Animation BA Honours
Explore all aspects of animated filmmaking with our multi-BAFTA winning academic team in our state-of-the-art animation studios
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Why study Animation BA Honours at Middlesex?
This degree course will enable you to develop your creative and technical skills, ensuring you gain the experience you need to work in today's highly competitive and exciting animation industry. You will have the opportunity to experiment with a broad range of styles and processes, including traditional and digital 2D animation, stop motion, and 3D computer graphics. You’ll get to study all of the software and skills needed to succeed in these different forms of animation, as well as their underlying technical principles and artistic applications.
- High-spec animation facilities - In our state-of-the-art animation studios, we'll help you develop your animation skills including scriptwriting, character development, video and sound editing. You will use the latest software and work alongside specialist technicians with extensive professional experience. Our facilities feature stop motion studios, 3D printing, puppet and model making, and a brand-new 80-workstation digital media workshop.
- Career-ready outcomes - Graduates go on to work at some of the top animation studios in the UK and abroad including Aardman Animations, Netflix, Blink Ink, Lupus Films, Tiger Aspect Productions, Blue Zoo, Passion Pictures, Spa Studios and IOD Productions.
- Connections with industry partners - You will learn from award-winning animation directors who work closely with industry partners to share their knowledge and facilitate specialist workshops and lectures. We'll help keep you ahead of the latest technological innovations and trends with regular workshops with guest speakers, such as award-winning directors Joanna Quinn, Kitty Taylor and Merlin Crossingham and prolific voice actor David Holt.
- Opportunities for further study - We have an excellent record of placing our students on Master’s programmes such as the Royal College of Art and the National Film & Television School, and some go on to undertake practice-based PhDs.
3 great reasons to pick this course
Part-time study
Study at your own pace alongside work and other commitments and get the skills and knowledge you need to progress in your career.
When choosing a part-time course, you will study the same modules as the full-time course but over a longer period.
Find out more about the many benefits of studying part-time at Middlesex University.
About your course
We aim to build you up over the course of three years, from learning the basic fundamentals of the art form, all the way up to producing fully formed, professional-quality films and portfolios. Throughout this course, you will study a broad range of animation practices and industry-standard tools including: Traditional 2D: Drawing, painting, mixed media; Digital 2D: Adobe Animate, After Effects, ToonBoom Harmony and Storyboard Pro, TV Paint and Adobe Photoshop; Stop Motion: Dragonframe, puppet, claymation, cut out sand and paint on glass and pixilation; 3D Computer Animation: 3D scanning and printing and Cinema 4D.
We begin in the first year with simple but engaging exercises designed to teach the core principles of drawing movement, and introducing students to the industry-standard software they’ll use to bring those drawings to life. You will develop a personal approach to animation and learn to apply an understanding of film language, narrative and the technical processes of animation to the creation of your own animation sequences. You will learn about changing practices in the history of animation and explore and experiment with different forms of graphic media.
This module supports your creative development by introducing you to the principles and processes involved in your artistic discipline. You will learn practical information about the production cycle, as well as industry-standard techniques and software which form the basis of your creative practice. Along with this technical focus, you will be asked to consider the unique aesthetic properties of each technique by responding to creative briefs. You will also begin to develop your drawing skills, learning the basics of anatomy, perspective and gesture which will go on to inform your productions.
This module develops your creative capabilities and instincts. You will be introduced to the foundational principles of visual communication, storytelling and image making; as well as the historical and theoretical context of animation and 3D graphics. You will also be taught the core tenets of cinematic language, and taught how to use them to convey emotion, tone and narrative. The overall goal is to hone your communication and critical thinking skills in ways which build towards the development of a completed artistic project.
Building on Techniques and Practices 1, this module continues to develop your skills with a wider array of tools involved in the composition and production of creative images. We will enhance your visual vocabulary and encourage experimentation in ways which can inform your practice. There is a focus on generating, compositing, and manipulating images, and you will continue to develop your observational skills and use of real-world reference through ongoing life drawing workshops.
In this module you will use your understanding of visual communication and the fundamental creative skills of the discipline to produce a short animation.
You will consider both the principles of movement in animation and broader aesthetic properties to create an animation which conveys character and meaning.
Throughout the module, you will gain knowledge and understanding of issues of representation in animation. At the end of the module, you will be able to apply the critical toolkit necessary to understand and articulate how your animated creations can function as representations of a diverse range of human characters, and the social responsibility that this entails.
The second-year focusses on taking these principles even further to create compelling characters, performances, and narratives. We also begin to introduce students to the realities of studio practice, preparing them for work in the animation industry with an emphasis on collaborative projects and more challenging creative briefs.
