| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | College for Creative Studies | Detroit |
| 2 | Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University | Grand Rapids |
| 3 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale |
Our 2018 rankings of the top animation school programs in Michigan. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) was founded in 1906 and serves more than 1,400 students enrolled in over a dozen degree programs across 14 academic departments. Serving 285 students, Entertainment Arts is the school’s largest department, and it offers a BFA in Entertainment Art with a Concentration in Animation. All Entertainment Art students have the opportunity to customize their curriculum by taking coursework in other concentrations such as Digital Film or Game Design.
Graduates of the CCS Animation Program have been hired at major studios across the U.S. such as Sony Pictures Imageworks, DreamWorks Animation, and Disney ABC Television Group.
Kendall College of Art and Design, Ferris State University (KCAD) was founded in 1928. The school serves more than 1,200 students enrolled in around 24 BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and Certificate programs. KCAD offers a BFA in Digital Art and Design that allows students to work in one of two focus areas including Entertainment Art (animation, digital 3D, visual development for games and animation, and sequential arts like comics and storyboards) and Multimedia Design (interaction design for the web, apps, virtual reality, the internet of things, and video and motion design animation).
Students in the program will gain knowledge and hands-on experience via high-end equipment and on-campus facilities such as Cintiq Studios and a wide range of cameras, microphones, and lighting equipment, and via access to The Dow Center FlexLab, and KCAD Library. Graduates will leave the program with the skills and experience needed to pursue career paths in areas such as 2D animation, 3D game art, visual development, interaction design, and motion design.
Established in 1960, Grand Valley State University serves more than 25,000 students from the U.S. and 84 different countries. The school offers 130 degrees across eight colleges. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is home to the School of Communications. Housed within the School of Communications is the Department of Visual & Media Arts, which offers a BA or BS in Film and Video Production.
Students can expect high-impact learning opportunities outside the classroom through internships and local production projects, opportunities to present work through regularly scheduled public screenings, and a peer-reviewed academic journal, and hands-on experience by producing projects for real clients in and outside of the classroom. Courses of study include Animation, Documentary, Fiction, Film Studies, New Media, Nonfiction, Scriptwriting, and Sound Design.