Overview
Taking this course will help you improve your core animation skills and unleash your creativity. Our animation course fosters individuality and professionalism in animation practice, ensuring you stand out in the competitive field.
You'll learn to create captivating animated stories. You'll design characters and environments, and choose the best animation methods for your work. Throughout the course, you will also gain valuable knowledge about the industry.
- Our animation course fosters individuality and professionalism in animation practice.
- Exposure to traditional and digital media improves your knowledge of animation techniques.
- Visit studios, work with others, and complete at least three short films to showcase on your professional website, making you ready for an exciting career in animation.
This course is being updated for September 2026. The refreshed curriculum is shaped by student feedback and informed by collaboration with industry partners. Course and module information may change while revalidation is completed.
If you would like an informal conversation about this course, including how it can support your educational goals and future career plans, please get in touch with the course team.
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Course modules
In your animation foundation year, you develop essential skills for creative practice, including critical thinking, research, and communication. The curriculum also includes Art & Design Contextual Studies, which helps you understand the historical and theoretical context of the field, preparing you for advanced study and professional work.
In year 1 of your animation degree at UEL, you'll develop your skills, starting with core animation techniques and building into your unique way of working. You will learn how to tell your own stories through animation. You'll design characters and environments, structure, and produce animated stories that will captivate, inspire, educate and entertain.
The second year of this animation course will help you develop an individual creative approach which is embedded in professional practice. We introduce you to a broad range of hand-crafted, traditional, and digital media that will help you make an informed decision on the animation techniques and methods you choose for your work.
You will gain a thorough understanding of the social, cultural, and professional contexts of the field of animation in the final year of the BA (Hons) Animation. This will happen through practical work, studio visits and talks by industry professionals. You'll learn to put these skills together in an original way that will make you a unique voice in your chosen field.
NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.
Download course specification
Entry requirements
Degree:
96 UCAS pointsThis is the standard advertised entry requirement for most students applying to this course.
Degree with contextual offer:
64 UCAS pointsYou may be eligible for a reduced offer based on your personal, educational or socioeconomic background.
Degree with foundation year:
48 UCAS pointsIf you do not meet the standard entry requirements, you can apply for a foundation year. This additional year prepares you with the academic skills needed to progress to the full undergraduate degree.
Pre-entry programmes
If you lack formal or current qualifications, there are routes available to help you achieve your goal.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
Your previous qualifications, uncompleted study or industry experience may mean you can start your studies at a later point in the course and influence your eligibility for entry
What makes this course different

Specialist practitioners
Our expert staff, all seasoned industry professionals, provide one-to-one guidance and feedback to help you confidently choose the professional path that’s right for you.

Visits to animation studios
Animation production in the classroom studio reflects industry standards. Students visit animation studios annually, meet professionals, and gain insights into how their skills transition to careers.

Industry visitors
The course invites renowned directors, animators, and producers for talks and lectures. The team collaborates with leading animation studios to align the curriculum with industry standards and practices.

Ranked 2nd nationally
Our media courses rank 2nd nationally for media and film studies in the Guardian University Guide 2025.
Guardian University Guide 2025BA Animation Showreel 2024
Take a peek at some of the incredible work produced by our BA Animation students in 2024.
Your future career
The animation industry is an exciting one, and there are several career pathways that you can choose from once you graduate. Careers in animation are diverse, ranging from film and television to video games and advertising. Industry and practical experience give you a good understanding while allowing you to develop your unique voice in the field. Gain a wide range of experience and be equipped to enter the animation (or related) industries as a confident, skilled professional.
Industry links
We have an extensive network within the animation industry. Strong industry links are crucial for animation students looking to break into the field. Guest speakers include Aardman Animation, Animation UK, Lupus Films and Blink Ink. Every year, students visit a range of studios such as Passion Pictures, Nexus, Lupus Films, Studio AKA and Karrot Animation. We stay in touch with animation studios to make sure that the course is always in line with industry trends.
Graduate employers
We prepare our graduates to enter the 2D animation industry as technically competent, professional animators. Our animation graduates have gone on to work in various large animation studios, including Blink Ink and Passion Pictures, as well as smaller studios. Some of our graduates have set up their own studios and collectives.
Job roles
Typical roles which our animation graduates have gone on to include: 2D animators, animation directors, storyboard artists, concept artists, editors, character designers, set designers, illustrators, asset designers and scriptwriters.
Further study
You could go on to further study and do an MA in Filmmaking, or Creative Enterprise, which will help you learn how to work as a freelancer or entrepreneur. Advanced degrees can help you open even more doors in the industry, providing specialised skills and knowledge.
How you'll learn
Each animation module is designed with practical components and a reflective component, with the intention that you'll develop an ability to reflect on the processes that you have followed in the development of your work. This approach ensures you master both the creative and technical aspects of animation.
You will be taught by staff who are practitioners in the area they teach. Our faculty members bring real-world animation experience into the classroom, enhancing your learning. Our staff are also well placed to take advantage of a range of professional networks and industry contacts. This ensures that practice-led teaching is relevant to industry and practice.
Guided independent study
When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve skills development through online study, working on individual and group projects and preparing coursework assignments and presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities, including online resources, and access to software, specialist animation facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, including MS Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.
Academic support
Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas – including learning and disability support.
Dedicated personal tutor
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.
Workload
Each year you will spend around 280 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
The approximate workload hours for this course per year are:
- Scheduled teaching - 284 hours
- Guided independent study - 916 hours
Your timetable
Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, usually 11-1.30pm or 2-4.30pm for three days a week, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm.
For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
Class sizes
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 10–30 students a year. We have workstations for each student in a class, so you can always be learning 'hands-on'.
In the classroom, you will be taught in groups of 10-20 students. However, this can vary by academic year. Smaller class sizes allow for personalised attention, enhancing your learning experience in animation.
How you'll be assessed
Coursework will focus on practical outcomes from projects and exercises, e.g. films, clips, pre-production artefacts, occasional individual or group-based presentations and research-based assignments. We do not have timed practicals or exams.
The approximate percentages for this course are 100 per cent course work.
Coursework will focus on practical outcomes from projects and exercises, e.g. films, clips, pre-production artefacts, occasional individual or group-based presentations and research-based assignments.
Campus and facilities
Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD
Our waterfront campus in the historic Royal Docks provides a modern, well-equipped learning environment.
Join us and you'll be able to make the most of our facilities including contemporary lecture theatres and seminar rooms, art studios and exhibition spaces, audio and visual labs and a multimedia production centre.
Features include our 24/7 Docklands library, our £21m SportsDock centre, a campus shop and bookstore, the Children's Garden Nursery, cafés, eateries, a late bar, plus Student Union facilities, including a student lounge.
The University of East London is one of the few London universities to provide on-campus accommodation. Our Docklands Campus Student Village houses close to 1,200 students from around the world. We are well connected to central London and Canary Wharf, with London City Airport just across the water. We also run a free bus service that connects Docklands with Stratford campuses.
Who teaches this course
This course is delivered by School of Arts and Creative Industries
The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.
What our students and staff say

As staff, we make sure that we maintain an animation practice. The animation course is really a community of animators that has grown over the last six years. We welcome young animators and help them become part of a larger network of professionals."
Pooja Pottenkulam
BA (Hons) Animation Course Leader

I came to UEL wanting the animation focus, and the course has absolutely delivered. I’m gaining essential skills like storytelling, editing, and using Premiere Pro, which are crucial for my goal of becoming a freelancer."
Emanuel Gjelaj
BA (Hons) Animation