Storytelling and character performance are crucial skills for any animator interested in engaging an audience and tapping into their emotions. This module develops these abilities through a series of exercises and short productions which ask you to develop new and unique characters, before animating them in unusual and exciting situations. Continuous life drawing classes will focus on enhancing your understanding of anatomy and gesture, feeding directly into their character work.
You will have learnt the fundamentals of animation in your first year and this module focusses on expanding your creative horizons and artistic capabilities. The core principles of movement are emphasized through a series of animation skills workshops which develop students’ technical ability through a range of advanced exercises. You will also be exposed to a wider array of genres and forms of animation, studying films from the history of stop motion, animated documentary, video games and experimental film.
Commercial animation is one of the most collaborative artforms in the world. You will learn how to work as a team, assuming each of the core roles involved in the production of an animated films, including director, producer, storyboard artist, concept artist, and key animator. You will also be able to collaborate with musicians and performers in order to produce fully-fledged, high-quality animated films to a set brief.
This module will familiarise you with the realities of life in the animation industry, encouraging you to consider your future career path by introducing you to the roles, processes and hierarchies of a typical animation studio. By studying films and filmmakers from countries like the UK, Japan, the Czech Republic and Kenya, you will also learn about the ways in which historical and cultural contexts can impact the development of an animation industry and the art which it produces.
The third year allows students the freedom to develop their own major projects, which will serve as dynamic showcases of their skills. Students can choose to direct a complete film or specialize in a particular aspect of animation production. You will consolidate your skills to a professional standard and fully prepare for a career in the animation industry, identifying potential career paths and preparing a graduation show reel, portfolio and promotional material. You will research and write a contextual dissertation that connects to your practical areas of interest.
You will develop your animation practice in contexts which closely mirror real-world professional workflows. You will develop pre-production material for a major animation project using industry-standard processes and techniques, including independently producing pitches, storyboards, concepts and animatics to a strict timeline. You will also complete a ‘live project’, working to a brief set by an external, real-world client with whom you must engage throughout the process.
You will undertake a research project in which you conduct a thorough investigation into a subject of your choosing. You can focus on anything from the world of animation, film or art, while demonstrating your ability to work independently to a set schedule and brief. The goal is to develop a sophisticated understanding of the ways in which art can create meaning, and to build up an invaluable bank of knowledge that will directly enhance their animation practice.
You will bring together everything you’ve learned on the course in a major artistic project. This will serve as a showpiece to demonstrate your skills and abilities. For many students, this will be a substantial animated film of their own design and direction, allowing them to partake in all aspects of animation production. Other students may choose to specialise in a particular skill which matches their chosen career path, including storyboarding, character animation, concept art and model-making.
We want to make sure that you leave Middlesex with everything you need to succeed in the competitive animation industry. This module guides you through the process of compiling professional-quality portfolios, show reels, websites, and other promotional tools through which you can pitch yourself to potential employers.
For more details on this course, please download the BA Animation Programme Specification.
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Teaching
Our teaching style is thoroughly interactive, combining demonstrations of important animation techniques with engaging intellectual discussions, one-to-one tutorials, and supervised studio-based practice. We aim to provide you with a boutique learning experience, tailored to your own creative interests and career ambitions. Our academic team includes multi-BAFTA winning directors, leading animation researchers, dedicated technicians, and skilled working animators with credits at Warner Bros, Nickelodeon, Channel 4 and the BBC
You will be studying mainly in our Grove building, a vibrant hub which houses all our arts, design and film courses. The Grove is equipped with specialist animation studios fitted with state-of-the-art facilities for analogue and digital production.
Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.
We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.
Teaching group sizes will vary to suit the needs of the individual project. Core sessions will be delivered to classes of around 25 students, along with technical workshops aimed at smaller groups. Our excellent staff-student ratio means that our lecturers also have plenty of time to spend working with each individual in one-to-one tutorials.
Students will typically receive around 13 contact hours each week, spread evenly across three days.
Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through self-study which will involve working on your animation projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments. The focus on independent learning will increase as the course progresses, with the final year emphasizing the students’ use of initiative and their ability to apply the skills which they’ve developed.
Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop your skills from research and practical skills to critical thinking. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus.
This course’s assessments are 100% coursework based – that means there are no sit-down exams.
The majority of your assessments will consist of practical projects, in which you will be asked to produce either a finished film or a portfolio of short pieces of animation. You will also be assessed on other examples of your artistic practice, including life drawing, concept art, and storyboards. These projects will be assigned both individually and in groups, and their structure is designed to authentically mimic the process of animated filmmaking in a real-life studio environment.
In order to demonstrate your commitment to research and your understanding of the animation medium, you will also be asked to write short essays. This will culminate in a longer written dissertation in your final year, for which you will research a subject of your choice.
