by Amanda Bautista, BFA '14
Animation (BFA)
On This Page
Animation Major
In the University of the Arts’ Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program in Animation, you’ll be pushed past your comfort zone by participating in projects in which you’ll collaborate with musicians, dancers, actors and other artists. Whether you create traditional, stop-motion or computer-generated animation, you will work in a dynamic medium to tell the stories you feel passionate about and express your personal vision.
Learning from Exceptional Faculty
Working closely with an accomplished faculty of professional filmmakers and animators—whose work has aired on networks and channels such as Cartoon Network, HBO, Netflix and Nickelodeon—you’ll take animation classes that are a mixture of hands-on instruction, lectures, screenings and critiques. You can also take advantage of internships and opportunities to study away. When you graduate, you’ll do so with the skills to confidently pursue a career in animation.
Varied Animation Techniques
Students will explore the variety of techniques available to the current animator, hone traditional skills, learn how to tell engaging stories, create memorable characters and bring ideas to life that have never existed before. As an undergraduate student, you’ll get to make both a junior animated film and a senior animated thesis. The skills learned as an Animation major will help you adapt and create quality content as ideas become even more valuable to audiences than the techniques needed to present them.
Awards and Accolades
UArts programs measure up. In 2021, the Animation program at UArts was named in the top five animation schools in Pennsylvania, the top animation schools on the East Coast and the top animation schools in the U.S. by Animation Career Review.
Resources Available to Animation Students
Collaborative by design, our Animation program allows you to work with peers from different programs. You’ll get instruction across disciplines by taking courses in film and illustration alongside your major courses. You’ll also be able to use UArts’ production and technology spaces, like the 5,600-square-foot Center for Immersive Media (CIM), animation and film studios, computer labs, and two stop-motion studios, among other cutting-edge spaces. Media Resources provides students with cameras, tripods, lights and other technology needed to succeed in coursework and beyond.
Animation Student Works
2-D Animation Student Works /
Explore 2-D Animation Student Works
by Robert Bahn, BFA '19
by Nick Fulfaro, BFA '19
by Bethie Kazanjian, BFA '19
by Maya Pirulli, BFA '19
by Steph Skrot, BFA '19
by Colton Barto, BFA '18
by Erin Duggins, BFA '18
by Lana Gerace, BFA 18
by Nina Marie Hartman, BFA '18
by Angel Kawash, BFA '18
by Frank Gidlewski, BFA '13
3-D Animation Student Works /
Explore 3-D Animation Student Works
by Sam Roe, BFA '11
by James Massa, BFA '17
by Greg Wasdyke, BFA '16
by Geoffrey Ciccarelli, BFA '11
by Andrea Sorrentino, BFA '05
Stop-Motion & Experimental Animation Student Works /
Explore Stop-Motion & Experimental Animation Student Works
by Steven Murphy, BFA '04
by Maya Pirulli, BFA '19
by Nora Szigeti, BFA '19
by Dani Aloi, BFA '17
by Jessica Marcus, BFA '15
by Shannon Brice, BFA '15
by Nate Hannon, BFA '13
by Chris De Pew, BFA '13
by Rusty Eveland, BFA '09
by Emily O'Keefe, BFA '05
Student Experience /
Working in a collaborative environment with professors, professionals and peers, you’ll learn how to bring your story and characters to life. From hands-on instruction to screenings and critiques, you’ll graduate with the skills to launch your career in animation.
About the Curriculum
Sample Courses in the Animation Major
UArts’ Animation degree program supports traditional hand-drawn, 3-D computer, stop-motion and any animation techniques you can imagine.
After completing the Animation program, students will be able to
- Develop the ability to verbalize and bring to life a strong personal artistic vision, combining informed meaningful content creation with unique visual approaches to produce engaging sound/image work.
- Master both traditional and digital animation skills and concepts; using motion and time understanding with drawn, stop-motion and computer-generated creative practices.
- Demonstrate critical and analytical thought based in art history, and be able to communicate this using written, visual, oral, web or hybrid means.
- Learn to collaborate with artists, peers and professionals to effectively manage time in a working relationship.
The Animation degree now offers emphases in
● traditional 2-D drawn/digital animation,
● 3-D computer animation and
● stop-motion or experimental animation.
