Flash Developer/Designer, New Media Designer, and many others. Alumni have landed positions at Blue Sky Studios, Industrial Light & Magic, Lola VFX, and Pixar, to name a few.

The College for Creative Studies (CCS) offers a BFA in Entertainment Art with a Concentration in Animation that helps students develop character performance within a variety of 2D and 3D applications. The school says students will “hone skills in traditional and computer-generated (CG) animation and design and gain experience in stop-motion, motion graphics, and experimental media.”

Course highlights for the program include 2D Design, 2D Digital Animation, 3D Computer Graphics, Anatomical Figure Illustration, Animation 1, II & III, Business Practices, Computer Character Animation, Creative Visualization, Digital Techniques, Environments and Characters, Maquette Sculpture, Modeling and Texturing, Playing the Self, and Visual Culture.

All Entertainment Art students will have the opportunity to customize their curriculum by taking coursework in other concentrations including Concept Design, Digital Film and Game Design. Students will also complete a Writing Workshop and a Senior Production Studio. The optional internship is strongly encouraged.

Graduates of the CCS Animation Program work throughout the industry as 3D character artists, 3D production artists, animators, character animators, concept artists, directors, motion graphics artists, riggers, stop-motion artists, storyboard artists, VFX artists, Visualization artists, weapons artists, and many others.  

CCS Graduates have been hired at major studios across the U.S. Disney ABC Television Group, DreamWorks Animation, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, to name a few.

University of the Arts (UArts) houses the School of Film, which enrolls 240 students. The School offers BFAs in Animation and Film + Animation. The BFA program “supports traditional hand-drawn, 3D computer, stop-motion and any animation techniques that can be imagined or explored.” Students in the program will explore the variety of techniques available to the current animator, hone traditional skills, and learn how to tell engaging stories as well as create memorable characters, and bring their concepts to life.

Besides taking courses such as 2D Computer Character Animation, Drawn Character Animation, Screenwriting, Special Effects Compositing, and Storyboarding, BFA students will create Junior and Senior Animation Pieces, an Animation Thesis, and an Internship. Organizations that have hosted interns include Augenblick Studios, Sesame Workshop, and Stretch Films Inc., to name a few.

To create animation pieces, students will have access to UArts’ production and technology spaces, such as the 5,600-square-foot Center for Immersive Media (CIM), animation and film studios, computer labs, and two stop-motion studios, among other “cutting-edge” spaces.

The BFA in Film + Animation “allows students to explore the possibilities of both film and animation.” Students in the program will study “film and animation techniques, explore various genres and styles, and create a capstone project that combines film and animation in innovative way.” Other program highlights include hands-on instruction by “award-winning, professional filmmakers and animators” whose work has aired on Cartoon Network, HBO, Netflix, Nickelodeon, and many others, production workshops, lectures, screenings and critiques, and internship and study abroad opportunities.

In addition to study abroad experiences, international opportunities include festivals and workshops in countries such as Canada, France, and South Korea.

UArts animation alumni have worked on animated television series, commercials, major special effects films, and video games in a variety of roles from director and animator to storyboard artist and editor, and many other positions. Graduates have landed both salaried and freelance positions at places such as DreamWorks, Google, HBO, Netflix, SNL, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

The New School/Parsons houses the School of Art, Media, and Technology, which offers a BFA in Design & Technology. Pathways include Creative Technology and Game Design. A BFA in Art, Media, and Technology is offered at Parsons Paris, established in 1921.

The BFA in Design & Technology is a 120 credit hour STEM-designated program that takes four years to complete, full-time. The BFA Creative Technology pathway “focuses on methods of combining physical computing, creative coding, user experience, responsive environment, and immersion technology for innovative design solutions,” says the school.

The Game Design pathway “emphasizes the aesthetic aspects of designing games.” It provides a set of tools that grows along with students’ skills and provides them with an understanding of the game design process, from brainstorming to game publication.

Course highlights for the pathways include Core Lab Environments, Core Studio Environments, Design Studies, Drawing/Imaging, Sustainable Systems, Space/Materiality, and Time. Students in both pathways will have the opportunity to visit and engage in projects with industry leaders and organizations such as Apple, Atari, Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, MTV, Nickelodeon, Rockwell Interaction Lab, Siemens, and UNESCO. Students also have access to the university’s extensive libraries, galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities, which allows them to engage their creativity and showcase their work.

