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Animation and Illustration [with Placement year]

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English.

UCAS Tariff

96

from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent level 3 qualifications), including Art, Design or Media subjects.

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Illustration

**Become a skilled and versatile 2D or 3D animator, with a focus on illustration and storytelling, at Cambridge School of Art and turn your creative ideas into a rewarding career within Animation and Illustration.**

Our BA (Hons) Animation and Illustration course explores the connections between animation and illustration, helping you to create sequential narratives using a variety of methods – from the latest specialist 2D digital animation, 3D CGI used in industry and interactive techniques to traditional handmade image-making.

You will develop creative abilities, technical skills and a personal language within animation, as well as sequential imagery within graphic novels, with the focus being on illustration and design

Perhaps most importantly, you’ll get time, guidance and support from a team of industry professionals, animators and illustrators who are dedicated to your creative development. As well as regular visiting industry speakers to inspire and guide you in your creative work, in your final year you will also receive guidance from an assigned industry advisor dedicated to the year.

At Cambridge School of Art, you’ll experiment and discover, try stuff out, venture into the unknown and find solutions, develop and create.

**Industry-standard facilities**

As well as our dedicated animation base rooms with workstations for stop motion and digital animation, you’ll have use of facilities including:
- Studios equipped with HD rostrum cameras and traditional lightboxes; the Cintiq pro 24 and latest digital 2D animation software; and the latest Adobe creative cloud software

- Dedicated stop-motion room with lighting set-up

- 3D modelling and compositing software, including Autodesk Maya

- Motion capture equipment, 4k cameras, lighting kits, and Wacom tablets

- A life drawing studio

- A sound recording studio; green screen and film editing suites; a digital photography lab and photography and film studios and darkrooms

- Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery.

You'll also have access to all our other creative facilities and equipment.

**Careers**

With an understanding of traditional animation and illustration, combined with expertise in cutting-edge digital design technology, our graduates have found success with leading animation studios and broadcasters, including Channel 4 and the BBC.

On our Sequential Practice module, you’ll focus on preparing for life beyond university, creating a showreel, a website and promotional material, as well as hearing guest speakers from some of the top animation studios in London, such as Passion Pictures, The Mill, FrameStore and Studio Aka.

Cambridge is the perfect place to gain experience – a creative hotspot that’s home to thousands of established businesses and start-ups. And, at the end of your final year, you’ll take part in our degree show in London – the perfect launchpad for your career.

Graduation doesn’t need to be the end of your time with us. You might decide to stay at ARU and study for a Masters, such as our renowned MA Children’s Book Illustration. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

**Employability and personal career development**

Informed by artists, creative agencies and production studios, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they are looking for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules.

You will need to dedicate time outside of your course to develop your employability, through placements, internships or volunteering or through our partner scheme Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE). You can evidence this experience on your CV and talk about it in interviews to give you that all important edge.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: Animation Skills; Illustration and Animation Practice; Sequential Practice; Sequential Structures and Contexts. Year 2 core modules: Animation Practice; Computer Generated Imagery; Critical Issues and Debates; Ruskin Module. Year 3: Work placement. Year 4 core modules: Professional Sequential Practice. Year 4 optional modules: Working in the Creative Industries; Research Project. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment methods

Assessment is ongoing and includes one-to-one feedback, group crits and class presentations, so you can be sure you’re receiving structured, insightful feedback throughout your degree course.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Cambridge Campus

Department:

Cambridge School of Art

Read full university profile

What students say


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

69%
Illustration

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.

Design studies

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
80%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
88%
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

57%
Library resources
72%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
52%
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?

72%
UK students
28%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
76%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A*
B
C

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.

Design studies

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.

£16,500
low
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
49%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

29%
Design occupations
17%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Other elementary services occupations

What about your long term prospects?

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

Design studies

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

£16k

£16k

£18k

£18k

£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...

Higher entry requirements
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BA (Hons) 3 Years Sandwich 2024
UCAS Points: 112
Nearby University
University of Hertfordshire | Hatfield
Illustration
BA (Hons) 3 Years Sandwich 2024
UCAS Points: 112-120

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here