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First Year
Fall: 15 credits
Image/Time (3 credits)
Puppet/Stop-Motion Animation (1.5 credits)
Drawing: Objects & Space (3 credits)
Principles of Animation (1.5 credits)
Art History Survey I or II (3 credits)
Written Composition I or Written Composition II (3 credits)
Spring: 15 credits
Introduction to 2D Animation (3 credits)
Color (3 credits)
Thinking Through Science (3 credits)
General Elective (3 credits)
Second Year
Fall: 15 credits
Visual Development for Animation (3 credits)
Video Production (3 credits)
Drawing for Animators (3 credits)
Critical Studies (6 credits)
Spring: 15 credits
Course in 2-D, 3-D or stop-motion animation (3 credits)
Sound Design (3 credits)
Sophomore Animation Piece (1.5 credits)
General Elective (3 credits)
Critical Studies (4.5 credits)
Third Year
Fall: 15 credits
Intro to 3-D Computer Animation (3 credits)
Storyboarding (3 credits)
Writing for Film (3 credits)
Critical Studies (3 credits)
General Elective (3 credits)
Spring: 15 credits
Junior Animation Piece (3 credits)
Course in 2-D, 3-D, or stop-motion animation (3 credits)
Critical Studies (3 credits)
General Elective (3 credits)
History of Narrative Cinema (3 credits)
Fourth Year
Fall: 15 credits
Animation Thesis I (3 credits)
Client Animation Project or Internship (1.5 credits)
Critical Studies (6 credits)
General Elective (3 credits)
Spring: 15 credits
Animation Thesis II (1.5 credits)
Special Effects Compositing (3 credits)
Critical Studies (7.5 credits)
Discipline History (3 credits)
Explore the Full Curriculum
“I took Introduction to Computers for Object Makers with Rod McCormick. As an animation student, I found the class uniquely useful, as 3-D printing and laser cutting become more readily available for stop motion in the industry. Learning how to take a 2-D computer animation and convert each frame to physical objects in one day versus several was incredible. All of the techniques and skills I learned in that class changed my way of attacking future projects.”
— Neil Andruski ’20
Student Spotlight
Jamir Smith
'22
Animation (BFA)
Animator who has danced for the Philadelphia 76ers
Neil Andruski
'20
Animation (BFA)
Animator who studied abroad in Angoulême, France
Nia Veal
'20
Animation (BFA)
Animator who's exploring animation for TV and game sprites
Faculty Spotlight
Chris McDonnell
Animation (BFA)
Program director; animator, director and author/designer whose work has aired on Comedy Central, HBO, and Netflix
Lowell Boston
BFA '88
Animator, filmmaker and college professor whose work has aired on ABC, ESPN and Fox
Erik Van Horn
Game Art (BFA)
Artist, animator and writer whose clients include Wizards of the Coast and Disney Animation Studios
Alumni Spotlight
Our alumni work on blockbuster special-effects films, animated TV series, commercials, video games and more in a variety of roles, from director to storyboard artist.
Nichola Latzgo
BFA '18
Animation (BFA)
Freelance animator who has worked on project for Netflix, Pitchfork and TEd ED
Drew Applegate
BFA '15
Animation (BFA)
Storyboard artist for Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jacqueline Bauwens
BFA '15
Animation (BFA)
Animator who has worked with companies like Nike and Callaway Golf
Tracey LaGuerre
BFA '14
Animation (BFA)
Animator who has worked for companies like Buzzfeed, DreamWorks and Google
Edmond Hawkins
BFA '05
Animation (BFA)
Comedy writer, director and animator who has worked on projects for HBO and SNL
Jonathan Skabla
BFA '05
Animation (BFA)
Digital compositor who has worked on TV shows such as The Americans and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Mike Mayfield
BFA '03
Animation (BFA)
Director for the Netflix original series Big Mouth
Mehdi Yssef
BFA '00
Animation (BFA)
Game animator for Sony Computer Entertainment America
Suzanne Twining
BFA '97
Animation (BFA)
Stop-motion animator who worked on Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls
Adam Maxwell Burton "Maxwell Atoms"
BFA '96
Animation (BFA)
Creator of the Emmy Award winning series “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy”
Careers
Animation students put together their initial portfolio reel at the end of the fall semester of their freshman year and then add to that reel throughout their academic career. As a part of the Professional Practices class in the spring of their senior year, Animation students post their final portfolio reels online.
