BA (Hons) Animation

UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated Foundation Year

For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has launched an Integrated International Foundation Year, based at UCA Farnham to bring students from around the world to one hub of creativity.

This year of preparatory study is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and the English speaking and writing skills you’ll need to succeed.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated International Foundation Year

Launch
You’ll begin by taking part in a series of interdisciplinary workshops and seminars based around ideas generation, creative practice, and development. This week will help students develop their understanding of creativity and different sources of inspiration via different approaches, concepts, and mediums.

Animation Principles
This unit will introduce the fundamental principles of animation through a range of traditional and contemporary animation techniques. Complimentary to this, you’ll learn essential drawing and mark-making skills necessary for observing and interpreting the mechanics of movement and gesture.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The unit provides an opportunity for students to explore what is meant by equality, diversity, and inclusion and the implications of these concepts for creative practice. It will equip students to understand how our social identities (such as, gender, race/ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation, and religion) contribute to the inclusion and/or exclusion of individuals in creative spaces.

Public Exhibition
You’ll be introduced to effective forms of presentation and how they can greatly benefit your portfolio as well as your ability to be able to curate your own work. Alongside the development of your presentation and curation skills, you will also be introduced to moving image as a way in which to display your work.

Opportunity - 24-hour film challenge
This week will help you develop your understanding and appreciation for fast-paced idea generation while working within a team. You’ll work to create an idea, develop your concept and produce a short film in 24 hours.

Group Film
You’ll be introduced to various filmmaking conventions and associated theories in order to help you work in a group to produce a short, animated film. You’ll learn pitching and presentation skills, the individual roles and responsibilities in a production team and the importance and purpose of design, storyboarding and animatics in presenting your ideas.

Animation Industry Practices
Through a series of tailored seminars and workshops you will be set briefs that are aligned to the entry requirements typical of an internship/junior level animator role within the animation industry.

Animator’s Portfolio
The Animator’s Portfolio is a focus on your own individual work and creative practice, with a view to your future in the creative industries. You’ll create an online web presence to showcase and contextualise examples of your current working practice, and learn to curate your own work and design your portfolio to be both aesthetically pleasing and accessible.

ATOM Activities
ATOM activities are tiny pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across the university. Collectively they form a small fraction of your curriculum that is determined through your own personal choice and interest.

PLE Digital Outcome
In this unit you will collate a digital record, reflecting on your learning journey through the first year of your degree. You will be identifying key points and developments within all units undertaken. We are interested in seeing a detailed account of your academic, technical and creative progress and development.

Launch week
A series of interdisciplinary seminars and workshops on how to evaluate your own work and recognise your points of strength. This week will investigate how creative risk-taking, invention and experimentation helps to develop your work.

Short Film
In this unit you are asked to produce a professionally finished film with the aim of having it screened at a competitive International Animation Festival before the end of your second year. In order to have your film accepted into a festival it will need to demonstrate a high level of creativity, technical competence and originality whilst communicating a clear idea. All films will be prepared for entry into one or more festivals.

The Conscious Practitioner
This unit aims to promote progressive values and attitudes to diversity and inclusion in creative practice. Students will have the opportunity to explore global perspectives and influences on creative practice, drawing upon interactions with varied identities, cultures, politics, and histories. The unit will explore how beliefs, values and attitudes drive behaviour and practices. Students will reflect on the development of their own creative influences, perspectives, practices, and sense of belonging as developing creative professionals in global and contemporary spaces.

Opportunity Week – Game Jam
This week consists of a series of interdisciplinary seminars, screenings, and workshops on creative game-building subjects through the lens of a ‘Games Jam’ event. You’ll see the possibilities and potential of what you could create in a short space of time, with the influence of their individual practises and subjects.

You’ll explore further innovation, technique, and technology in production, distribution and exhibition of a fully functioning and playable video game.

