What are the top New York animation schools?
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | School of Visual Arts | New York |
| 2 | New York University | New York |
| 3 | Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester |
| 4 | Pratt Institute | Brooklyn |
| 5 | Syracuse University | Syracuse |
Our 2019 rankings of the top 5 animation school programs in New York. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
School of Visual Arts (SVA) was founded in 1947 as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School. The College now serves more than 4,300 students enrolled in over 30 graduate and undergraduate degree programs. Programs for aspiring animators include BFA Animation, and BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects. An MFA in Computer Arts (with concentrations in animation, motion graphics and fine art) is also available as well as a BFA Cartooning and Continuing Education (CE) animation courses.
Per the College, all animation students “learn the fundamentals of drawing, storytelling, character development, and professional animation software, as well as the history of animation, all for the purpose of bringing their creations to life.” The curriculum “covers the entire spectrum of animation professions, from traditional animation to stop-motion to digital; and access to faculty- and alumni-operated studios provides numerous opportunities for hands-on learning, internships and employment.”
Students have learned and worked at companies around New York including Titmouse, Framestore, MPC, The Mill, Method, Molecule, and Plymptoons Studio. SVA graduates have also gone on to work at Blue Sky Studios, Disney Feature Animation, Pixar, ILM, DreamWorks Animation, Lucasfilm, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Sony Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Animation, and independent animation studios across the globe.
Founded in 1965, Tisch School of the Arts is part of New York University (NYU). Founded in 1831 and serving more than 60,500 students, NYU is the largest private university in the U.S. The school has degree-granting campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai and operates 11 global academic centers and research programs in more than 25 countries. With more than 19,000 employees, NYU is also one of the largest employer’s in New York.
Tisch School of the Arts houses the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television. The Institute’s Department of Animation and Digital Arts offers a BFA in Film and Television with an Animation Core in Production and an MFA in Animation and New Media. The two-year MFA program is also offered at Tisch Asia.
The Animation Area of the Kanbar Institute of Undergraduate Film & Television at NYU Tisch School of the Arts began in 1979. The program had just three classes: Art & Design, Animation I, and Animation II. For the 1980-1981 academic year, the program was home to 80 students enrolled in five classes. In 2013, the program enrolled 461 students. Today, the program serves hundreds of students from 48 states and 39 countries.
Per the school, the Animation Area at NYU Tisch “serves the needs of all Film and TV students for both animation and live-action projects.” The current curriculum “is varied and integrated with both traditional animation and 2D and 3D animation courses at fundamentals, intermediate and advanced levels, as well as storyboarding, titles, optical and digital effects, life drawing and history and criticism classes.” Nearly 20 courses are offered as part of the program. Highlights include Action Analysis, Animation: From Pitching to Pipeline to Production, Drawing and Design for Animation, Experimental Animation, Life Drawing: Anatomy, Motion Design & Titles, Special Topics in 3D Computer Animation, Stop Motion Animation, Storyboarding, Visual Effects and Compositing, and Writing for Animation.
Other program highlights include internship opportunities, study abroad experiences, and guest speakers. Past guests have included Frank Thomas, Chuck Jones, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, George Griffin, David Polonski, Ed Catmull, Amid Amidi, and Willis Pyle, among others.
Graduates of the Animation program at Tisch have landed jobs at Pixar, DreamWorks, Walt Disney Animation Studios and many others.
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was founded in 1885 as Mechanics Institute. When it opened, the school offered mechanical drawing, which eventually attracted more than 400 students. Today, RIT is home to nearly 19,000 students majoring in everything from Art and Design to Urban Community Studies. RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences (CIAS) is home to the nation’s first PhD in Imaging Science and the School of Film and Animation (SOFA). SOFA offers BFA and MFA degrees in Film and Animation.
The BFA in Film and Animation is one of the most selective majors at RIT. Per the school, “all undergraduates share the same first semester, where they immediately begin production in both film and animation, ensuring each student is exposed to each form. “This also gives BFA students time to explore before deciding which to pursue.” Three options are available: 2D Animation, 3D Animation, and Stop-Motion.
The 2D Animation Option “begins with character design and progresses through dynamics and sequences. Hand drawing on paper or acetate, using a traditional layering technique, or creating elements originally in 2D software applications are the common options. Then shooting on a crane, bulk scanning the drawings into a computer or animating directly in a software application are the usual production techniques.”
The 3D Animation Option covers all aspects of computer animation. “Modeling in Polygons, NURBs and Subdivision surfaces is taught with an emphasis placed on the need to strike a balance between heavy detail and economy of animation. Other areas covered include, character rigging, set construction, dynamics, character animation, particles, and compositing.
Stop Motion “takes student through all aspects involved in creating stop motion films. Students are taught animating technique, wire armature construction and set construction.”
