BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects

Home / Study at NUA / Courses / BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects

BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects

Develop the creative and technical skills behind the latest Hollywood blockbusters and learn from award-winning studio professionals on our BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects degree course.

Our Animation and Visual Effects degree reflects Norwich University of the Arts’ success in both disciplines. Our approach to teaching visual effects evolved from advice from professional bodies like ScreenSkills and UK Screen Alliance and the majority of the UK’s VFX industry, including:

We are part of Access:VFX – the industry’s initiative to create the widest possible pool of future talent — and host a number of workshops and events with invited industry guests.

Preparing for Animation and Visual Effects careers

On this future-looking course, you will develop skills that prepare you for the increasing demand for animation and visual effects expertise: from film and TV to architecture and urban design; scientific visualisation to creative design and virtual reality.

Working side-by-side with BA (Hons) Animation students in your first year, you will acquire skills across the range of animation and visual effects expertise.

In recent years we have hosted a masterclass led by the VFX Supervisor of Avengers: Infinity War. We have heard from guest speakers from the studios behind:

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Jurassic World: Dominion
The Jungle Book
The Lion King
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Blade Runner 2049.

Underlining the strength of our industry connections, double Oscar-winner Paul Franklin (Interstellar, Inception) became an Honorary Fellow at Norwich University of the Arts in 2018.

Major studio software

You’ll also have access to the education version of Nuke, the industry standard software used in major studios, with a licence that even extends to a subsidised commercial version for one year after graduation.

Believable worlds

As you become an expert ‘world builder’, you’ll use visual effects to create character designs, enhance stories, work with directors or film your own shots, helping to develop a portfolio that could fast-track you into the animation or visual effects industries.

Typical career paths include:

Animator
Roto Artist
Texture Artist
3D Generalist
3D Environment Artist
Match Move Artist
Character Designer
Producer

Lighting Supervisor
Colour co-ordinator
Compositor
Art Director
Matte Painter/Artist
Modeller
Architectural Visualiser
Experiential Designer

By the end of your degree, you will have developed a professional portfolio of work and a plan to market to promote yourself and show your ‘creative edge’ to your employers.

BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects prepares you to join Norwich graduates who have already gone on to work at ILM, DNeg, Framestore, The Mill, Epic Games, and more.

You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our team in the Ideas Factory to help support you as you plan your career.

Visiting industry lecturers

Visiting lecturers have included: Patrick Lin, Director of Photography at Pixar Animation Studios, Ben Lambert, Digital Model Shop Supervisor at ILM, Ed Hooks, author of ‘Acting for Animators’, Josh Parks, Compositor at MPC, Jonathan Jones, Ember Films, visual effects and games creative Hugo Guerra and Jahirul Amin, co-founder of Cave Academy.

Course information

Institution code: N39
Course 3 Year UCAS code: W618
Course 4 Year UCAS code: W617
Course length: 3 or 4 year options
Sandwich courses: Creative Professional Development (1 year, Level 5 diploma), or Creative Computing (1 year, Level 5 diploma), available between years 2 & 3

All courses run as a blend of on-campus and digital teaching and learning, and follow current UK government safety advice. Applicants and students will be notified directly if any changes need to be made.

Course specifications
Three year degree
Four year degree
Course related costs

Book an open day

Order a prospectus

Ask a Student

Course content

Year 1
Learn to see: study visual effects fundamentals about lenses, pixels and light to see differently
Explore the major animation techniques including digital 2D and 3D
Gain understanding of the principles of animation and visual effects: dynamics; character design; storyboarding; production; skills of observation; editing; green screen/compositing; photorealism, perspective; theatrical stagecraft; show reel design
Progress from making two-dimensional flat imagery towards testing 3D designs
Have the opportunity to attend industry talks, presentations and discussions with key animation and visual effects companies and professionals
Develop an understanding of media roles and practices.

Year 2
Build on fundamental visual effects skills and practice animation principles with enhanced progression from 2D to 3D
Focus on production areas of your choosing and continue to explore your chosen areas of specialisation and develop your skills, with the potential to combine techniques
Learn about Look Development, lighting, texturing, rendering and all you'll need to build your environments
Develop an understanding of audience, context, film language, and the elements of compelling storytelling
Opportunities to engage with industry professionals through live briefs and conferences
Collaborate in flexible, open-ended and innovative ways to build amazing showreels
Attend industry talks, presentations and discussions with key animation and visual effects companies and professionals.

Year 3
Develop a professional portfolio of work
Gain powerful project management techniques to ensure you can lead animation and visual effects teams and increase job prospects
Research, prepare and complete a final major production, and produce a Research Report in a field related to your final production
Develop a plan to market and promote yourself, and show your 'creative edge' to sell yourself to employers
Take part in industry talks, presentations and discussions with key animation and visual effects companies and professionals.

