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Animation

Leeds Arts University

UCAS Code: W615 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Leeds Arts University

UCAS Code: W615 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff

104-120

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Animation

Our specialist course is designed for passionate students focussing on a career in animation production. Join others who share your ambition of becoming a professional animator across film, TV, games or other creative industries.

You will study practical and technical skills across a range of traditional and digital animation media. By gaining a solid grounding in animation and related theories and concepts, you can make an informed choice as you begin to specialise in a chosen area.

Learning is reinforced by serious play and experimentation. Our hands-on programme nurtures creative collaboration at course level and across subject areas at the University. This can include live briefs and commercial or international competitions, helping you apply and develop your specialism within animation.

The careers focussed elements of the course are vital in giving you a broad understanding of the sector. Utilising our established industry contacts, representatives from global brands such as Aardman Animation, Mackinnon and Saunders, Blue Zoo, Warner Media, and Golden Wolf as well as independent animators Richard Pickersgill, Amanda Thomas, Bianca Ansems,Maryam Mohajer and Laura Tofarides have inspired previous degree cohorts.

Wherever possible, we encourage you to gain real-world experiences. We support you to network, collaborate, and find new career opportunities and clients, giving you the edge when seeking employment in this rapidly evolving industry.

Modules

Year one – Develop a comprehensive understanding of the principles of animation, from idea generation to end production processes. Exploration of the animation cycle covers research, narrative development, worldbuilding, character design, storyboarding, background/layout, and innovative media and animation techniques. Learn skills across 2D, 3D computer-generated, and stop motion animation. You’ll consider the practical, conceptual, and theoretical pathways open to you as an animator.

Year two – Collaborate with others to develop your own specialist practice using briefs and self-identified projects. You will focus on critical thinking, pre-production, animation, or post-production techniques as you progress. This enables you to further understand job roles and your interests within the animation production pipeline. Competitions, live briefs, and teamwork teaches you essential social, communication, professional, employability and entrepreneurial skills.

Year three – Using your accumulated knowledge, you will focus on your own creative ambitions and develop a strategy for becoming a professional animator. You’ll be involved in practice-based research, negotiate your own projects, participate in competitions, attend conferences, and meet visiting professionals. You will build a striking and unique portfolio that reflects the skills you have to offer any future employer or client, setting you up for a successful career in the industry.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,535
per year
EU
£18,000
per year
International
£18,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Leeds Arts University

Department:

Communication Design

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

78%
Animation

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Cinematics and photography

Teaching and learning

78%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
84%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

90%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
54%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
67%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Cinematics and photography

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£21,500
low
Average annual salary
91%
high
Employed or in further education
56%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Other elementary services occupations
19%
Design occupations
16%
Artistic, literary and media occupations

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Cinematics and photography

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

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Lower entry requirements
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UCAS Points: 48-72
Nearby University
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York St John University | York
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UCAS Points: 104
Same University
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Leeds Arts University | Leeds
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UCAS Points: 104-120

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here