Visual Effects and Motion Graphics
University of South Wales
UCAS Code: W280 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of South Wales
UCAS Code: W280 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
To include an Art and Design related subject
Pass the Access to HE Diploma in relevant Art & Design subject with a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points
GCSE/National 4/National 5
The University normally requires Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C/4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
To include an Art and Design related subject
T Level
Pass (C and above)
Passing the T Level with Pass (C or above in the Core).
UCAS Tariff
To include an Art and Design related subject
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024)
We accept the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma in lieu of a third subject.
About this course
Visual effects and motion graphics are an integral part of modern media, from Hollywood films to adverts, music promos and TV drama. This VFX degree will develop your creative instincts in VFX and motion graphics. Based in USW's Cardiff campus, the course is industry focused, with many opportunities to work with industry while you study. You’ll work on live projects and briefs, with many opportunities for practical experience through placements. USW VFX students have worked on Sherlock, Doctor Who, Bastard Executioner, and Beowulf.
This visual effects course will develop technical expertise in Nuke, Adobe Creative Suite, Cinema 4D, Maya, and tracking software. What’s more, you’ll develop an understanding of working pipelines and the ability to work collaboratively. Our best students get multiple job offers and are headhunted by industry, going on to work on big-name projects including The Jungle Book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Inception, Captain America, Iron Man 2 and The Chronicles of Narnia.
Assessment methods
The majority of your assessment (80%) is through presentation of practical assignments, with remaining elements in written or multi-media form. You will be expected to ‘pitch’ your project ideas and concepts to staff, leading VFX professionals and other students, in a constructive and supportive environment.
Tuition fees
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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.
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.
Computer games and animation
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Computer animation and visual effects
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.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a newly-classified subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. Over time we can expect more students to study them — there could be opportunities that open up for graduates in these subjects as the economy develops over the next few years. But at the moment this looks to be a good degree if you want to work on the technical side of film and TV and this is the most common industry for new graduates.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computer games and animation
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£21k
£30k
£30k
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.
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Higher entry requirements
Lower entry requirementsSame University
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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.
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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
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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?
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