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University of Northampton

UCAS Code: I710 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

B,C,C

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

AQA Level 3 Technical Level (1080 glh)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Access to HE Diploma

M:30

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M3,M3

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

25

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

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

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,C,C

Individual Advanced Highers can be accepted with Scottish Highers towards tariff requirements

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B

T Level

Pass (C and above)

UCAS Tariff

112

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

groups

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Computer animation and visual effects

BA (Hons) Animation programme focuses on preparing students for a career in animation, including specialist areas such as motion capture, visual effects, storyboarding, 2D and 3D animation for video games and narrative development. You will be introduced to the key points in the creative process, from initial concepting through to the production of final animations. You will also develop the technical skills required to create professional standard animations for a variety of digital media formats, such as film, TV, video games and augmented or virtual reality.

Highlights include:

· Up to date workstation hardware and software, including Wacom Cintiq Pros.
· Opportunities to take part in live projects and competitions.
· Guaranteed paid internship with the Northampton Employment Promise.
· Practical working environment with emphasis on a hands-on learning experience

We teach in a practical, studio based environment, with hands-on tutorials led by industry-trained tutors who, alongside practising animation professionals, will provide regular feedback on your work.

You will focus on the production of professional standard animation and visual effects for a variety of digital media, such as film, tv, web-based marketing and video games. You will also be exposed to the whole life cycle of animation production from the initial ideas process, through narrative development, to creation of the final production. You will work with industry-trained tutors to ensure you understand the requirements of animation production processes for specific media platforms and markets.

We will give you the creative and technical software skills, and the industry knowledge required by leading animation and video game studios. You will produce a personal portfolio of your work to reflect industry and professional practice needs, informed by historical and contemporary references.

**By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be sure that:**

- You will experience student life at the University’s £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.

- Students enrolling on this course at Northampton will be provided with their own brand new laptop* to keep at no additional cost. All sports clubs and societies are free to join at Northampton and every essential course text book is available via the library, meaning you won’t have to purchase copies. For more information on this visit our website (northampton.ac.uk/benefits).

- At UON we guarantee a room in our Halls of Residence for all new full-time, first year students who apply and accept their room offer by June 2025 - and we won't ask for a deposit for September 2025**

- Our expert academics teach in small groups supported with one to one assistance. Our academics and students form a tight bond, providing individualised support and guidance whilst challenging students academically.

- Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.

**The Northampton Employment Promise**
- We’re so confident in our careers and employability support that if you achieve at least a 2:2 degree and complete either our Employability Plus Gold programme or achieve a Changemaker Gold Certificate during your time studying with us, but still haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating, we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you or support you into postgraduate study.

✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information
✱✱ eligibility criteria apply. See northampton.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/ for more information

Modules

Stage 1
• Fundamentals of Animation (Compulsory)
• 2D Visualisation (Compulsory)
• 3D Modelling for Animation (Compulsory)
• Narrative Development (Compulsory)
• 3D Animation (Compulsory)
• 2D Animation (Compulsory)

Stage 2
• Look Development (Compulsory)
• Biomechanics for Animation (Compulsory)
• Advanced 3D Modelling (Compulsory)
• VFX Essentials (Compulsory)
• Advanced 3D Animation (Compulsory)
• VFX Production (Compulsory)

Stage 3
• Final Major Project (Compulsory)
• Animation Innovation (Compulsory)
• Professional Career Development (Compulsory)
• Animation Group Project (Compulsory)

Module information is quoted for 2024 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly.

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:

Waterside Campus

Department:

Faculty of Arts, Science and 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.

95%
Computer animation and visual 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.

Computer games and animation

Teaching and learning

100%
Staff make the subject interesting
95%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
100%
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

53%
Library resources
53%
IT resources
63%
Course specific equipment and facilities
84%
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?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
80%
Male students
20%
Female students
68%
2:1 or above
32%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
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.

Computer games and animation

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.

£20,000
low
Average annual salary
73%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

29%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
21%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
8%
Design occupations

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.

£19k

£19k

£24k

£24k

£32k

£32k

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...

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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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:

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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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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