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Animation BA (Hons)

UCAS code: W213

Start year

Information for 2025

About this course

The UK's animation industry is a global success, so there's never been a better time to start your career in this field.

As an ambitious storyteller and creative thinker, you’ll explore all aspects of 2D and 3D animation on this innovative degree course. We'll equip you with the critical and technical skills required to become an animator, engaging in every aspect of animation production while gaining knowledge of animation history and context.

The course provides a creative and disciplined environment to explore the visual and narrative aspects of this dynamic art form. Supported by the contextual study of animation, you’ll have the opportunity to express yourself as an animation artist in preparation for this vibrant, demanding and forever-changing creative field. You’ll explore the different areas of animation through studio practice, academic research, and independent study.

By the end of the course, you’ll have developed project work and films that build into a professional showreel tailored to your own career aspirations, ready to launch your career.

  • You’ll have the opportunity to complete a work experience placement of up to a year in length. Dependent on the duration of your placement, you could gain an additional Diploma or Certificate in Professional Practice.
  • Study the broadest range of disciplines from course staff with expertise in drawing for animation, storyboarding, 2D and 3D character animation, experimental animation, visual development, previs, lookdev, story development, production and direction.
  • Develop your professional skills through self-initiated work experience placements, industry competitions, collaborations with organisations and guest lectures.
  • During your time here, you will be given the opportunity to showcase your work to members of the creative industries. You may also be selected to showcase your work at international film festivals, such as the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Accreditation

This course is industry recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries, and carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries

  • Creative Skillset logo
  • ALBERT
Top
20
In the UK for Animation and Games Design in Guardian University Guide 2025

What you’ll study

This course will give you the technical, intellectual, creative and professional skills you’ll need to work successfully within the industry both nationally and internationally. Beginning with the principles of animation, you will learn how to animate in digital 2D and 3D. You will study drawing for storyboarding and visual development in a progressive, systematic way. This includes character and environment design, 3D production workflow, acting for animators and all stages of animation production.

By the end of the course, you’ll have developed project work and films that build into a professional showreel tailored to your own career aspirations, ready to launch your career.

Principles of Animation

(40 credit points)

Learn the core concepts and foundational skills of animation through studio-based seminars, tutorials and self-directed research. Stimulate your intellectual curiosity and begin to develop your own creative identity through hands-on investigative exercises, to prepare you for animation production.

Animation and VFX Studies

(20 credit points)

In this module, you will pursue an academic approach to understanding the historical and industrial context of Animation, VFX, cinematic language, internationalism, ESD, film theory, form theory (light, colour, realism & hyperrealism), and ethical and representational considerations in visual effects and animation production. By exploring these various topics in depth, you will gain a well-rounded understanding of the intricacies involved in the creation of visually stunning and thought-provoking animation and VFX productions.

Animation Workflow

(40 credit points)

Enhance your knowledge and ability to apply animation's fundamental concepts, principles, and skills in a studio setting. You will attend seminars, receive tutorials, and conduct personal research to foster your intellectual curiosity and nurture your distinct creative identity through brief, practical exercises. This will prepare you for the extended workflow of animation production. Ultimately, you will utilise these concepts to produce your first animated short film for the course.

Introducing 3D Digital Art

(20 credit points)

The main objective of this module is to teach you how to create digital models and develop lookdev skills. You will learn about polygonal modelling, surfacing, and lighting. In addition, there will be workshops focusing on life drawing to improve your understanding of the human form, reinforced by practical production research and traditional visual arts such as painting.

Animation Production

(40 credit points)

Take your skills and knowledge in Animation Studio to the next level. You will choose a specialist teaching and learning area in either 2D or 3D techniques and demonstrate your improved understanding and ability by creating a short animated film at the end of the module.

You will have the opportunity to improve your character animation skills by focusing on acting and performance using your preferred technique. This will be done through project briefs that emulate a professional studio environment and challenge your knowledge of visual language, narrative, evaluation, and problem-solving.

Animation Studio

(40 credit points)

Animation Studio will further your skills and knowledge from those acquired in Animation Principles. As the module progresses, you will have the opportunity to choose specialist teaching and learning in either 2D or 3D techniques. At the end of the module, you will have a body of work that evidences your engagement in, understanding of, and achievement using the concepts of animation studio practice.

You will have the opportunity to progress your character animation skills as part of acting and performance, using your chosen technique. You will work on client-led live briefs that simulate collaborative teamwork in a production environment. Additionally, you will apply your knowledge of visual language, narrative, evaluation and problem solving whilst completing your chosen projects.

