Program Overview

BA (Hons) Animation

The BA (Hons) Animation course at Manchester Metropolitan University brings together key aspects of contemporary animation practice and storytelling, giving students the chance to explore a wide range of techniques, styles, and approaches. This course is designed to provide students with a solid foundation to start their career in animation, whether they aim to work on animated TV series, feature-length or independent short films, children's media, commercials, or games.

Course Overview

The course provides a comprehensive education in animation, covering both the practical and theoretical aspects of the field. Students will delve into the practicalities of working in the creative industries, preparing them for an exciting and diverse career in animation. The course is led by specialist animation staff who will support and inspire students to craft engaging stories and create expressive and captivating character performances.

Features and Benefits

• Students will be part of the School of Digital Arts (SODA), a £35m investment in specialist spaces with the latest technologies, award-winning teaching, research, and networks that will drive the next generation of creative content.
• The program has excellent links with the industry, offering opportunities to access industry professionals through live briefs, panel events, portfolio reviews, and/or university projects.
• Students will be encouraged to innovate through interdisciplinary study and collaboration, becoming highly creative and employable professionals to compete successfully in the rapidly growing field of animation.
• Opportunities will be provided throughout the course to create animated films, allowing students to develop core creative, design, narrative, and cinematographic skills desired by potential employers in the animation industry.
• The course is designed to allow students to specialize in one specialist area of the animation process, refining their individual artistry.
• Through the production of animated films, students will develop an understanding of authorship and directorial skills, as well as collaborative skills.
• Access will be provided to professional creative studios containing industry-standard software, hardware, and making facilities supporting 2D hand-drawn and rigged, 3D, and stop-motion techniques.

Year 1

The first year provides a grounding in the craft, skills, and conceptual thinking required for the art of animation. Students will be introduced to 2D, 3D, and stop-motion techniques and the core underlying principles of animated movement. They will also learn more about animation production and visual storytelling through practical tasks and projects.

Core Modules

• Animation Principles: This hands-on module introduces students to the key concepts and principles of animation, beginning with 2D animation.
• Exploring Animation: This practice-based module teaches students the essential skills needed for generating ideas through creating physical animation, exploring creative stop-motion and analogue production techniques.
• 3D Animation: This module develops students' understanding of the principles of animation applied to 3D space, taking a strong practical focus.
• Visual Storytelling: This module focuses on the fundamentals of visual language and pre-production research and planning, introducing students to key principles of visual storytelling.

Year 2

Building on Year 1, students will engage in more advanced animation production techniques to expand their skills and experience, preparing for a career in the animation industry or freelancing. Further experiences in collaborative projects are offered, underpinned with contextual practice to support understanding of wider creative fields relevant to development as a creative practitioner.

Core Modules

• Speculative Futures: This module challenges students to harness their creative, collaborative, and critical skills to tackle urgent environmental and social justice issues.
• Animation Practice: Students further develop their animation production skills and refine their creative voice, planning, producing, and delivering a body of creative work suitable for an animation pipeline.
• Design in Motion: Students investigate short-form animation within a global context, engaging with a variety of different animation practices and techniques to take a concept from pre-production to a final outcome.
• Animation Techniques: Building on previous modules, students focus on the animation techniques that interest them most, refining their skills through research and practice.

Year 3

In the third year, students will have the opportunity to produce an animated film or industry portfolio, showcasing their group work and individual talents, including pitching ideas to industry professionals. The final artifacts will be displayed at the degree showcase, and students will be encouraged to submit their work to animation festivals and competitions.

Core Modules

• Animation Development: This module focuses on the pre-production, planning, and development of the third-year project, allowing students to investigate, explore, and evaluate concepts, visual style, themes, and narrative for a short-form animated film or an industry-standard portfolio.
• Animation Research: Students define their area of specialization and investigate a topic of their choosing, critically exploring cultural and professional issues related to their topic.
• Animation Production: Students enter the production phase of their short-form animated film or industry-standard portfolio, focusing on advanced production and post-production techniques.
• Graduate Portfolio: This module supports core methodologies in curation, dissemination, and communication of artistic practice and processes, helping students define their creative identity and plan and produce content for a chosen and well-researched audience.

Study and Assessment

• Year 1: 25% lectures, seminars, or similar; 75% independent study. 100% coursework.
• Year 2: 25% lectures, seminars, or similar; 75% independent study. 100% coursework.
• Year 3: 20% lectures, seminars, or similar; 80% independent study. 100% coursework.

Entry Requirements

• Typical Offer: 104-112 UCAS tariff points.
• IELTS Score: 6.0 overall with no individual element below 5.5.
• Portfolio: A portfolio of work is required as part of the application.
• UK Students: Level 3 qualifications, including GCE A levels, Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma, Access to HE Diploma, UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma, OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma, and T levels are considered.
• International Students: IB Diploma with minimum 26 points overall or 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects. IELTS 6.0 overall with no individual element below 5.5.

Fees and Funding

Tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are still being finalized. Information on 2025/26 standard undergraduate fees for UK/Channel Islands and EU/Non-EU international students is available.

Careers Support and Prospects

• Employed or in Further Study: 88.7% of UK-domiciled, full-time, first-degree graduates are employed or in further study 15 months after graduation.
• The university offers careers support and prospects through its Careers Service, including help with getting ready for further study or working life, starting a business, and accessing hundreds of online short courses.
• The university has groundbreaking research with industry, providing unrivaled business connections that can help open doors to dream careers.

Related Courses

• BA (Hons) Filmmaking
• BA (Hons) Games Art
• BSc (Hons) Games Design

Disclaimers

• The university's programs undergo annual and major reviews to ensure an up-to-date curriculum supported by the latest online learning technology.
• The online prospectus provides an overview of programs of study and the university, and it is regularly updated to ensure accuracy.
• The Manchester Metropolitan University is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England.