BA VFX Student Work

Tap to expand

Nathan Reynolds - Spitfire aeroplane created by Nathan Reynolds of BA VFX at Norwich University of the Arts

BA (Hons) VFX Astro Video work by Year 1 - BA VFX Astro Video work, showing a planet by Year 1 students at Norwich University of the Arts

Amy Brooks - A steampunk hot air balloon airship

Fahim Fadzlisha - Shrine on the horizon of a mountain range

James Morrow - A big house on a dark night

Nathan Reynolds - a fortified battlement at night

Robert Keable - An animated scene of a forest

Steph Woodward - Digital scene of a derelict shopping mall

Visit the Degree Show website

Entry requirements
Portfolio guidance
Fees & funding
Level 5 Diplomas
Four year degree

Typical UK offers

A / AS Levels – GCE
GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BBB. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, NUA will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels
A T Level in any subject with overall grade Merit or above

UAL Extended Diploma
Merit

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 27 points

If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

International applications

We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.

Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).

We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.

You can email us on international@nua.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.

BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects portfolio degree guidance

We are calling the traditional portfolio a ‘development portfolio’. This is to emphasise that what we would like to see is where you are now in your creative journey. You don’t need to spend a long time making the perfect work, as we can assess your potential from your work in progress. Your development is the most important part of your learning.

Your development portfolio should show us you are passionate about animation and visual effects and that you want to learn to make seemingly realistic images that support amazing stories.

We need to see you are motivated.

Our course is guided by some of the leading animation and visual effects companies in the UK and they want people who are willing to experiment and dedicate themselves to full-time study with us.

We want to see examples of your imagination, in whatever medium and see how you manipulate images to make believable pictures.

We don’t expect you to have software expertise, or for you to have done animation or visual effects before. Our job is to take creative people and give them software expertise and practical experience. If you can show you are good at creating interesting visuals that communicate a story we want to see you!

You may wish to include some of the following:

Drawings or collages that exhibit a playful imagination and eye for composition
Use of Photoshop or other related image making/editing tools
Digital animation or motion graphics
Films you have made, edited or remixed
Film reviews documenting the use of Visual Effects
Storyboards
Photographic work – telling a story with a sequence of photos, or document an interesting place with a selection of images

Further portfolio advice and tips

Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your development portfolio in the application process.

2022/23 University fees for new entrants

NUA will assess students’ tuition fee status using the guidance provided by the UK Council for International Student Affairs

Students from the UK or Ireland and EU students with ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status will be charged ‘Home’ fees if they meet the relevant residency requirements. They will usually be eligible for a tuition fee loan from the UK government, meaning that they won’t have to pay NUA’s tuition fees up front.

Students who do not meet the necessary residency requirements will usually be charged ‘Overseas’ fees and will not be eligible for the UK government tuition fee loan. Since 2021/22, this includes new entrants from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who do not have ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status, because the UK has now formally left the EU.

Fee status	Course	Annual fee
Home	Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)	£9,250
Overseas	Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)	£17,500

In subsequent years inflation may be applied to the fees of those who started in 2022/23, at no more than the Office for Students’ recommended measure based on forecast RPI-X.

See our Fees and Funding page for further information which is also available in a downloadable format.

Financial support for UK students in 2022

Tuition fee loans and loans for living costs are usually available to UK and some EU students, as well as non-repayable NUA bursaries based on family income. Find out more about applying for funding.

All students have an opportunity to spend a year, between the second and third year of their course, enhancing their employability options through a Level 5 Diploma.

These courses are offered in Creative Professional Development; a structured programme of input sessions and work-based learning, and Creative Computing; designed to build the foundation skills in coding and software design that are in high demand in the digital and creative industries.

Four year degree – BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects

Four year degrees offer students a chance to build on their experience within their undergraduate course of choice.

Year 0 will help to build confidence and develop subject specific practical, creative and conceptual skills – making full use of University studios and workshops.

Typical UK offers and entry requirements for Year 0 entry

GCE A/AS Levels
2 A-level qualifications at grades CC or higher.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels
Pass (D or E on the core)

UAL Extended Diploma
An overall Pass

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
An overall Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 24 points

NUA welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio, responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.
If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

Find out more

Related Courses

Students

Catrin Feron

"Its so useful in understanding how to animate a gibbon for our upcoming conservation project."

BA (Hons) VFX

Pheya Tribelsky

"One of my favourite things about Norwich is how many independent small businesses there are, varying from quirky coffee shops, bars and restaurants."

BA (Hons) VFX

See Pheya's top Norwich cheap eats

Fahim Fadzlishah

"I like the idea of fooling the eye. The idea of manipulating and creating visuals on screen really drives me. It’s inspiring to project my own ideas and interpretations."

BA (Hons) VFX