Study animation at UEL and learn from award winning specialist tutors and animators working in industry.

On our student centred course, you learn your craft in practical teaching sessions, learning to use both core artistic skills and state of the art technology to tell your own stories.

You are encouraged to develop originality, beginning with the traditional foundations of animation and ending with a fully realised graduation film, using your own choice of specialism in 2D, 3D or Stop-Motion animation.

Tutors working in industry help you to prepare for your creative working life after graduation, so that your three years with us is the beginning of a life-long career doing something you love.

Studying animation at UEL you’ll develop your skills, starting with core animation techniques, building into your own unique way of working. You’ll learn to tell original stories that hold your audience like no other medium can.

In practical workshops you’ll learn both traditional skills and digital practice, beginning with core skills that will always set you apart from others who haven’t studied at this level.

You will have the opportunity to develop your traditional skills in life-drawing, 2D drawn animation, stop-motion model animation plus more unusual alternative strategies like paint-on-glass, cut-out paper and sand on glass animation and new hybrid technologies like 3D printing and laser cutting.

You’ll learn to combine these analogue craft skills with digital skills, like digital 2D and 3D animation techniques including Adobe Photoshop, Animate and After Effects, Maya and TV Paint, and become comfortable using graphics tablets to draw digitally.

Alongside this you will learn how to tell your own stories through animation, designing characters and environments, searching and researching, structuring and producing animated stories that will captivate, inspire, educate and entertain.

You’ll learn put all these skills together in an original way that will make you a unique voice in your chosen field.

You'll be taught by staff who are practitioners in the area they teach. Some of the assessments focused on practical skills are presented as ‘live or simulated briefs’. This ensures that the practice-led teaching is relevant to industry and practice. Our staff are well placed to take advantage of a range of professional networks and industry contacts. Each module is designed with practical components and a reflective component, with the intention that students develop an ability to comment on and justify their creative process.

Guided independent study

When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve skills development through online study, working on individual and group projects and preparing coursework assignments and presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, and access to software, specialist facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, including MS Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.

Academic support

Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas – including learning and disability support

Dedicated personal tutor

When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.

Workload

Each year you will spend around 280 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
The approximate workload hours for this course per year are:
Scheduled teaching – 284 hours;
Guided independent study – 916 hours.

Your timetable

Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, usually 11-1.30pm or 2-4.30pm for three days a week, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.

Class sizes

To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 10–30 students a year. We have workstations for each student in a class, so you are able to always be learning ‘hands on’.
In the classroom you will be taught in groups of 10–20 students. However, this can vary by academic year.

Graduates from BA Animation at UEL have gone on to enjoy success in various fields, setting up studios, co-operatives, working as freelance creatives or working with London commercial studios like Nexus, Blink and Passion Pictures.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.