CoLab: Research, Exploration and Risk-taking

(20 credit points)

Through active participation with team-based problem-solving, you will work together in mixed teams on a project where you will use your creative ideas to generate solutions to the challenge or brief. Your project will allow you to explore how creativity can make an impact in society, as you choose a theme of sustainability, social justice, enterprise and innovation or community. This collaborative learning experience will expose you to a range of new processes and approaches that will develop your creative thinking.

Optional module

You will also choose one optional 20-credit module from:

  • Storyboarding
  • Character Ideation
  • Experimental Animation
  • Telling Stories
  • Motion Graphics
  • Digital Matte Painting
  • Performance for Motion Capture
  • Open-source 3D Art

Optional Placement Year (Sandwich)*

We have an option for all of our students to undertake a placement year and allow you to decide whether this is right for you once you have completed years 1 and 2 of your course. This time spent working in industry provides our students with crucial work experience, which is highly prized and much sought after by employers upon graduation. If you are successful in securing a placement you will have the chance to gain an additional Certificate or Diploma in Professional Practice, dependent on duration.

The additional placement year incurs a fee.  For international students considering the transfer to the 4-yr SW route it’s important to seek advice from the International Student Support team and the Home Office regarding any potential visa implications and costs. For UK students, advice should also be sought regarding SLC eligibility, if applicable.

* If you choose to take the sandwich route option, you will still need to apply for this course with the full-time UCAS code: W213

Animation Specialist Project

(60 credit points)

This specialist project lets you work independently or as a team to create substantial original work that showcases your skills, creating the core of your professional portfolio. You can either develop a short film or develop an industry-ready body of work in an animation specialisation. We encourage you to be original and reflect on your creative process to position yourself in the animation industry. In support of your practice, you will reflect upon and evaluate your creative process, looking towards positioning yourself within animation or associated industries.

Animation Futures

(20 credit points)

This module helps you evaluate your past learning and specialised direction so that you can concentrate on developing your skills for your final year and graduate successfully. The module is delivered in two blocks throughout the year. The first part will help you determine your direction, the mid-year point will track your progress, and the final part will focus on professional development workshops, employability support, and advice on creating a reel/portfolio.

Animation Pre-Production

(40 credit points)

Take your understanding of the animation pipeline to the next level. This will be your opportunity to establish the foundations for a substantial animated story. This will allow you to develop your own unique and innovative voice within the short animated film form. The emphasis is on creating authentic and original storytelling that truly captivates your audience. Additionally, you will be challenged to critically reflect and evaluate your creative process to position yourself within the animation or associated industries.

OR

Screen Arts Collaboration

(40 credit points)

This module offers students a half-year opportunity to work with other screen arts students to fully develop a group project with a negotiated outcome or with an industry partner.

We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.

Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves

Student Profiles

Zita Mosolygo

While the focus is on animation, we learn about so many other aspects of the animation pipeline from stages in pre-production such as storyboarding and character design, to post-production work like editing and adding visual effects.

James Hodgkinson

If you’re looking to study Animation as a degree, look no further than NTU. You will not find a university with the same passion, facilities and creative freedom that we have here.

Lauren Steele

The lectures are interesting, the work we’re given is exciting, and the classes we have are really interactive.

Esmeralda Van Bree

I feel part of a community where we all share the same passion for animation and design.

Maria Bitsou

What I enjoy most about my course is the teaching staff.  I feel that I am surrounded by people who know their work well and are passionate about what they do.

Gabi Germain

Animation

I was blown away by how friendly the lecturers were and how excited they were about animation, it made me feel like I was in the right place for me.

Video Gallery

 

How you're taught

Teaching and learning experiences will include:

  • lectures and briefings
  • studio workshops
  • seminars
  • tutorials
  • peer and self-evaluations
  • verbal and visual presentations
  • teamwork
  • live projects
  • study trips
  • personal development planning.

Collaboration across courses

This course offers our new innovative collaboration module. This gives you the opportunity to work collaboratively with your contemporaries from a range of different art and design subjects and beyond. You’ll be working alongside artists, designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, and filmmakers on daring and creative projects that prepare you for a rewarding career in your chosen industry. Your project will allow you to explore how creativity can make an impact in society, as you choose a theme of sustainability, social justice, enterprise and innovation or community.

Exchange opportunities

If you’re thinking about studying part of your degree abroad, the course has exchange agreements with a number of institutions around the world.

Exchanges take place in Year Two of the course. You’ll receive guidance from the University about where you can study, and help in completing your application and arranging your exchange.

