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Summary:
Applying through UCAS? Apply here (I0FY)
Course Code: I0FY
Applying through UCAS? Apply here (G401)
Course Code: G401
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Why choose the School of Computer Science and Technology
Our animation and game design courses rank 6th in their subject area for ‘value added’ progression: how our students’ entry qualifications compare with their degree results upon graduation (Guardian, 2024).
83% of our full-time UK computing and engineering graduates are in highly skilled employment or graduate further study, 15 months after graduating (source: HESA Graduate Outcomes for 2020/21, pub 2023).
Study in our dedicated STEM building with state-of-the-art labs, studios and commercially relevant technology.
About the course
From flight simulators and animated e-learning to VR experiences and blockbuster films, computer animation and visual effects have reinvented our modern society. This innovative course gives you the latest creative, design and technical skills to produce digital content in the form of computer-generated animation or visual effects for entertainment, education or promotional purposes. You gain hands-on experience using industry-standard tools and software while exploring emerging applications such as virtual reality and mixed reality.
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Specialist games, animation and graphics labs with VR technology, high-spec computers
- Motion-capture and green-screen studios
- Cutting-edge software including Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, Unreal Engine and Blender
- Modern computing labs, group study hubs and bespoke teaching spaces in our STEM building
Your student experience
- Share teaching with students from our BSc (Hons) Computer Games Development course and benefit from the exchange of ideas and understanding.
- Our staff’s real-world expertise feeds directly into their teaching, keeping you up to date within this rapidly progressing industry.
- Learn to tackle complex problems through practical projects designed to meet the needs of customers, businesses and society.
- Cutting-edge software means you become familiar with the tools used in industry right from the start.
- Benefit from regular supervisor meetings that support continuous learner-teacher interaction and help you reflect on your progress.
- Thrive under the guidance of our dedicated academic success tutors, there to support you through your studies.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - Dr Jim Wood
Jim joined the School of Computer Science and Technology in 2008 as a Lecturer in Creative Technologies becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2013. He has over 20 years of experience in the education sector and has recently specialised in teaching topics in digital art, animation, visual effects, and games technologies.
Jim currently leads the School’s Creative Technologies subject cluster and is Course Coordinator for BSc (Hons) Computer Animation and Visual Effects.
Course Leader - Dr Jim Wood
Jim joined the School of Computer Science and Technology in 2008 as a Lecturer in Creative Technologies becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2013. He has over 20 years of experience in the education sector and has recently specialised in teaching topics in digital art, animation, visual effects, and games technologies.
Jim currently leads the School’s Creative Technologies subject cluster and is Course Coordinator for BSc (Hons) Computer Animation and Visual Effects.
Course Leader - Dr Jim Wood
Jim joined the School of Computer Science and Technology in 2008 as a Lecturer in Creative Technologies becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2013. He has over 20 years of experience in the education sector and has recently specialised in teaching topics in digital art, animation, visual effects, and games technologies.
Jim currently leads the School’s Creative Technologies subject cluster and is Course Coordinator for BSc (Hons) Computer Animation and Visual Effects.
Course Leader - Dr Jim Wood
Jim joined the School of Computer Science and Technology in 2008 as a Lecturer in Creative Technologies becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2013. He has over 20 years of experience in the education sector and has recently specialised in teaching topics in digital art, animation, visual effects, and games technologies.
Jim currently leads the School’s Creative Technologies subject cluster and is Course Coordinator for BSc (Hons) Computer Animation and Visual Effects.
What will you study?
Studying our Computer Animation and Visual Effects BSc (Hons) course will equip you with the knowledge and skills around computing, digital animation and visual effects. In practical areas of study, you will be introduced to basic digital video production skills including how to use equipment and video editing packages in our Digital Video and Animation unit. You will learn about the digital animation development process, such as digital video and sound recording while also being encouraged to try out different techniques. Aside from this, you will develop the skills for digital creative technologies and apply them to areas of computer games development, interactive digital technologies, computer animation and visual effects in our Fundamentals of Creative Technologies unit. More importantly, this unit will help support your professional development by equipping you with the skills and practice for digital creative industries. Similarly, you will be introduced to the foundations and techniques for visual and animated design for digital entertainment in our Games and Digital Asset Design unit. You will learn to create, edit and store artwork, animation and digital audio content for different platforms and audiences.