Research, Reflection and Practice
Research is a practical activity that will further your creative, technical, and critical abilities. The research you will undertake within this unit will be expanded to take account of wider contexts and how these key debates, discussions and discourses relate to your own evolving animation practice. It will be used to produce a fully contextualised film outcome with depth and character. You’ll also produce a statement of intent for your final year, including your dissertation proposal, and there’s also an opportunity to undertake a self-generated work placement.

Client Brief
In collaboration with a client, you’ll work in small production teams to reflect usual industry working practices. Each member will explore both individual roles and responsibilities while maintaining a wider role within the team and the project. Using advanced digital animation techniques in 2D, 3D, or a combination, you’ll look beyond the tools of the software and explore their creative use within the context of the clients' requirements and needs.

ATOM Activities
This unit is an extension of your Year 1 ATOM Activities.

PLE Digital Outcome
You’ll build your industry community and professional networking footprint, creating a digital folder evidencing that you are actively engaging in sustainable professional development. You’ll showcase current and newly established professional networks and identify common interests.

Elective units
You'll also undertake two elective units across the year - choose from:

• Animation: Industry and Technology – you’ll learn about the development of animation from early cinema to the contemporary, considering both technological shifts and the role of animation studios.
• Transmedia Worlds - This unit brings together the concepts essential to the understanding of film, media and the performing arts through a consideration of adaptation and transmedia worlds.
• Audio World building: Sound for Moving Image - The unit will give you the opportunity to explore different forms of sound in relation to genre, and develop your understanding of recording Foley and environments, directing voice artists, and mixing sound.
• Immersive Production: Developing an Experiential Concept for Film and Television Production - The unit will give you the opportunity to explore cutting edge and future focused technology so that you have a broad comprehension of the expertise and skills required if you want to delve further into immersive media production
• The Individual Performance Project – You’ll create a short live performance comprising at least two different elements, including things like a monologue, a piece of storytelling, a poem, a piece of dance/movement or a puppet show.
• Theatre Production – You’ll work together with students from a wide range of courses to make a live theatre production.
• Applied Music - In this unit you will deliberately expand who you share and create music with to include a wider sense of community.
• Film Production – You’ll work together with students from a wide range of courses to make a short film, which could also include animated material or a game component.
• Industry Insight: Crewing Up – Delivered at the Maidstone Studios, this unit gives you insight into the many roles in moving image production.
• Shakespeare Festival - In this unit you will embrace the language of Shakespeare, staging performances of his work in in an outdoor festival setting at sites around UCA Farnham.
• Showreels for the Creative Industries - This unit is designed to help you identify your career aspirations within the creative industries, and to build a professional showreel that best showcases your work.
• Verbatim - you will learn about the history of Verbatim techniques in theatre. You will explore Verbatim texts and performance practices including ‘headphone’ theatre and documentary theatre practices.

If you opt to complete a professional practice year, this will take place in year three. You will undertake a placement within the creative industries to further develop your skills and CV.

While on your Professional Practice Year, you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee for that year. This fee will be determined using government funding regulations. Based on current regulations, we expect this to be a maximum of 20% of the tuition fee rate that you are charged for your second year of study. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during this year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this as you approach your Professional Practice Year.

Please note: If you are an international applicant, you will need to enrol onto the course ‘with Professional Practice Year’. It will not be possible to transfer onto the Professional Practice Year after enrolment

Launch – Professional Practice
This unit focuses on ground-breaking, creative work that has surprised, shocked, and changed the way we view the world. It will help you see the possibilities and potential of what you could create and achieve in your final year. You’ll explore further innovation, technique and technology in production, distribution, and exhibition.

Pre-production and Pitch
This unit provides an in-depth look at the initial stages of the production process of animation filmmaking. This is your opportunity to propose, develop and refine your ideas and techniques in order to shape them into a fully formed concept that is production-ready. You’ll develop your scripts and concepts, consider your audience, structure your time, and clarify your production techniques, before crafting and presenting a film pitch with supporting documents that fully articulate your concept.