Showcase

You will be given the opportunity to exhibit your work during your time at NTU to members of the creative industries. Visit our ‘We Are Creatives’ showcase to take a look at the work of this year's graduating students’.

You’ll also have the opportunity to be selected to exhibit your work at international film festivals, such as the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Further information

  • You'll have access to industry-standard equipment and software such as Maya, TVPaint, CelAction2D, ZBrush and Adobe CC.
  • NTU is in the UK’s Top 15 for Art & Design in the Complete University Guide 2023 (Ranked 15th).

Staff Profiles

Jeremy Moorshead - Principal Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Jeremy Moorshead is Principal Lecturer in Film and Animation within the School of Art and Design, Visual Communications Department. He teaches on the Animation Course, specialising in animated storytelling, pre-production,

Andrew Love - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Andy is the course leader of the BA (Hons) Animation course, Andy is primarily a 3D Animator and character artist specializing in the areas of character design and modelling for

Debra Smith - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Debra joined NTU’s animation team in September 2016, having taught at Kingston University, the Kent Institute of Art & Design, and most recently for 17 years at Savannah College of

Robert Szczerba - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Rob Szczerba Senior Lecturer in Animation Nottingham Trent University NTU teaching on the BA (Hons) and MA Animation Courses.

David Downes - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

David Downes

Careers and employability

Employability is a key focus of this course, with modules including initiatives such as live projects and trips, and the opportunity to exhibit your work, which will help to raise your profile and enhance your future career.

This course will prepare you to work in the digital media field, in areas such as feature film animation, Visual Effects, children’s television, heritage interpretation, advertising, and games production.

Recent graduate destinations and roles include:

  • Character Animator, Splash Damage
  • Production Coordinator at Acamar Films
  • 2D Effects Animator at Play n' GO
  • Animator/Producer, Thongkham film, Bangkok
  • 3D Motion Graphics Designer, BritAsia TV
  • Animator, Cloth Cat Animation
  • Layout Artist, Blink Industries, London
  • 2D Animator, Dog Ears!
  • 3D Animator, Random42 Scientific Communication
  • Character Animator at Blue Zoo
  • Background Painter at Lupus Films
  • 2D Animator, Fourth Wall
  • Motion Graphics Designer at Cubaka Studio.

You’ll also develop transferable skills for alternative careers in media, freelance design, illustration, motion graphics, teaching and academia.

Connecting with industry and work placement opportunities

Industry professionals will visit the course to guest lecture and share their experiences. Live projects and competitions will help you to gain real experience of the industry, make contacts, and build your portfolio and CV.

You’ll be encouraged to undertake short periods of work experience alongside your studies. You will normally complete these placements during holiday periods, but you will have the option of taking up to two weeks out of term time, which you can negotiate with your tutor.

In addition, you’ll also have the opportunity to complete a longer work experience or placement, with the chance to gain an additional Diploma or Certificate in Professional Practice, dependent on duration. Course tutors and our Employability team are on hand to support you in applying for placement and professional practice opportunities.

YouFirst – working with our Employability team

Studying a creative degree in a large university has many benefits, none more so than having access to a large employability team.

Our friendly, experienced careers consultants will work closely with you at every stage of your career planning, providing personal support and advice you won't find in a book or on the Internet. You can benefit from this at any time during your studies and for up to three years after completing your course.

Creative Industries Federation

We are members of the Creative Industries Federation (CIF), which means students in the Nottingham School of Art & Design have the opportunity to sign up to free student membership. Creative Industries Federation are an organisation that represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries and membership grants students exclusive access to their selection of resources and events to help advance your career and connect with industry.

Campus and facilities

You’ll be based in our new Design & Digital Arts Building. Opening for 2024 admission, our new Design & Digital Arts Building will place Nottingham as a UK hub for film, television, animation, UX design, games design, graphic design and more.

You'll have access to industry-standard facilities which include a virtual production studio, an in-camera Visual Effects studio and a black box studio, as well as collaborative studio spaces, future technology suites and exhibition spaces.

Find out more

Entry requirements

UK students

  • Standard offer: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications
  • Contextual offer: 104 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications

Other requirements:

To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.

International students

Academic entry requirements: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications.  We accept equivalent qualifications from all over the world. Please check your international entry requirements by country.

Other requirements:

English language requirements: See our English language requirements page for requirements for your subject and information on alternative tests and Pre-sessional English.

Policies

We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.

Fees and funding

UK students

- see the fees for this course, as well as information about funding and support.

£9,535 per year

If you choose to do a placement year, you'll pay a reduced fee for that year of £1,850.