Graduates leave the program prepared for careers in advertising, animation, film, game design, graphic arts, hardware engineering, motion graphics, software design, and virtual reality and immersion experience design.

Woodbury University’s School of Media, Culture & Design houses the Animation BFA Program. The goal of the program is to “help students develop their creative voices and prepare them for a successful career in professional animation production,” says the school. Coursework covers 2D Animation, 3D Animation, and Stop-Motion.

2D animation production courses emphasize the traditional Principles of Animation and acting in animation, production design, storyboarding, and both paperless and puppet pipelines, “required in the professional animation industry.” The programs 3D animation production courses “emphasize the art of combining sculpted models, surfacing for color and texture, lighting for storytelling, rigging for posing, animation as acting and rendering, and compositing to create believable visual stories.”

Stop-motion production coursework emphasizes animating with a variety of stop-motion approaches such as cut-out and rapid prototyping of facial expressions with 3D printing. It also emphasizes set building and puppet making with armatures. Students will also learn visual and cinematic language through the production of personal projects.

Because Woodbury is highly interdisciplinary, animation students have the opportunity to study in other areas such as Filmmaking, Game Art & Design or Media. Students will have access to the Animation Club, which hosts events, speakers, and exhibitions, and they will gain experience through a mandatory internship.

Past internship’s include positions at Acme Filmworks, Bix Pix Entertainment, Blur Studios, Cartoon Network, DreamWorks, Hasbro Studios, Nickelodeon, Renegade Animation, Walt Disney Animation, Walt Disney Imagineering, Titmouse Studios, and Warner Bros., to name a few.

Arizona State University’s (ASU) Herberger Institute for Design, School of Art, offers a BFA in Art with a Concentration in Animation. The program consists of 120 credit hours of study, including 45 upper division requirements. Dozens of electives are offered for students wishing to enhance the degree with experience in other areas such as game design. Course highlights include 2D Digital Animation, 3D Computer Imaging and Animation, Animation Motion Studies, Encounters with Contemporary Art, Professional Practices for Design and the Arts, Storyboarding and Narrative Sequencing, and The Art Experience.

Elective highlights include 3D Computer Graphics Modeling and Representation, Animating Virtual Worlds, Animation for Film, Computer Animation and Video, Digital-Physical Systems, Experimental Video Art, Fantasy Figure Foam Carving, Game Development, Game Engine Development, Graphics for Games, Guerilla VFX, Moving and Interactive Systems in Sculpture, Prototyping Dreams, Video Game Art, and Visual Effects.

Students in the program will complete an Animation Capstone that allows them to produce a “substantial animation project of their own devising,” says the school. Students may complete an individually produced short film in any medium or full-length film produced in collaboration with other students. An internship is offered as well.

Graduates of the Animation Program at ASU are prepared for a wide range of careers in animation, game art, illustration, modeling, motion graphics, multimedia art, special effects, video game design, visual media, and many others.

Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) offers a BFA in Animation that “teaches students how to produce professional content to support their vision, with an emphasis on storytelling,” says the school.

Students will work their way through courses such as 2D and 3D Animation, Acting, Human and Animal Anatomy, Motion Graphics, Storyboarding & Sequential Art, and many others. Students also have the option to focus on an area of expertise and use open electives to study outside of the program and collaborate with other departments based on specific interests.

Coursework for the program is supported by field trips to the zoo and natural history museum for research and inspiration as well as working on independent and collaborative projects. Through CIA’s Engaged Practice, students also have opportunities to learn through experience by working on real-world projects with external partners or clients, or in the public sphere—all before graduation.

An additional benefit of the program is mentoring by instructors who have worked for companies such as American Greetings, DreamWorks, Hasbro, Illumination, Sony Animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Warner Bros., and many others. Combined, the department professors have over 20 feature film credits, 200 TV episodes, 100 TV series, 300 digital productions, and expertise in nearly every aspect of animated production.

Graduates of the CIA program are prepared to seek positions such as 3D Character Animator, Animator, Concept Artist, Game Designer, Independent Filmmaker, and Storyboard Artist. Alumni work on feature films, TV series and games, and for the automotive, communications, medical, music, and sports industries.

