
Virginia is home to some of the best Title IV colleges in the nation. The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, Norfolk State University, George Mason University, and Virginia Intermont College are just a few. According to the most recent report by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Virginia is home to 129 Title IV schools. While not all of the state’s Title IVs offer art and design programs, many of them do. Some are even on the list of top schools for artists and designers. This includes animators.
Virginia’s top schools made the list based on factors such as quality of production facilities, competitiveness, variety of programs, comfortable class sizes, the number and quality of clubs/organizations, cost, and more. Continue reading to find out which Virginia schools offer “top” animation programs and where to find them. Please note that the schools listed below are in order from largest to smallest student population.
Top Animation School Programs Virginia Major Cities
Virginia Beach
Regent University
Student Population: 2,333
Backdrop: Urban, 70-acre campus
Degrees Offered: B. A. Animation
Top Animation School Programs Virginia Other Cities and Towns
Blacksburg
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
Student Population: 23,700
Backdrop: Town, 2,600-acre campus
Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Studio Arts with Concentration in Digital Art, B. F. A. Visual Communication Design; M. F. A. Creative Technologies. NOTE: Studio Arts majors can choose a concentration from disciplines including animation, ceramics, creative technologies, digital art, drawing, painting, and sculpture. Visual communication and graphic design offers concentrations in 3D animation, creative technologies, visual communication design, graphic design, and modeling.
Petersburg
Virginia State University
Student Population: 5,301
Backdrop: Small Town, 246-acre campus
Degrees Offered: B. F. A. Visual Arts with Concentration in Animation, Graphic Design
More Programs to Consider:
- San Francisco & Online
- Top 50 Nationally for Animation (#15) - 2020
- Top 50 Nationally for Game Design (#23) - 2020
- Top 40 Nationally for Illustration (#29) - 2020
- Atlanta, Georgia; Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and SCAD eLearning
- Animation – BFA, MA, MFA
- Film and Television – BFA, MA, MFA
- Graphic Design – BA, BFA, MA, MFA
- Illustration – BA, BFA, MA, MFA
- Immersive Reality - BFA
- Interactive Design and Game Development – BA, BFA, MA, MFA
- Motion Media Design – BFA, MA, MFA
- Sequential Art – BA, BFA, MA, MFA
- Visual Effects – BFA, MA, MFA
- User Experience (UX) Design – BFA
- Top 50 Nationally for Animation (#3) - 2020
- Top 50 Nationally for Game Design (#12) - 2020
- Top 50 Nationally for Graphic Design (#9) - 2020
- Top 40 Nationally for Illustration (#9) - 2020
- Winter Park, FL & Online
- Computer Animation - Bachelor's - Online & Campus
- Game Programs - Bachelor's & Master's - Online & Campus
- Graphic Design & Digital Arts - Bachelor's - Online & Campus
- Film & Digital Cinematography - Bachelor's & Master's - Online & Campus
- Mobile Development - Bachelor's - Online
- Simulation & Visualization - Bachelor's - Campus
- Top 50 Nationally for Animation (#19) - 2020
- Top 50 Nationally for Game Design (#17) - 2020
- Top 5 in Florida for Graphic Design (#4) - 2020
- Online
Sources
Peterson’s
Princeton Review
U.S. News & World Report College Rankings