Profiles of Schools/Colleges in Nevada (NV) Offering Animation, Design, Gaming, and Media Related Programs

If you’re searching for a good graphic design school online, you’re in luck. Dozens of student groups, alums, bloggers, and other similar groups have done most for you. They compile lists of the top schools several times a year and not surprisingly, these schools also end up on many of the official “best schools” lists. Although for different reasons, these top schools caught the eye of organizations such as Princeton Review, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report.

So, you’re searching for a good animation school in the state of Nevada and you come across a “Best Schools,” list, then another, and another. You browse through the lists, jot down the top five or so from each list, and move on. You begin your search again and come across a “Top Schools” list, then another, and another. You see many of the same schools on all of the lists, so you begin wonder if these lists are all the same. It’s true that many of the same schools make both lists, but the interesting part is, the same schools wind up on both lists for different reasons.

Nevada is a hop, skip, and a jump from Hollywood, which is one of the reasons literally hundreds of film projects make their way to the desert each year. The close proximity to Hollywood isn’t the only reason filmmakers flock here. The scenery, tax breaks, and the many perks offered by the Nevada Film Office make it easy to create profitable productions in Nevada. This means, artists from animators to costume designers to special effects pros have a chance to work in the industry and earn a good salary.

The Nevada Film Office (NFO) manages more than 300 film projects each year. Thanks to the quantity (and quality) of films that make their way through Nevada each year, many production and post-production studios routinely set up shop in Nevada. This spells opportunity for aspiring animators and other artists interested in the film industry.

Our 2015 rankings of the Top 10 Animation Schools in the Southwest. We define the Southwest as Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.

For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.

1. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

Founded in 1875, Brigham Young University (BYU) is home to 26,674 undergraduate students enrolled in well over 100 programs offered through more than a dozen colleges and schools. BYU’s animation programs are available through two colleges—the College of Fine Arts and Communications and the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. The Department of Visual Arts (College of Fine Arts) offers a BFA in Animation and the Computer Science Department College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences) offers a BS in Computer Science with an Animation Emphasis.