Feedback will be given in written form upon the completion of each assessment, as well as in one-to-one tutorials and group critiques throughout the duration of the project.
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North London campus
Our north London campus is just 20 minutes from central London, giving you easy access to everything this vibrant city has to offer. Make the most of incredible professional opportunities, cultural experiences, and more affordable living, all within a supportive and close-knit campus community.
Learn moreFacilities and support
Our specialist facilities are recognised as among the best in the country. You can also hire specialised equipment for your assignments. There is a wealth of specialist technical help with professionals dedicated to helping you achieve excellence.
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Our specialist facilities are recognised as among the best in the country and include:
- Industry standard applications including Cinema 4D, Adobe Creative Suite, TV Paint, Cel Action, Pro Tools and Dragonframe
- State-of-the-art sound recording studios for voice-overs and sound effects
- 12 individual Stop Motion studios with a range of industry-standard cameras, lenses and lights
- State-of-the-art digital print out facilities
- Large numbers of studio and lab computers
- A brand new 80-workstation digital media workshop
- Traditional darkrooms
- The Sheppard Library with over 75,000 books
- Media and Visual FX studio
- Digital Media Workshops.
Our recording studio houses industry-standard equipment, with a dedicated technician on hand to train and provide support. You can also hire specialised equipment for your assignments. There is a wealth of specialist technical help with professionals dedicated to helping you achieve excellence in our workshop areas.
Student support
We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.
Additional needs
We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.
Wellness
Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.
Work while you study
Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.
Financial support
You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.
Careers
How can the BA Animation support your career?
With our focus on teaching industry-standard software and mimicking studio workflows, our graduates have gone on to hold roles such as animation director, producer, key animator, storyboard artist, art director, model makers, layout artist, background artists, character designers, and motion graphic designer.
In addition, our students have found great success as independent filmmakers, accruing numerous BAFTA nominations and appearances at major international film festivals.
Our course has very strong links with the UK animation industry, including studios like Aardman, Tiger Aspect, Lupus Films, Fonic Post Production, The Brewery VFX, Passion Pictures and Blue Zoo. The course has developed a reputation for the high calibre of its graduates: London-based studios like Lupus Film are making Middlesex their first port of call when seeking young animators, with our graduates making up a substantial portion of the crew on some of their most acclaimed recent films.
Middlesex has strong links with art and design employers. Our industry partners sponsor final-year students and give visiting lectures. Hundreds of art and design agencies, organisations and other employers attend our final-year degree show each year. Animation at Middlesex will prepare you for a career in many areas of the animation industry, with roles including:
Graduate job roles and employers
Our students have gone on to work in roles where animation skills are highly valued, for example, creating visuals for live music tours, concerts, events, theatre productions and operas. The BA Animation also enables entrepreneurial students to set up their own business. To name a few of our alumni and their work:
- Fatma Rikabi Sukuri (2022) - Production assistant at Scanline VFX
- Camrhon Mitchell (2021) - Stop motion animator on Aardman Animation’s feature film ‘Chicken Run 2’
- Sofia Negri (2020) - Animator for Pearly Oyster Productions and Walt Disney Company
- Luke Ramsey (2020) - Animator for The Brewery VFX
- Gemma Schnable (2020) - Animated film ‘Dysmorphia’ won the animation category for the #poweryourbreakthrough competition.
- Lydia Byron (2019) - Motion designer at Procreate
- Ryan Fairbanks (2018) - Colourist on ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’, Lupus Films, assistant animator at Studio AKA.
- Rhiannon Loki Fellows (2018)- Motion graphic designer at Mindful Education
- Rizwan Rafiq (2018) animator at Tiger Aspect, Hoopla Studio, Blinkink
- Gabija Zygaite (2018) - Designer at Eikon Group Limited
- Erica Hodne (2017) - Animator on ‘Mr Bean’, Tiger Aspect Productions
- Anna Pereira-Finn (2017) - Colourist on ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’, Lupus Films
- Giulia Riva (2017) - Clean up artist on ‘Klaus’, The Spa Studios, currently background artist at Gigglebug Entertainment
- Sofja Umarik (2017) – Owner of Elklore Animation. Directed ‘The quiet power of introverts’ | BBC Ideas, ‘The Quiet Power of Leadership’ in collaboration between BBC Ideas and Open University.
- Adara Todd (2016) - Production assistant on children's television at Tiger Aspect
- Eleonora Quario (2015) - Assistant animator on many productions such as 'Ethel & Earnest' (BBC) and Wes Anderson’s film 'Isle of Dogs'
- Rute Simōes (2022) - Assistant animator at Lupus Films
Most recently, 2021 BA Animation graduate Kate Mercer’s animated film ‘Walden’ won the Exceptional Merit award at the Nature Without Borders International Film Festival, and two of 2023 graduate Anna Maria Leventi's films have been selected for the London International Animation Festival
MDXworks
Our employability service, MDXworks will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.
Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has put us in the top 10 UK universities for students who want to be CEOs and entrepreneurs (Hitachi, 2021).
Global network
You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.
Work placements
Placements and internships greatly improve graduate employment prospects, and those who take part achieve excellent academic results through applying their learning in a professional setting.
We encourage all our students to undertake work experience during their studies whether through part-time work, volunteering or other means. The Animation department also organises live projects with industry practitioners so you can experience working on professional creative briefs.
Our specialist employability service and London location ensure that every year our students and graduates gain prestigious placement opportunities.
Entry requirements
At Middlesex, we're proud of how we recognise the potential of future students like you. We make fair and aspirational offers because we want you to aim high, and we’ll support you all the way.
Qualifications
- UCAS points
- 112-128 UCAS points
- A-Level
- BBB-BBC
- BTEC
- DDM-DMM
- Access requirements
- Overall pass: must include 45 credits at level 3, of which all 45 must be at Merit or higher
- Combinations
- A combination of A-Level, BTEC and other accepted qualifications that total 112 - 128 UCAS Tariff points
We'll accept T Levels for entry onto this course (and our extended courses with a foundation year) with GCSEs in line with UCAS tariff calculation.
We'll always be as flexible as possible and take into consideration any barriers you may have faced in your learning. And, if you don't quite get the grades you hoped for, we'll also look at more than your qualifications. Things like your work experience, other achievements and your personal statement.
If you have relevant qualifications or work experience, we may be able to count this towards your entry requirements.
Our entry requirements page outlines how we make offers.
Portfolio
Entry onto this course requires a portfolio review, please see more information in the Portfolio tab.
Transfer courses?
If you have a qualification such as a foundation degree or HND or have gained credit at another university, you may be able to join us in year two or three. Find out how you can transfer courses.
Mature students (over 21)
We welcome applications from mature candidates, including those without formal qualifications, provided you can demonstrate relevant experience and ability.
Foundation year
If you don't meet the entry requirements, why not consider our Foundation Year in Visual Arts course to help you prepare for the full degree?
We welcome students from the UK and all over the world. Join students from over 122 countries and discover why so many international students call our campus home:
- Quality teaching with top facilities plus flexible online learning
- Welcoming north London campus that's only 30 minutes from central London
- Work placements and networking with top London employers
- Award-winning career support to get you where you want to go after university.
Qualifications
We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the accepted qualifications on your country's support page. If you are unsure of the suitability of your qualifications or would like help with your application, please contact your nearest international office.
English language
You will need to meet our English language requirements. And, don’t worry If you don't meet our minimum English language requirements, as we offer a Pre-sessional English course.
Visas
To study with us in the UK, you might need a Student visa. Please check to see if this applies to you.
You will be asked to provide a portfolio of your work including evidence of any life drawing, character and background design, storyboarding and animation experience you have. We've put together a quick video to help you. View our portfolio video (YouTube).
After you have applied, we will send you a link for you to submit your portfolio online via the applicant portal.
You can apply now via UCAS using the code W615.
Need help with your application? Check out our undergraduate application page.
Personal Statement
Find out how to make a an effective personal statement.
Interviews
You won't be required to interview for this course.
Fees and funding
The fees below are for the 2025/26 academic year:
UK students1
Full-time: £9,535*
Part-time: £79 per taught credit
*Depending on the duration of your study, your tuition fees for subsequent academic years may be subject to further inflationary increases (most recently, the UK government has suggested that increases may be linked to the All-Items Retail Prices Index – RPIX) in line with any additional rise in the tuition fee cap set by the UK government.
As a part of our commitment to an excellent student offer at Middlesex University, we pledge to invest the additional money from tuition fee increases into the student experience, and we are consulting at present on what these improvements will be and will follow up with further details.
International students2
Full-time students: £16,600
Part-time students: £138 per taught credit
Additional costs
The following course-related costs are included in the fees:
- Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course
- Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
- Free printing for academic paperwork
- Free online training with LinkedIn Learning
- Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders.
Scholarships and bursaries
To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:
- MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
- Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
- Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.
Fees disclaimers
1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Based on the current fee, for a typical three-year degree, the total costs for your studies will be £28,605.
2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
Chat with our students about life at Middlesex
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Unistats information
Discover Uni provides applicants with Unistats statistics about undergraduate life at Middlesex.
Please select 'see course data' on the following course option to view the full Unistats data for Animation.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.