Professional Practices also visits studios in New York City and Philadelphia to give students the opportunity to meet professionals and tour facilities. Guest speakers and alumni visit on a regular basis to give lectures, advice, and mock interviews give students the confidence to enter the workforce after graduation. Also covered are personal branding, social media/website strategies, business card design and resume optimization.
Students will also have the opportunity to intern at a professional studio. Organizations that have hosted interns include Augenblick Studios, Sesame Workshop and Stretch Films Inc.
Companies in and around Philadelphia that have hired BFA in Animation alumni include Alkemy X, Center City Film & Video and unPOP.
As the industry continues to grow, graduates find themselves in a variety of roles. Common career options for Animation majors include:
Animator
Art Director
Assistant Animator
Background Artist
Broadcast Graphics
Character Designer
Clay/Puppet Animation
Compositor
Computer Animator
Director
Editor
Effects Animation
Forensic Animator
Graphics/Title Animation
Inbetweener
Layout Artist
Lights
Model and Set Builder
Modeler
Production Assistant
Rigger
Scientific Animator
Storyboard Artist
Texturer
Center for Immersive Media
UArts’ Center for Immersive Media (CIM) is a 5,600-square-foot facility dedicated to exploring the fields of virtual and mixed reality, performance motion-capture, and human-computer interaction.
The space includes
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Optical motion capture system for full body performance capture and location-based VR applications;
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A four-channel audio system, multiple video projectors and lighting, as well as a control station;
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16-station computing classroom with PCs optimized for real-time graphics rendering; and
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Two large project rooms with ceiling grids for development of installations and virtual environments.
How to Apply
UArts offers recommended priority deadlines; students who apply and submit all required materials by the priority deadline will receive first consideration for scholarship aid from UArts. Applications received after the priority deadline will be reviewed on a rolling, space-available basis.
International students requiring an F-1 visa for study in the U.S. might be subject to earlier deadlines to provide time for completion of the visa process. Contact Admissions for guidance if you are an international student who wishes to apply after the priority deadline.
Spring 2022 priority deadline: Dec. 4, 2021
Fall 2022 priority deadline: Feb. 15, 2022
We cannot accept spring 2022 applications after Jan. 10, 2022, and cannot accept fall 2022 applications after Aug. 12, 2022.
The following materials are required for your application.
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A completed application for admission
Start or resume your application.
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The application includes two required short-answer questions: What excites you about UArts? What inspires you?
A nonrefundable $60 application fee
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If you qualify for a fee waiver from NACAC, CollegeBoard, UArts or another source, indicate that on your application. If the cost of the application fee is a barrier, contact Admissions to request a fee waiver code.
Official high school transcript
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Official transcripts must be sent directly from your school by mail, email or a secure electronic document-delivery service.
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International transcript requirements
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If you’ve attended high school outside the U.S., read the additional guidelines for international transcripts.
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Transfer student transcript requirements
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High school transcripts may be waived for transfer applicants who have completed a minimum of 24 credits of college-level coursework, including a minimum of 18 academic, non-studio credits.
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Official college(s)
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Official transcripts must be sent directly from all the colleges you have attended by mail, email or a secure electronic document-delivery service.
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If you’ve attended college outside the U.S., you are required to have an official course-by-course evaluation of your college coursework sent to UArts. Additional guidelines for international transcripts are available.
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Your portfolio
A portfolio is required for all Art, Design, Film and Writing programs. Your portfolio may be uploaded during the application process or via your applicant status portal after submission. You must confirm when your submission is complete via the linked electronic form before your portfolio can be reviewed for admission.
International applicants must submit proof of English proficiency.
Optional letters of recommendation
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Letters of recommendation from teachers or mentors are optional and may be submitted by the recommender via email to undergradcredentials@uarts.edu or by your high school through a secure electronic document-delivery service.
Apply Now
Scholarships & Financial Aid
UArts recognizes the extraordinary talent of our students through a range of merit-based scholarships. All applicants are automatically considered for such scholarships—no special application is necessary.
Nearly 80 percent of UArts’ undergraduate students enrolled on a full-time basis are eligible for some type of need-based aid. Additionally, some scholarship opportunities take need-based criteria into account. All students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens and are enrolled in a degree program are encouraged to apply by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
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Apply to UArts
Begin your application today. Our admissions team will help you throughout the process.
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