Delving further into design practices, you will learn the fundamentals of drawing and painting for games and animation in our 2D Graphics and Digital Art unit. This is closely linked to our Compositing for Visual Effects unit where you will study theory around optics, physics and algorithms used for visual effects as well as 2D and 3D compositing techniques. You will explore computer animation and graphic technologies in more depth in our 3D Graphics and Animation unit that will allow you to implement a range of techniques using modern software and programming. These include 2D and 3D modelling techniques, rendering and shading in 3D graphics, incorporating 2D and 3D assets in animation, as well as allowing you to explore state of the art computer animation packages and modern animation software to create computer graphic sequences. Furthermore, you will be introduced to cutting-edge technologies and research trends in our Disruptive Technologies unit that is relevant to areas of virtual reality, network gaming and graphics software to name a few.
This course also gives you the opportunity to engage in various forms of project work. With that being said, you will have the opportunity to complete a Professional Industry Portfolio to showcase a collection of your work over the course of the year. This will allow you to gain professional feedback and reflect on your technical skills. To add to your portfolio, our Advanced Animation and Visual Effects unit will prompt you to produce a significant computer animation artefact where you will get to practice emerging tools within computer animation and visual effects. In a team setting, you will also get to refine your skills in focused area of practice such as programming, design, graphics or animation while working together on a Studio Development Project with students across various roles to pitch and develop a prototype based on a given topic. Similarly, you will also be able to complete an Undergraduate Project on a topic of interest to you, and you will work to identify and create a proposal around this in our Research Methodologies and Emerging Technologies unit.
How will you be assessed?
Students are assessed in a variety of ways. The majority of units are assessed through coursework group and individual projects portfolios essays presentations or exams. Presentations are usually given and assessed in the context of a group seminar. You will also produce software artefacts in the area of your specialism. Constant feedback and advice from a supervisory or unit team will be provided to support you in your work.
At level 4 you are assessed on your understanding of the fundamental concepts of compu-ting and digital technologies and their application. You are required to comprehend the basic range of intellectual concepts which form the foundations of the subject and application area and will be assessed on your ability to articulate such concepts in a coherent manner in a variety of project-based briefs. For example you will learn about digital design and content creation for animation as well as introductory programming and interactive development.
At level 5 you are assessed on your ability to apply the basic concepts of the disciplines in-troduced in level 4 through further study and development on industry-standard computer animation and visual effects tools. You should also be able to demonstrate the inter-relationships between technical development and design. For example you might be asked to make a prototype of a new application or service based on a client briefing and carry this process out according to a user centred design process.
At level 6 you will be required to demonstrate independent thinking and initiative.This may be in the form of analysing and criticising current practice and theory in the fields of computer animation and visual effects. In all cases you will be expected to show an awareness of the major theories and practices of the discipline. You will progress from well-defined briefs to more open-ended and challenging assessments which culminate in your major project - the honours project where you will individually develop a project with supervision from an appointed mentor usually a lecturer from the course team. The Initial Assessment is in the unit Fundamentals of Creative Technologies CIS085-1 fol-lowing which several units allow students to use work and feedback from the first assessment to perform best in the second. All units benefit from weekly practical sessions or supervisor meetings that provide a constant learner-teacher interaction process which also serves to reflect on learning styles.
Careers
The course opens the door to a wide range of careers including 3D modelling; technical animation; digital compositing; and visualisation for emerging fields such as virtual production. Successful graduates may gain employment in the digital creative industries related to computer animation and visual effects such as 3D modeller or animator for computer animation or production; VFX compositor or artist; 2D or 3D artist for games development; creative technologist or technical developer for the animation or VFX industry.
You may also wish to continue your studies at Master's level with an MSc by Research in Computer Animation or a VFX-relevant topic supervised by the Creative Technologies academic team.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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