Modeling students will take courses such as Character Rigging and Introduction to 3D Modeling, and, while course highlights for Entertainment Design include Perspective & Rendering and Texturing. Entertainment Design students will also take a portfolio course that will prepare them to create a finished portfolio that demonstrates their abilities in Entertainment Design.

Graduates of the Cogswell Digital Art & Animation Program have landed positions at major studios and companies such as Activision Blizzard, Cartoon Network, Disney, DreamWorks, and Pixar. Alumni have developed characters for blockbuster animated films like Big Hero 6, Deadpool and Frozen.

University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) houses the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences’ (CAHSS) Department of Visual Arts, which offers a BFA degree in Visual Arts with a Concentration in Animation.

Students in the program will study animation as “makers,” says the school, “taking a sequence of hands-on production courses through traditional media and digital tools, investigating the history of animation, and screening of contemporary animation artists.” Students “are encouraged and expected to develop their own artistic voice through exploration of the media and critical review of their work. In-class critiques of personal work are emphasized for the development of a framework from which students can begin their path as artists in the animation field.”

Advanced level courses in the animation programs incorporate technically intensive experiences in 2D and 3D digital, hand-crafted, hybrid, and interactive processes, and the “exploration of emerging practices within the animation field.”

The BFA program also includes intensive lecture, studio, and lab investigation of techniques, methods, and concepts. An optional internship is offered for both programs.

Students completing the Animation Concentration have the opportunity to produce a fully developed work at the culmination of the program, either individually or as part of a team.

Graduates of the Animation Program at UMBC have become successful freelance artists or have found jobs at major animation studios, game companies, and government agencies. Additionally, many students continue their studies in graduate programs.

Edinboro University houses the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, home to the Art Department, which offers a BFA in Animation.

Students in the program have access to state-of-the-art facilities and academic opportunities including 3D software Maya (Industry Standard Software) and 2D Cintiq Lab. They will also benefit from on-campus visits from alumni and professional animators, directors and storyboard artists as well as participation in the programs’ Animation Club.

All students will have the opportunity to complete an internship with a local, regional or national production studio as well as visits to CTNX Animation expo in Burbank, California, where they will tour high-profile studios such as Disney, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal.

Graduates of Edinboro’s Animation BFA program have found success in every area of animation. They have been hired at studios and companies such as Blizzard, Disney, Nickelodeon, Pixar, South Park Studios and Weta. Edinboro Animation Alumni have been credited on films such as Frozen, Night at the Museum, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Zootopia.

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at Syracuse University (SU) houses the Department of Transmedia, which offers a BFA in Computer Art and Animation.

This 120 credit hour program “explores the possibilities of digital media within a fine art, exploratory, and culturally aware setting,” says the school. The degree program provides instruction in multiple art media where the computer plays the primary role. These media include computer-generated images, 3D computer animation, physical computing, creative computer programming, computer gaming, computer music, and sonic art. Students are mentored to become highly skilled critical thinkers producing art in individual and collaborative contexts.

Program highlights include travel to Los Angeles to visit studios such as Filmworks FX and Method Studios, the opportunity to explore other areas through 18 academic and nine free studio elective credits, and internship experiences with local and other studios.

All Department of Transmedia students have access to study abroad programs in 60 countries throughout the world, enabling them “to gain a global perspective as they pursue their studies.”

VPA animation graduates have found employment at major studios such as Blizzard Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Filmworks/FX, Industrial Light and Magic, LucasArts, Moving Picture Company, Pixar, Rhythm and Hues, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Tippett Studios, and many others. Graduates have also presented their work at galleries and media art festivals around the world.

Louisiana State University’s (LSU) College of Art + Design houses the School of Art, which offers a BFA in Studio Art with a Concentration in Digital Art. The program allows students to refine their skills in classes that provide a broad, integrated understanding of creative practice across 3D modeling, animation, digital printmaking, interactive systems, photo-based media, video, and the web.

The school says it teaches “the expressive potential of hybridized technologies and democratized tools to engage with diverse audiences.” Emergent forms are emphasized, and “student work may manifest through integrated media including animation, games, visual effects, networked art, robotics, physical computing, printed matter, performance, public intervention, audio composition, installation, and digital fabrication, among limitless combinations.”

Students in the program have access to the Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technologies and Research (AVATAR) Initiative and The Digital Art and Design Association (DADA). Both provide support to Digital Art students as they pursue “opportunities throughout the university and the broader community.”