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Visual Effects with a Foundation Year

Entry requirements


80 UCAS points A maximum of 3 subjects are considered. These can be other A-levels or level 3 equivalents.

80 UCAS points A maximum of two AS-level subjects can be considered along with two A-levels or a combination of equivalent level 3 qualifications

60 credits overall. Minimum of 45 credits at level 3.

80 UCAS points Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

80 UCAS points Considered with two A-levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s) to achieve a total of 80 UCAS tariff points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English Language or English Literature and GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above. If you do not have these or are not undertaking them, we accept other Level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests.

Pass with 120 credits at level 4

Pass with 120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall For students who do not already hold a GCSE in Mathematics at Grade C/4 or above grade 5 in Maths (Standard Level) from the IB Diploma will be accepted For students who do not already hold a GCSE in English Language at Grade C/4 or above Standard Level English Language (not literature) English A - Grade 4 or above or English B - Grade 5 from the IB will be accepted.

Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum of 80 tariff points, achieved in four Higher level subjects. This must include Maths and English Language taken at either Ordinary level (minimum grade O1-O4 (or A-C/A1-C3)) or Higher level (minimum H3/D1 taken from three subjects).

See Level 3 Entry under Irish Leaving Certificate for full details.

80 UCAS points Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

80 UCAS points Considered with one A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

80 UCAS points Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

MMP

80 UCAS points Considered with one A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

80 UCAS points Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

80 UCAS points Considered with one A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

80 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

80 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

80 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

MMP

80 UCAS points Considered with two A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

80 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

80 UCAS points Considered with two A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

MMP

80 UCAS points Considered with one A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

80 UCAS points Considered with two A-level or an equivalent level 3 qualification

Achieve a minimum of 80 tariff points achieved in either three Advanced Highers or from a combination of two Advanced Highers plus two Highers. Where three Advanced Highers have been taken achieve a minimum of grades DDD. Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken you must achieve (grades of DD in two Advanced Highers plus grades of DD in two Highers).

Achieve a minimum of 80 tariff points achieved in either five Highers or from a combination of two Advanced Highers plus two Highers. Where only Highers have been taken a minimum of grades CCDDD is required. Where a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers have been taken you must achieve grades of DD in two Advanced Highers plus grades of DD in two Highers.

UCAS Tariff

80

Please visit: http://www.bcu.ac.uk/student-info/offer-making-strategy for more information about contextual offers.

80 UCAS points Considered with two A-levels or equivalent level 3 qualification

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Visual and audio effects

So you want to work in the Film or Games industry? Do you imagine yourself as a creative artist or a technical director? Our BSc (Hons) degree in Visual Effects is where creativity meets technology. It will give you the skills to unleash your true mix of creative and technical abilities. You could go on to work on top level productions for a range of industries, including TV, film, games, advertising, architecture, education and more.

Visual Effects is an ever expanding multi-billion pound industry in the UK and globally, with job opportunities in high demand. As demand grows for visual effects in Film, TV and Games, the demand also grows for skilled professionals who can bring these to life.

On this course, you will develop technical, creative and production skills to prepare you for a range of careers. You will learn a variety of disciplines from modelling, rigging, animation, dynamics to lighting, rendering and compositing, there is so much for you to explore. You will learn using state of-the-art facilities and software including a Vicon Motion Capture studio, high-specification computers, industry standard software such as Maya, Nuke and Houdini and one of the largest fixed green screen studios in the UK.

You will be taught by a range of experienced staff, with a breadth of knowledge across both visual effects and the larger area of computer graphics. This includes staff with industry experience, and staff who work and innovate alongside industry in a variety of ways.

**About the Foundation Year**

The Foundation Year course option enables you to study for our BSc (Hons) degree over an extended full-time duration of four years by including a Foundation Certificate (year one of four).

The Foundation Certificate provides a broad study programme that underpins the follow-on degree. In order to progress to the next year of your degree, it is necessary to achieve a pass in all of the modules of the Foundation Certificate.

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,085
per year
International
£16,085
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Millennium Point Campus

Department:

School of Computing and Digital Technology

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.

72%
Visual and audio effects

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
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
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

79%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
78%
Course specific equipment and facilities
69%
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
56%
Male students
44%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
16%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education
45%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

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.

£16k

£16k

£19k

£19k

£22k

£22k

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...

Nearby University
De Montfort University | Leicester
Visual Effects (VFX)
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 104
Same University
Birmingham City University | Birmingham
Visual Effects
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120
Higher entry requirements
University for the Creative Arts | Farnham
Creative Computing (with Integrated Foundation Year)
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 64-168

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here