Our undergraduate program provides you with numerous pathways towards a new exciting career in animation. For skills relevant for television, feature films or games this program is designed to target your area of interest and provide you with the skills necessary to reach your goals.
You will participate in various projects, working collaboratively and for a corporate client, with briefs, time-lines and a simulation of real-world animation production work-flows and environments. You will also produce a short animated film, which may be accepted into international and national film and animation festivals.
Your first year of study provides a solid foundation in classical animation, drawing techniques and hands-on exploration of many different animation formats. This includes traditional hand-drawn, computer, puppet (stop motion) and other experimental media. This foundation course allows you to decide an area of focus that will help you realise your dreams, and make it a reality. For example you may also choose to specialise in scriptwriting, 3D or 2D computer animation as a major area of study throughout the program.
Art and animation theory subjects introduce you to university-level academic research culture and methodologies. The skills and knowledge you gain will inform your animation practice, and deliver insights into a higher level of art, expression, storytelling and appreciation. This also prepares you to undertake post-graduate studies if you decide to continue your expertise and qualifications.
By going through the entire creative and production process you will learn about the marketing and distributing of short films. Your work-place is where you study and you will be enjoying comfortable, up-to-date facilities using industry-standard equipment and software.
Study pathways
Undergraduate degree programs
You will receive a thorough grounding in character animation covering animation skills, production techniques and studio hardware, enhanced by study of perspective and life drawing, scriptwriting, concept development, graphic processes, communication, editing and sound production. You will develop the skills to produce original films from script to screen including character animation (both 2D and 3D), concept development, storyboarding, editing, post production and sound recording.
You will also develop the ability to determine the most appropriate animation format for specific projects - traditional drawn animation, computer animation, 3D puppet animation or other experimental media. Your academic studies will be extended by off-campus studio courses, enabling you to gain first-hand experience.
The Bachelor of Animation with Honours is a full-time or part-time program that has been designed to enable visual arts students (who have demonstrated substantial ability at an undergraduate level) to develop their practical expertise and theoretical understanding to a more advanced level.
Postgraduate degree programs
- Graduate Certificate in Screen Production (formerly Graduate Certificate of Fine Art)
- Graduate Diploma of Screen Production (formerly Graduate Diploma of Fine Art)
- Master of Screen Production (formerly Master of Fine Art)
- Master of Screen Production with Honours (formerly Master of Fine Art with Honours)
The courses offered in the Graduate Certificate in Screen Production give students the opportunity to participate in the continuing contemporary debate about research issues within art practice and to acquire skills necessary for the production of the studio projects. The Graduate Certificate in Screen Production program is offered 1 semester full time, or 2 semesters part time on the South Bank campus.
- Graduate Certificate in Screen Production (formerly Graduate Certificate of Fine Art)
- Graduate Diploma of Screen Production (formerly Graduate Diploma of Fine Art)
The Master of Screen Production degree program is a flexible program that supports a proportion of independent project work. The program consists of coursework activities which include individually designed projects. A feature of the program is the opportunity for students to produce a body of practical work within their particular discipline and with relevance to their own interests.
The courses offered give students the opportunity to participate in the continuing contemporary debate about research issues within art practice and to acquire skills necessary for the production of the studio projects.
- Master of Screen Production (formerly Master of Fine Art)
- Master of Screen Production with Honours (formerly Master of Fine Art with Honours)
Research degree programs
The Higher Degree Research Qualifying Program provides an alternative route for entry into the Doctor of Philosophy or a Master of Philosophy program if you do not have the required qualifications for admission. The Higher Degree Research Qualifying Program is offered 2 semesters full time, 4 semesters part time.
The Master of Philosophy degree program is awarded on the basis of a thesis prepared under supervision, which presents the results of original research in a scholarly form. Demonstrating your knowledge of the research topic and the disciplines it embraces, the thesis will be judged by independent experts applying accepted contemporary international standards. The Master of Philosophy program is offered 1 year full time (maximum 2 years), 2 years part time (maximum 4 years).
The Doctor of Visual Arts professional development program is an integrated program of independent research and coursework. It is designed for graduates seeking to extend their studio research and practice, and make original conceptual advancements within their chosen discipline. You will possess the necessary expertise to provide leadership in respective fields through the quality of your professional practice, research skills and the ability to articulate a theoretical position within a visual arts discourse. The Doctor of Visual Arts program is offered 2 year full time (maximum 4 years), 2 years part time (maximum 8 years) at the South Bank campus.
The Master of Visual Arts program gives you the opportunity to extend studio expertise by identifying challenges, exploring innovative solutions and advancing your understanding of the concepts underlying your work and the context in which it is produced. Graduates demonstrate high performance levels in their studio practice, having developed a strong theoretical understanding of that practice. The Master of Visual Arts is offered 2 years full time, 4 years part time at the South Bank campus.
The Doctor of Philosophy is our premier research training degree. A PhD is awarded on the basis of a thesis prepared under supervision that makes an original, significant and extensive contribution to knowledge and understanding in the relevant field of study, as judged by independent experts applying accepted contemporary international standards. The Doctor of Philosophy program is offered full time minimum 2 years , maximum 4 years, or part time minimum 3 years, maximum 8 years. The program can be undertaken in schools and research centres.
The Doctor of Philosophy by Publication allows for formal recognition of established researchers who do not already hold a doctoral level qualification, and who have substantial international standing in their fields based on their record of academic publication. The degree will be awarded to a student who through published work has made an original scholarly contribution to knowledge and demonstrated a capacity for independent research. The Doctor of Philosophy by Publication is offered 1 year full time.