Program Overview
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
2026
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study Mode
Full-time, Sandwich
Duration
3 years full-time, 4 years sandwich
Course Code
WW27
Start Date
September 2026
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).
Art and Design Graduate Showcase 2024
The Coventry Degree Showcase is an annual event to celebrate and showcase our graduating students’ work.
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.
Teaching Hours:
Teaching hours vary each semester, year of study and due to module selection. During your first year you can expect 15-18 teaching hours each week. You will also have the option to attend optional sessions including time with a progress coach or to meet with staff for advice and feedback. As you progress through your studies, teaching hours may reduce.
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
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.
Other Qualifications and Experience
Our students come from a variety of backgrounds, each with a unique story. We recognise a breadth of qualifications. If your qualifications differ from the above, contact our Admissions Team who will be happy to discuss your qualifications and routes into your chosen course.
Fees and Funding
Student
- UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man: 2026/27 fees TBC
- EU: 2026/27 fees TBC
- International: 2026/27 fees TBC
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.
Hyperstudio
The Hyperstudio is designed to be an experimental space where staff, students, community, and industry can collaborate to solve real world problems. It is a cube with high-speed connectivity and power, that is both a making and showing space into which an array of physical and digital technologies can be brought to support project needs.
Immersive Media Studio
The immersive media studio is a studio space designed to allow design, collaboration and testing of immersive experiences that combine audiovisual elements in diverse ways. It is centred on performance capture and high-end XR capabilities and includes capability for immersive audio integration.
Hacklabs: Electronic and Digital
The two hacklab spaces are experimental spaces on the bleeding edge of emerging technologies and processes where students and staff can be guided in their exploration of new and emerging practices in an array of fields. A library of resources such as sensors and other physical computing solutions, and software for experimentation will be available.
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.
Discover Phoenix+
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Learn more about Phoenix+
How to Apply
UK students can apply for this course through UCAS from September 2025. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
International students can apply directly to the university.
Apply via the portal
If you'd like further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
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International students can also download our International mini guide for an overview of study options and why you should study with us.
Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.
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Complete our contact form
Disclaimers
Coventry University together with Coventry University London, Coventry University Wrocław, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough, and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the University) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University.
1Accreditations, Partnerships and Memberships
The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply. See the relevant body website for more details). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships are subject to successful renewal in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery. If the accreditation, recognition or membership of this course changes, we will seek to notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
2UK and International Opportunities
Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or international opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be unpaid and/or subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel, public authority guidance, decisions or orders and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand any visa requirements, please contact the International Office.
3Tuition 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.
If you choose to study this course with a professional placement, the University will charge the tuition fees stated above for those on a placement during Academic Year 2025/26. The University will review professional placement tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study, but such that it will be no more than 5% above inflation.
For international students, we may increase fees each year, but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
4Facilities
Facilities are subject to availability. Access to some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and/or may have reduced availability or restrictions where the university is following public authority guidance, decisions or orders.
Student Contract
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the current 2024/2025 contract is available on the website for information purposes however the 2026/2027 contract will apply for the 2026/2027 intake. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
Overview:
- Founded in 1843 as the Coventry School of Design
- Received university status in 1992
- Over 30,000 students from over 150 countries
- Campuses in Coventry, London, and Scarborough
- Known for its focus on practical, industry-focused education
Student Life:
- Over 150 student clubs and societies
- Sports teams in various disciplines
- Student support services include counseling, mental health support, and disability support
- Campus facilities include a gym, swimming pool, and student union
Academics:
- Offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in a wide range of subjects
- Faculty with industry experience and research expertise
- Teaching methodologies include lectures, seminars, workshops, and project-based learning
- Academic support services include writing centers, math labs, and peer mentoring
- Unique academic programs include:
- Centre for Applied Science and Technology
- Centre for Business in Society
- Centre for Intelligent Systems
Top Reasons to Study Here:
- Ranked among the top 150 universities in the UK (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023)
- Excellent industry connections and partnerships
- Specialized facilities such as the National Transport Design Centre and the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing
- Notable alumni include:
- Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine
- Sir David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster
- Sir Patrick Stewart, actor
Services:
- Counseling and mental health support
- Health center
- Accommodation services
- Library with over 1 million books and resources
- Technology support
- Career development services