We encourage you to be innovative, creative and push the boundaries of storytelling and artistic style. You will receive a grounding in the fundamental skills of animation, with the opportunity to develop more specialist skills from the second year of study.

You will develop your own distinct style and voice, as well as enhancing your technical and creative knowledge by studying the modules within this programme.

Our excellent facilities include dedicated animation and sound studios, graphics studios, computer suites and a suite of Cintiq stations. You will be supported to master professional tools, such as TVPaint, Maya, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Substance Painter and After Effects.

Our supportive and collaborative studio culture creates a nurturing atmosphere that aims to encourage professional development. Teaching is delivered primarily through demonstration and practical workshop sessions, providing hands-on experience in drawing, script writing, idea generation, visual communication, pre-production, audio production and digital 2D and 3D animation practice.

Key features

  • Prepare for a rewarding career in the animation industry. Recent graduates are working as animators, VFX technical directors, lead technical runners, compositors, modellers and designers, with companies such as Brown Bag, Studio SOI, Cloth Cat, RJDM, Double Negative and Disney.

  • Access one-to-one support from the Leicester Media School Drawing Centre to perfect your drawing skills and meet like-minded artists.

  • Work on a major project tailored to the animation industry, which will give you the chance to enter national and international competitions and festivals.

  • Exhibit your work at the week-long DMU Degree Show, one of Leicester’s biggest art and design shows, where final-year students have the chance to meet talent scouts and win industry prizes.

  • Enjoy developing your skills in a vibrant studio culture and preparing for a future in the animation industry by using our specialist facilities and software.

  • Add an international experience to your CV with our DMU Global programme. Previous trips have seen Animation students draw inspiration from dramatic city skylines and urban environments in New York, Berlin and Hong Kong.

  • Benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified ‘block learning’ timetable means you will study one subject at a time and have more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback and enjoy a better study-life balance.
BA (Hons) Award
September Start
Full-time, Sandwich Study Mode
3 years Duration
W615 UCAS Code

Entry Requirements For This Course

  • Normally 104 UCAS points from at least two A-levels or equivalent, with Art and Design at grade C or above or
  • Art and Design BTEC National Diploma/ Extended Diploma at DMM

Plus five GCSEs at grade C or above, including English or equivalent.

Alternative qualifications include:

  • Pass in the QAA accredited Access to HE Art and Design course with at least 15 credits in Art and Design at merit. English GCSE required as a separate qualification as equivalency is not accepted within the Access qualification. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course or
  • International Baccalaureate: 24+ points including Art and Design at higher level grade 5 or
  • T Levels Merit, or
  • Art and Design Foundation Diploma: Pass

Portfolio Required: You will also need a good portfolio according to the course guidelines as part of your application. Portfolio guidance for Animation.

Interview Required: No

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