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Art & Design

Animation

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)

Create visual stories that move people.

Marvel obsessed? Or are Miyazaki marathons more your thing? Translate that burning passion for animated storytelling into a career as a VFX artist, film director, animator, art director, or more. In our state-of-the-art visual effects (VFX) facilities, including a 3D fabrication studio, a render farm, and a 130-seat screening room, you'll experiment with traditional and emerging techniques, from stop-motion to digital CGI.

Explore media and tools that give life to visual stories, characters, and environments. Master new concepts, like character animation for 3D and 2D, narrative fabrication, fine arts animation, visual elements design, and visual effects. Learn the 12 Principles of Animation, cinematic language, and technology through reasoning and reasoning through technology. Then go beyond the classroom and gain professional experiences with a supported internship or apprenticeship in places like Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Hero4Hire, and TaketheCake Productions. These experiences will launch you into a creative career in the rapidly-growing creative economy in film, TV, game design, and more.

Everything you learn and do in Lesley’s Animation program prepares you for the professional world. With our reimagined general education curriculum, you’ll acquire knowledge and skills that today’s employers value, and that will get you ready to succeed in an increasingly complex, diverse, and global world.

Required internships will connect you to real-life studios in Greater Boston and help you develop critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. And propel you into the animation industry with a reel that shows employers what you're all about.

At Lesley University, you'll push the boundaries of your work. You’ll pursue fresh thinking and new approaches, and gain support from expert faculty who’ve won Emmys and international awards, run successful studios, and worked for innovators like Fox, DreamWorks, and White Snake Projects.

Program Structure

Full-time or part-time on-campus program

123 Credits
Thinking about transferring here?

Log in to Transferology(link is external), add the courses you've taken, and see how they'll transfer to Lesley University.

student trying out VFX equipment in green screen room

Increase Career Opportunities with VFX Training

Our visual effects facilities are outfitted with state-of-the-art VFX and motion capture technology. Get access to the best facilities in New England and the hands-on experience needed to break into one of the highest-paying careers in the art and design industry.

Craft Creative Combinations
As an Animation & Motion Media major, you can pursue a second major or one of our 45+ minors—in art & design or a liberal arts subject—to expand your career opportunities.

Forge your own path with a creative combination:

Student Work

student working on art in studio

Small Art School, Big University

We're a premier art and design school of about 700 students, but we're also part of a dynamic university with a liberal arts college. This means you'll have the small studio, hands-on experience of a professional art school where you'll gain industry-specific knowledge. And, you'll benefit from a broader perspective of a liberal arts educational experience—something most art schools can't provide.

illustration of outline of the city of cambridge with street block inside outline
Professional Experience
Community Animation
Animation students partner with Boston Alliance for LGBTQ+ Youth, Green Cambridge, Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy and The Filmmakers Collaborative Academy. Mirroring the processes of a professional animation studio, students work on animation development, client relations and managing animated productions.

Students working with Green Cambridge explained the non-profit’s heritage trees initiative. Like the other animated productions, students briefly presented the initiative and made the story more relatable for locals. They spread the word about services in the area and developed a narrative through conceptual and technical storytelling.
Careers
Jobs You Could Have
Professional opportunities in animation are expanding, and Greater Boston is a great place to start your career. Job titles for someone with an animation degree include:
doble campus during the fall

Cambridge is our campus. Boston is our neighbor.

Cambridge is one of the most creative cities in the country. In fact, there are about 96 art and culture events happening in the Greater Boston area every day. And while you'll benefit from our dynamic surroundings, you'll also be a big part of them. You'll take art and design classes in our $48 million Lunder Arts Center. And our $7 million Visual Effects (VFX) studio—a state-of-the-art facility where our VFX curriculum comes alive—is the only one of its kind in New England.

Approximate cost, before financial aid, for one year of study in this undergraduate program. Tuition and fees are for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Use our step-by-step guide to apply for federal, state, and university funding. Scholarships, grants, Work-Study, and loans. It’s all right here.

Next steps to apply

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