Animation with Foundation

Animation is the art of creating the illusion of movement, bringing drawings, models, and digital assets to life through the careful sequencing of images over time. It is a discipline that combines artistic vision with technical knowledge and storytelling intelligence, and it underpins an extraordinarily wide range of creative work: feature films, television series, advertising, video games, interactive media, architectural visualisation, and medical and scientific illustration. The animator's fundamental skill, understanding how things move and how to make that movement feel real and expressive, is in demand across all of these contexts.

At the University of Westminster this four-year, full-time programme includes a foundation year, providing a supported and gradual introduction to animation and the creative disciplines before you move into the full degree. The foundation year prepares you for advanced study by developing your academic and creative skills alongside the technical knowledge needed for the animation curriculum. Westminster's London setting connects you to a major concentration of animation studios, post-production companies, game developers, and creative technology businesses, and the programme is well placed to help you build the professional connections and portfolio that the industry looks for.

A sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities are all built into the degree years of the programme.

Graduates of animation go on to careers as animators, character designers, rigging artists, visual development artists, motion graphics designers, and art directors across the film, television, games, advertising, and interactive media industries. Many begin their careers in studios and production companies, while others build freelance careers working across multiple clients and formats. The creative and technical combination the degree develops is also valued in adjacent fields such as visual effects, user interface animation, and experience design.

Further study at Masters level in animation or a related creative discipline is an option for those who want to develop a specialist practice or move into research and education.