Opportunity Week
The week comprises a series of interdisciplinary lectures, seminars and workshops centred around life after graduation. It covers important and relevant subjects, like internships, interviews, professional etiquette, freelancing, presentation skills, applying for funding, networking, artist residency programs, handling criticism and rejection.

Dissertation
You’ll undertake sustained, individually negotiated research on a subject related to the contextual and/or theoretical concerns of your discipline or chosen area of practice, towards the provision of structured written argument.

Graduate Film
Your Graduation film represents the culmination of your time at UCA, and should draw upon all of the creative, technical, and theoretical knowledge that you have gained. The film can be made in any style, medium or genre, and should be accompanied by a professionally facing showreel. You can work individually, collaboratively or as part of a group – but whatever you produce, it must be of a standard that is aimed at entry into international film festivals, the creative industries or postgraduate study.

This course offers the opportunity to study abroad for part of your second year. To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section:

• Study abroad information

Tuition fees - 2023 entry

UK students:

• Integrated Foundation Year - £9,250
• BA course - £9,250

EU students:

• Integrated International Foundation Year - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
• BA course - £9,250 (see fee discount information)

International students:

• Integrated International Foundation Year - £16,950
• BA course - £16,950

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2023 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,850 (UK students) and £3,390 (International students). You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

The fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources.

Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

You'll find everything you need to know for your level of study on our scholarships page.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.

As a long-established degree course, we’ve built an extensive network of industry connections, giving us access to high-profile visiting lecturers, and to commissions, competitions and exciting work-placement opportunities. Our industry links include:

• Aardman Animation
• Studio AKA
• Cinesite
• The Mill
• Create and Make
• Agile Films
• Blackdog Films Limited
• HSI Film
• Blink Productions
• The Film Club
• National Film and TV School
• Passion Pictures (one of the leading studios in Europe)
• Nexus
• Moth Collective
• UsTwo
• Beakus
• Fudge Animation
• Animade

Animation is one of the most significant and rapidly expanding media fields. An enormous range of career opportunities exist in animation, from the traditional techniques of animation storytelling to drawn, model and CGI animation. Typical careers in the industry include:

• Directors
• Producers
• Animators (in commercials, films, broadcast, online media and games)
• Editors
• Character designers
• Production designers
• Pre-vis artists
• Compositors
• Storyboard artists
• Post-production.

As one of the pre-eminent animation courses in the world, our sought after alumni have landed many exciting, high profile roles across the industry. These include positions as:

• Animators
• CG animators
• CG riggers
• Designers
• Directors
• Model makers
• Producers
• Storyboard artists.

Many well-known studios have been set up by our alumni including:

• Animade
• Astley Baker Davies (makers of Peppa Pig)
• Film Fabrik
• Honeycomb Animation (makers of Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids)
• Mackinnon & Saunders
• Moth Collective
• Slurpy Studios
• Tandem Pictures.

This gives our course very solid links to a vibrant industry, and we enjoy connections with a range of creative talent, studios and potential employers.

You may also like to consider further study at postgraduate level.

BA (Hons) course
BA (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year

The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:

• 112 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
• Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
• Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
• 112 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
• 27-30 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 15 IB points at Higher level, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.  

Portfolio requirements

For these courses, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. Further information will be provided once you have applied.

More portfolio advice

BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:

• 64 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
• Merit, Pass, Pass at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
• Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
• 64 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
• 24 points from the International Baccalaureate, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply. 

Portfolio requirements

These courses don't require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course. 

*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades -  in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.

BA (Hons) course
BA (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year

The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:

• Non-UK equivalent qualifications

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

For these courses, we will need to see your portfolio for review. We will invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. If you are unable to attend an Applicant Day you can upload a portfolio digitally, there is also the option to submit it online via your UCA Applicant Portal. Further information will be provided once you have applied.

BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

For these courses you need to have completed 12 years of schooling (with good grades) and show strong evidence of your ability to successfully complete the programme and progress onto your chosen degree.

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

These courses don't require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course. 

English language requirements

To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please chcek the level of English language required:

• English language requirements