| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Kansas | Lawrence |
| 2 | Kansas State University | Manhattan |
Our 2021 ranking -our tenth annual- of the top animation school programs in Kansas. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
The University of Kansas (KU) welcomed its first class of 55 students in 1866. Today, KU serves around 27,620 students across five campuses. More than 400 degree and certificate programs are offered in 13 schools, including the only schools of pharmacy and medicine in the state.
The School of Architecture and Design at KU houses the Department of Design, which offers a BFA in Illustration & Animation that the school says, “prepares students to develop and refine methodologies in image making while acquiring an effective use of visual language, and problem-solving skills.” Course highlights for the 120 credit hour program include Advanced Animation, Advanced Concept Art, Design Think & Make, Drawing for Design, Drawing Media Illustration, Ethics in Design, Foundations in Image-Making, Fundamentals of Animation, Sequential & Narrative Illustration, and Trends in Design.
Also part of the program is the Hallmark Symposium, independent study, an internship, and a faculty-led study abroad experience.
Illustration & Animation students have received local, regional and national recognition, including awards from the Society of Illustrators of New York, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, American Illustration, 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, Creative Quarterly, and CMYK Magazine.
Founded in 1863, Kansas State University (K-State) serves more than 20,000 students enrolled in over than 250 undergraduate majors and options, 43 graduate certificates, 73 master's degree programs, 39 doctoral degree programs, and four educational doctoral programs. Programs are offered in 11 colleges and schools, including the College of Arts and Sciences.
The College consists of more than 20 departments, more than 7,000 students, and over 115 degree programs, study abroad experiences, and pre-professional options. Housed within the College of Arts and Sciences is the Department of Art, which offers BFA and MFA degrees in Art with a Digital Experimental (DX) Media Concentration. The Department lists “Digital Animation” as a career opportunity for graduates of the program. The undergraduate program explores media and technologies such as animation, digital video, web, 3D prototyping, virtual/augmented reality, sound, artificial intelligence, interactive programming, electronics/physical computing, information visualization, ecological and biological media, networks and telecommunications.
Areas of focus in the graduate program include imaging, information visualization, interactivity, electronics and physical computing, systems art, sound art, mapping, networks and telecommunications, ecological and biological practice, and social and community practice. Other program highlights include a variety of programming involving exhibitions, symposia and visiting artists, access to the 1600+ sq. ft. DX Media Studio, and the first "prairie LASER", K-State's chapter of the Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous. “DX Media graduate students will be important participants in the development and administration of the K-State LASER program.”
The program culminates with a final, solo MFA exhibition, which offers the opportunity for students to “present a strong and cohesive body of personal work.”
