BA (Hons) Animation

Program Overview

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Animation BA (Hons)

Course Overview

The BA (Hons) Animation course at Coventry University is for storytellers and artists who want to bring life to their creations through the application of movement.

Year of Entry

2025

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study Mode

Full-time, Sandwich

Duration

3 years full-time, 4 years sandwich

Course Code

WW27

Start Date

September 2025

Course Overview

From the outset, this course gives you the opportunity to create a highly creative portfolio relevant to your chosen area of creative practice.

Other benefits include the following:

• The course cultivates a form of teaching where students experiment, exercise and practise. Our students explore, experiment and design with both analogue (drawing and primary visual research) and digital technologies and generate outcomes in 3D and 2D.
• The Animation team fosters inclusivity in character development and narrative, drawing upon the traditions of cultures from around the globe, both contemporary, historical and mythological, with considerations of race, age, gender, disability and variety of body type.
• Our graduates could expect to work as 3D animators, 2D animators, riggers, modellers, character designers, environment artists, story boarders, animation directors, writers and comic artists.

Rated Gold Overall

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023

5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2025

Why You Should Study This Course

• Professional practice is a key component of the course with scope to undertake placements and briefs that respond to the needs of the creative industries, both in the UK and abroad.
• A flexible approach enables you to individually develop your creative practice and portfolio towards a wide range of potential career paths.
• Opportunity to develop skills and experiment with a wide range of technology and traditional media.
• Teaching staff are industry experienced practitioners and/or research active. Staff have worked for a wide range of clients and on major arts funded projects. Staff bring this experience into the teaching environment through practical teaching activities and project work that is core to the curriculum - it also helps to maintain currency and professional alignment to course content. Staff maintain a continuous relationship with industry and have a significant and growing portfolio of collaborative and industry-focused projects that inspire student research and development activities (staff may be subject to change).

What You'll Study

This course has a common first year.

The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.

If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).

Common First Year Courses

• Animation BA (Hons)
• Digital Media BA (Hons)
• Games Art BA (Hons)
• Games Design and Development BA (Hons)
• Visual Effects (VFX) BA (Hons)

Year One

• Hacklab and Creative Play – 20 credits
• Narrative and Storytelling - 20 credits
• Skills Lab – 20 credits
• From 2D to 3D: Developing Visual Skills - 20 credits
• Prototyping, Concept Development and Design – 20 credits
• People, Pipelines, and Production – 20 credits

Year Two

• Animation Studio and Experimentation – 20 credits
• Character Design and Animation – 20 credits
• The Creature Workshop – 20 credits
• Pre-production in Animation – 20 credits
• Modelling and Rigging – 20 credits
• Collaborative Practice in Animation – 20 credits

Placement Year

• UK Work Placement – 0 credits
• International Study/Work Placement - 0 credits

Final Year

• Animation Challenge Project – 20 credits
• Animation in Context – 20 credits
• Professional Practice Portfolio – 20 credits
• Working in Collaboration – 20 credits
• Final Major Project – 40 credits

How You'll Learn

Teaching Contact Hours

As a full-time undergraduate student, you will study modules totalling 120 credits each academic year. A typical 20 credit module requires a total of 200 hours study. This is made up of teaching contact hours, guided and independent study.

Guided and Independent Study

Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent study to make up the required study hours per module. You'll be digging deeper into topics, review what you've learnt and complete assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress through your studies, you'll spend more time in independent study.

Online Learning

As an innovative university, we use different teaching methods including online tools and emerging technologies. So, some of your teaching hours and assessments may be delivered online.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods may include:

• Portfolio
• Presentation
• Coursework
• Project
• Composite assessment
• Artefact

International Experience Opportunities

We aim to encourage students to broaden their horizons by taking advantage of either study abroad or placement opportunities. The art and design course teams work hard to ensure that students have the opportunity to widen their cultural understanding and feed their creative research through travel. Previous students have gone on study trips to Lisbon, Barcelona, Paris and Copenhagen. These experiences often underpin independent projects and allow you to gain confidence in travelling abroad.

Entry Requirements

Typical Entry Requirements

• UK: 112 UCAS points
• International: 29 points
• GCSE: GCSE English at grade 4 / C or Functional Skills Level 2, or other equivalent Level 2 awards.

Portfolio

You may be required to attend a portfolio showcase, activity session or audition or submit a portfolio via email (as is appropriate to your course), either virtually or face to face, as is practical to arrange. Invites for these sessions will be sent directly to your contact email.

Fees and Funding

Student

• UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man: £9,535 per year
• EU: £9,535 per year with EU Support Bursary, £19,850 per year without EU Support Bursary
• International: £19,850 per year

Tuition Fees

The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

Facilities

Coventry University is home to superb facilities and our fantastic new Delia Derbyshire Arts and Humanities complex provides fantastic new learning spaces. With access to industry-standard software, workshops and studio environments, you’ll gain practical experience through a mix of in-house assignments, self-initiated tasks, national and international competition opportunities, project briefs and concept visualisation briefs.

We have a thriving studio culture with dedicated workspaces for all students in purpose-built studios with permanent exhibition displays, supported by wide-ranging technical facilities in both traditional and new technologies. In our Media Loan shop, you will have access to a range of photographic and media resources.

Careers and Opportunities

Graduates could be expected to work as animators, graphic novel artists, environment artists and storyboard artists as well as pursuing careers in teaching and study at postgraduate level. In the past, graduates have returned to share their experiences and advice as visiting lecturers and have continued to support the next generation of Animation students.

After studying, students go on to work in the following areas: advertising, comic books, tv and film production, children’s picture books, artists, art direction, games art and animation, teaching and study at postgraduate level.

Further Study

You can choose to continue your studies at Coventry University with the Illustration and Animation MA.

You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.