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Animation and Illustration with foundation year

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

48

Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. Relevant creative and art and design-related subjects are preferred.

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Present a portfolio

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Animation

Illustration

Are you interested in exploring animation and illustration for the creative industries? Our dynamic degree involves a range of challenging practical assignments, supporting you to develop the wide range of skills and knowledge you'll need for your chosen career in television and film, the web, publishing and advertising, video games or animated special effects.

At our School of the Arts, we offer creative, student-focused courses that employers value, underpinned by the knowledge and industry experience of our high-quality staff. We update our programmes frequently to ensure they keep up with new and emerging trends and provide the tools and techniques you'll need to progress into your chosen area of employment.

The University of Bolton's BA (Hons) Animation and Illustration with foundation year degree offers commercial understanding and supports you in developing high-level technical skills and knowledge. Starting with foundation studies that provide a structured introduction to a wide range of materials, processes and techniques, we’ll support you as you develop your own line of visual enquiry, explore different areas of art and design, and develop a sound portfolio of creative work.

Following the foundation year, our expert team will guide and encourage you to work to professional standards in the creative use of a wide range of illustration, animation, and digital software programmes. Building on an introduction to the basics of animation and illustration, the second half of the course offers you increasing levels of choice to specialise in either area, exploring digital and experimental means of image making. We'll also support you in gaining lifelong learning skills, which will help you take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

Our diverse team are highly experienced, with both professional and academic qualifications. They have extensive experience in the animation and illustration industry and have worked for several broadcasting companies, including the BBC and Granada Television.

Alternatively, on successful completion of the foundation level, you can opt to transfer to one of our related art and design degrees, for instance, fashion, fine art, graphic design, photography, or textiles and surface design. You can also explore transferring to another subject area offered by the University of Bolton, such as film FX or games art.

Modules

Information about the modules offered as part of this course is available on the University of Bolton’s website.

Assessment methods

Details of the learning activities and assessment methods for this course are available on the University of Bolton’s website.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£63,800
for the whole course
International
£63,800
for the whole course
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:

University of Bolton Main Site, Greater Manchester

Department:

Animation and Illustration

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.

61%
Animation
70%
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.

Cinematics and photography

Teaching and learning

71%
Staff make the subject interesting
67%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
68%
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

67%
Library resources
75%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
53%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
55%
Male students
45%
Female students
71%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
A
C

Design studies

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
80%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
87%
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

80%
Library resources
69%
IT resources
77%
Course specific equipment and facilities
60%
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?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
44%
Male students
56%
Female students
71%
2:1 or above
23%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
86%
low
Employed or in further education
49%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
10%
Secretarial and related occupations
8%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

£15,400
low
Average annual salary
81%
low
Employed or in further education
55%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

37%
Design occupations
16%
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.

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.

£15k

£15k

£19k

£19k

£19k

£19k

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.

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.

£15k

£15k

£19k

£19k

£19k

£19k

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
University of East London | Newham
Animation
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112
Nearby University
Futureworks | Salford
Digital Animation with Illustration
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

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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:

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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.

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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