The MFA in Film and Animation is a three-year program “designed to educate complete filmmakers.” Students will “learn the artistic, narrative, technical, historical, and business aspects” of whatever form they choose during the first two years, and then create a thesis project in the third year that can be completed on or off campus. Like BFA students, MFA Animation students will concentrate in either 2D, 3D, or Stop Motion, “but be able to explore the other types of animation.”
The MFA is a terminal degree that prepares students for professional careers in the industry or “teach filmmaking in other higher education programs of merit.” Top careers for MFA graduates include Director, Documentary Filmmaker, Experimental Artist, Producer, and Visual Effects Supervisor. Top careers for BFA graduates include Character Animator, Effects Animator, 3D Modeling and Character Designer, Art Director, and Experimental Film Artist.
Graduates of RIT’s BFA and MFA Film and Animation programs have landed positions at top studios such as Disney Animation Studios, Electronic Arts, DreamWorks, Blue Sky Studios, Nickelodeon, Lucas Films, Industrial Light and Magic, Paramount, HBO, Rhythm and Hues Studios, and many others.
Founded in 1887, Pratt institute is home to 4,600 students enrolled in 22 undergraduate degree programs, 26 graduate degree programs, and a variety of Certificate and Minor programs across five schools and The Center for Continuing and Professional Studies. The Pratt Institute School of Art offers a BFA in Digital Arts and Animation with an Emphasis in Digital Animation and Motion Arts or Interactive Arts. Concentrations include 2-D Animation, 3-D Animation and Motion Arts, and Interactive Arts. An MFA in Digital Animation and Motion Arts is also available.
Per the school, students in the BFA programs will “develop aesthetic finesse, technological skill, conceptual sophistication related to digital media, and thorough comprehension of the potential of art and technology.” Students also learn to create professional documentation and presentation. Graduates of the program “demonstrate an expertise in their discipline, a unique voice in their medium and knowledge of historical works in art and technology.”
Students will create animated films at Myrtle Hall, a LEED Certified Green Building that includes nine state of the art digital studio/classrooms, the Digital Arts Resource Center and Digital Commons flex-space, a High Speed Fibre Channel Network, and Traditional Animation Facilities. An Audio Recording Studio, a Dedicated Green Screen facility, Graduate Studio spaces, 2-D/3-D Printers and production facility, and the Mediated Digital Arts Gallery are also housed in the building.
Students in the 60 credit hour MFA in Digital Animation and Motion Arts program will have the opportunity to create narrative and non-narrative films using 2-D and 3-D digital animation techniques, live action and motion graphics. Electives include Storyboarding and Storytelling, Lighting and Rendering, Motion Dynamics, Compositing and Special Effects, Character Design, Character Animation, Matte Painting, and more. Students will complete one year of work on a thesis, which culminates in an exhibition or screening of the completed work and a thesis paper. The MFA in Digital Animation and Motion Arts can be completed in two years.
Pratt School of Art alumni have landed positions at major studios such as Augenblick, Blue Sky, Digital Domain, Cartoon Network Studios, DreamWorks Studios, Curious Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Rhythm and Hues Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Curious Pictures, Gameloft, Sony Imageworks, NBC Universal, Titmouse, and many others.
Syracuse University (SU) was founded in 1870. The school serves nearly 22,500 students from across the U.S. and 118 countries. The school offers more 200 majors, 100 minors, and 200 advanced degree programs through 13 colleges and schools and a graduate school. The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), Department of Transmedia offers several programs for aspiring animators. Offerings include a BFA in Computer Art and Animation, an MFA in Computer Art, and a Minor in Animation.
The 120 credit hour BFA in Computer Art and Animation “explores the possibilities of digital media within a fine art, exploratory, and culturally aware setting,” says the school. The degree program provides instruction in multiple art media where the computer plays the primary role. These media include computer-generated images, 3D computer animation, physical computing, creative computer programming, computer gaming, computer music, and sonic art. Students are mentored to become highly skilled critical thinkers producing art in individual and collaborative contexts.
The 60 credit hour MFA program “is an artistic research and development program situated in the context of technology where students are encouraged to develop a diverse set of practices within computer art.” The program covers computer generated imagery, 3D computer animation, physical computing, creative computer programming, computer gaming, computer music, visual effects, multi-channel installation, and sonic art.
Students in the program “are expected to develop a strong record of professional practice in a variety of contexts, including exhibition, screenings, public intervention, installation, performance, workshops, gaming events, and viral media, among other forms of public engagement.” Students can expect to complete the MFA program in three years.
Students in both the BFA and MFA programs have access to study abroad programs in 60 countries throughout the world, enabling them “to gain a global perspective as they pursue their studies.”
VPA animation graduates have found employment at major studios such as Pixar, Rhythm and Hues, Industrial Light and Magic, LucasArts, Blizzard Entertainment, Tippett Studios, Moving Picture Company, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Graduates have also presented their work at galleries and media art festivals around the world.