Find out about the extra support we may be able to provide to help pay for uni, including NTU bursaries and scholarships.

The School will cover the costs of any mandatory study trips.

In your final year, the Nottingham School of Art & Design will provide infrastructure costs for the Showcase.

Material costs: Depending on the materials you choose to work with, you should budget around £100 per year (minimum) for production costs associated to your course, including things like your final year project.

As part of your studies, you’ll need to store large quantities of data and we recommend you budget £70 for a rugged 1TB portable hard drive.

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees, including the placement year and study abroad options are subject to government policy and may change in future years of study.

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but we don’t want you to feel anxious or confused about it. Visit our fees and funding pages if you have any concerns.

International students

- see the fees for this course, as well as payment advice and scholarships.
  • £18,250 per year
  • If you choose to do a placement year, you'll pay a reduced fee for that year of £1,850

The School will cover the costs of any mandatory study trips.

In your final year, the Nottingham School of Art & Design will provide infrastructure costs for the Showcase.

Material costs: Depending on the materials you choose to work with, you should budget around £100 per year (minimum) for production costs associated to your course, including things like your final year project.

As part of your studies, you’ll need to store large quantities of data and we recommend you budget £70 for a rugged 1TB portable hard drive.

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees might increase from the second year of your undergraduate course, in line with inflation and as specified by the UK government.

Scholarships

We offer international scholarships of up to 50% of your tuition fee. You can apply for a scholarship when you have an offer to study at NTU.

Living costs

See our advice on managing your money and the cost of living as an international student in Nottingham.

Paying fees

As an international student, you'll need to make an advance payment of £6,000 when you've accepted your offer to study at NTU. You'll then need to pay your tuition fees in full, or have an agreement to pay in two further instalments, before the start date of your course.

Find out how and when to pay your fees, including information about advance payments, instalment dates and how to make payments securely to the University.

Enquiries

If you have any queries relating to advance payments or arrangements to pay, please contact our friendly and experienced international enquiries team.

Additional costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert Employability team and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are just a few additional things you may need to budget for:

Textbooks and library books

Most modules will recommend one or more core textbooks, which most students choose to purchase. Book costs vary and further information is available in the University’s bookshop. Our libraries provide a good supply of essential textbooks, journals and materials (many of which you can access online) - meaning you may not need to purchase as many books as you might think! There may also be a supply of second-hand books available for purchase from previous year students.

Printing and photocopying costs

The University allocates an annual printing and copying allowance of £20 depending on the course you are studying. For more details about costs for additional print and copying required over and above the annual allowance please see the printing and photocopying information on the Library website.

Placements

If you're undertaking a placement year, you'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst on placement. Many of our placement students do earn a salary whilst on placement which can help to cover these living costs.

Field trips

All essential field trip costs will be included in your course fees. There may be the opportunity to take part in optional field trips, which do incur additional costs.

Fees and funding advice

For more advice and guidance, you can email our Student Money Team or phone us on +44 (0)115 848 2494.

Cost of living information and support

Managing your money can help you make the most of life at NTU. Here's how we can support you, and now you can make your funding go further.

How to apply

Apply through UCAS.

We will ask you to provide a digital portfolio. Visit our webpage which has some advice on what to include to help make your portfolio stand out. After you have submitted your portfolio, we may also invite you to an online interview to help us make our final decision.

Optional Placement Year (Sandwich)*

Please be aware that all enrolments onto the Course will initially be for the full time 3-year route. There is however an opportunity for you to internally transfer to the 4-year SW route if you secure a placement. The placement would need to be confirmed and transfer agreed during your 2nd year to enable you to commence the placement in year 3. It is important that you seek advice regarding any funding and financial implications before making any changes to your course structure.

You can apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not applying to any other UK universities, you can apply directly to us on our NTU applicant portal.

Application advice

Apply early so that you have enough time to prepare – processing times for Student visas can vary, for example.  After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process – so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

Writing your personal statement

Be honest, thorough, and persuasive – we can only make a decision about your application based on what you tell us:

Your portfolio 

If your initial application is successful, you may be asked to upload a portfolio of your work and you may also be asked to attend an interview.

Would you like some advice on your study plans? 

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

Optional Placement Year (Sandwich)*

Please be aware that you will need to apply for the three-year full-time course. There is however an opportunity for you to internally transfer to the 4-year SW route if you secure a placement. The placement would need to be confirmed and transfer agreed during your 2nd year to enable you to commence the placement in year 3. It is critical to consult with the NTU International Student Support Team and the Home Office for updated visa regulations and requirements before making any changes to your course structure.