Course Overview

Our MA in Animation is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills to apply innovative and efficient production processes into your animation projects which could be 2D, 3D and Stop Motion, or hybrid of techniques. You will explore traditional production skills, but the course will encourage you to experiment with cutting edge creative industry developments and new ways of storytelling in collaboration with game and digital technologies.

The course is to help you develop contemporary storytelling and transmedia techniques within your body of work, and/or to deepen your knowledge of a specialist role with a Creative Industry (e.g. Storyboard Artist, Art Director, Character Designer).

As a future facing programme of study we will encourage you through collaboration, to explore contemporary ‘expanded cinema’ (i.e. Extended Reality (XR)  experiences, Projection Mapping, and Immersive Installation, Theme Park Rides) and offer opportunities to see the value of your transferrable and potentially entrepreneurial skills. 

Underpinning the curriculum you will be challenged to investigate and apply sustainable and ethical practices to your productions and processes and explore diversity and inclusivity in their story worlds and characters. 

The Greater Manchester region is one of the key areas of UK animation industry production, with an  ecosystem of large to small companies – from globally leading companies such as Factory and Mackinnon & Saunders, to smaller boutique studios like Kilogramme and Flipbook Studio, with our Media City campus and CBBC’s HQ being at the heart of it. The Region has excellent industry networking opportunities with Manchester Animation Festival and other regional networking groups like FilmHubNorth.

You will:

• have access to a wide range of state-of-the-art animation resources and equipment

• be part of a vibrant community of peers and tutors to help develop and explore your practice, challenging you to experiment, collaborate and embrace new technologies

• be encouraged through collaboration to produce professional executed work to take to the next stage of your career

• develop industry contacts in Greater Manchester, one of the key areas of UK animation industry production

General Eligibility

Relevant undergraduate degree, normally at 2:1 or above, and supporting portfolio and showreel of practice demonstrating strong understanding of visual, technical, and sequential skills appropriate to develop content for animation production.  

Applicants with an undergraduate degree of 2:2 will be considered where a high-quality portfolio of practice is presented.  APL of early career animation professionals will also be considered, depending on portfolio of work to date.   

Part Time Work Details

20 Hours of Work permit weekly for international students.

Language Requirement

• The IELTS score for international applicants is 6.0 (with no less than 5.5 in each component).