Are you interested in exploring animation and illustration for the creative industries? Our dynamic degree involves a range of challenging practical assignments, supporting you to develop the wide range of skills and knowledge you'll need for your chosen career in television and film, the web, publishing and advertising, video games or animated special effects.

Key information

Award:

BA (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

4.5 years

Location:

University of Bolton

UCAS points:

UCAS code:

WW26

Start date:

23/09/2024

Course Details

At our School of the Arts, we offer creative, student-focused courses that employers value, underpinned by the knowledge and industry experience of our high-quality staff. We update our programmes frequently to ensure they keep up with new and emerging trends and provide the tools and techniques you'll need to progress into your chosen area of employment.

The University of Bolton's BA (Hons) Animation and Illustration degree offers commercial understanding and supports you in developing high-level technical skills and knowledge. Our expert team will guide and encourage you to work to professional standards in the creative use of a wide range of illustration, animation, and digital software programmes.

Building on an introduction to the basics of animation and illustration, the second half of the course offers you increasing levels of choice to specialise in either area, exploring digital and experimental means of image making. We'll also support you in gaining lifelong learning skills, which will help you take ownership of your professional development for the future, maximising your potential for success.

Our diverse team are highly experienced, with both professional and academic qualifications. They have extensive experience in the animation and illustration industry and have worked for several broadcasting companies, including the BBC and Granada Television.

Highlights

By studying for your honours degree with us, you can develop your understanding and skills in animation and illustration while experiencing life at our supportive, student-focused, multicultural campus in the heart of the North West of England.
We'll support you to specialise in pursuit of a specific career destination, such as digital animation or children's book illustration if you wish.
We'll encourage you to enter national and international competitions, such as the Penguin Cover Design Award and The Macmillan Prize for Illustration.
We'll invite you to participate in study visits to animation festivals, galleries, museums, exhibitions and conferences. In the past, these have included The Bradford Animation Festival, Thought Bubble, Alice in Wonderland at the Portico Library, Manchester Art Gallery and Tate Liverpool, and the Manchester Animation Festival.
Students have also benefited from trips abroad and have visited, in previous years, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, Paris and Tokyo. There is also an opportunity for a limited number of exceptional graduates to exhibit at Design and Art Direction in London.

Key Features

You'll have access to industry-standard equipment in our five dedicated studio spaces equipped with Apple Mac computers and scanners. Much of the coursework involves the creative use of animation, illustration and graphics software.
The course covers a broad base. You'll explore character design, storyboarding and narrative techniques with traditional and digital animation and illustration for screen and print.
Our visiting speaker programme allows you to benefit from discussions with industry professionals in the sector.
We'll also support you in developing transferrable skills for the workplace, such as problem-solving, teamwork and interpersonal skills.
We'll guide and encourage you to create a portfolio of work and offer you the opportunity to present your work to the public as part of the Bolton School of the Arts final-year Creative Show.
In addition to the taught modules, which are mostly simulated live briefs, we offer you opportunities to work on live projects for clients from inside and outside the University.

96 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. Relevant creative and art and design-related subjects are preferred.
You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
You'll be required to attend an interview and provide a portfolio of appropriate work.
The quality of the portfolio/interview is the primary basis on which applicants are selected; therefore special consideration will be given to applicants without the above qualifications who have a strong portfolio.
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The University of Bolton's BA (Hons) in Animation and Illustration offers a practical and critical exploration of these interrelated, dynamic and exciting disciplines. Our animation modules aim to develop your visual voice and technical knowledge, communication and storytelling skills, and ability to work with others and take instruction. In addition, you can increase your networking skills and flexibility by working on several projects simultaneously.

Our illustration modules aim to make the most of your imagination and enable you to develop your knowledge of computer-aided design techniques and printing processes, including computer graphics and screen printing. You'll also have opportunities to increase your research skills and develop the ability to market your skills to potential employers.

What can I do with this qualification?

Professional careers in animation and illustration include such roles as storyboard, layout and concept artists, character animators and technical directors. After graduation, you might also seek work as a visual development artist in character or environment design for animated films, shorts and special projects or consider careers in publishing, book illustration, editorial or advertising.

Some other common career paths include graphic design, video editing and web design. As a graduate, you can work freelance for magazines, newspapers, publishers and TV production companies or seek employment in games, multimedia, special effects or design.

Postgraduate opportunities are available in areas such as illustration, advertising, fine art, furniture design and museum studies. Alternatively, you might pursue a teaching qualification.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping stone into a range of other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Possible fields include:

Exhibition design
Produce design
Animated commercials
Poster production
Greeting card design
Music promotion
Advertising and marketing
Studio management
Arts administration
Fashion design
Education and teaching

Course fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2023/24.

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2024/25.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2023-2024 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2023-2024 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: University of Bolton BA(Hons) Animation & Illustration - 23 September 2024

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

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For valued members of the University of Bolton Group and progressing students, we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible.

By selecting the link for your chosen course from the list shown below, you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this, and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

When you are asked to add a contact email address, please ensure you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address, we will be unable to identify you as a partner and offer you the benefits of being part of our group.

If you are ready to apply directly, please select your chosen start date from the list below.

Before applying, please read the entry requirements section of this page.

If your course runs at multiple locations or has various start dates, please be sure to select the correct application link from the list below.

Before beginning your application, you should have the following information to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history, including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including email addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Undergraduate Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or UGadmissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: University of Bolton BA(Hons) Animation & Illustration - 23 September 2024

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

We use a blended style of learning and teaching, so you'll have face-to-face sessions as well as take part in online learning. We promote active learning through seminars, lectures and tutorials, practical workshop demonstrations, our visiting speaker programme, critiques, study visits, self-directed study, IT sessions, library and guided study, and online learning.

Online learning is supported by the University's virtual learning environment, Moodle. Moodle allows you to access learning materials and study aids on and off campus, so you can undertake your self-directed study at a time and place convenient to you.

Module-based design briefs offer you an insight into the professional environment; this is achieved by using simulated design briefs, client-led live briefs, and competition briefs. Group tutorials and critiques, one-to-one tutor feedback, and regular feedback from clients and collaborators will support your learning throughout the course.

Our aim is to fully engage you in the teaching and learning process. Our methods are designed to help you gain maximum benefit from your studies and fully achieve your goals.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Methods of Realisation
Critical, Cultural and Contextual Studies
Experiments in Animation
Experiments in Illustration
Character and World Creation
Illustration Style and Substance
Animation Production
Theory into Practice
Comics and Sequential Art
Advanced Studio Practice in Animation and Illustration
Research into Practice
Animation and Illustration: Business and Brand
Major Project

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 100%
Level two	Coursework 93%, Practical exams 7%
Level three	Coursework 83%, Practical exams 17%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 66%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34%
Level two	Guided independent study 66%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34%
Level three	Guided independent study 66%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.