Animation (BA/BS)

Bring your ideas to life in a top-ranked animation program. Study various styles of animation from hand-drawn to 3D characters and environments. The skills you learn here will help start your career in animation, design, special effects, entertainment, movies, commercials, and more.

Preparing You For Success

As an animation major, hands-on experiences begin your first semester. Classes develop your storytelling and art skills, then you take that knowledge into the ever-changing world of content creation and creativity. Along the way, you’re mentored by faculty who have worked on films such as “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Rise of the Guardians” and “Thor: Dark World.” You're also encouraged to add a minor, such as user experience design, computer science or entrepreneurship to open professional doors. Through these experiences, you’ll build a portfolio that will launch your career.

By the time you graduate, your experiences may include:

  • An internship at places like Maui Jim, Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, OneFire or the Boy Scouts of America
  • Off-campus study in Ireland, the Netherlands or Los Angeles
  • Opportunities to show your work, including an original short film, to the public at the annual FUSE exhibit

Making Your Mark

An animation degree is valuable for a career as a visual artist in a variety of fields. Recent Bradley graduates are working at Scientific Games, Float, Sony Pictures Imageworks, MGM, United Renderworks, Cutters Studios, ArtSkills, and Double Negative. Others are pursuing graduate degrees in animation, computer science and creative writing at top schools across the country.

BA/BS Major Requirements

Required Courses - 59 hrs.

  • ART 101 Drawing I - 3 hrs.
  • ART 102 Drawing II - 3 hrs.
  • IM 140 Storytelling for Animation - 3 hrs.
  • IM 141 Principles of Animation - 3 hrs.
  • IM 150 Foundations of Interactive Design - 3 hrs.
  • IM 162 Introduction to Scripting for Animators - 3 hrs.
  • IM 226 Interactive Media Practicum I - 4 hrs.
  • IM 240 Two-Dimensional Animation I or IM 347 Experimental Animation- 3 hrs.
  • IM 241 Two-Dimensional Animation II - 3 hrs.
  • IM 243 History of Animation - 3 hrs.
  • IM 340 Three-Dimensional Animation I - 3 hrs.
  • IM 341 Three-Dimensional Animation II or IM 345 Two-Dimensional Rigging for Animation - 3 hrs.
  • IM 349 Pre-Production for Animation - 3 hrs.
  • IM 355 New Media Theory - 3 hrs.
  • IM 426 Interactive Media Practicum II - 4 hrs.
  • IM 440 Animation Capstone I - 3 hrs.
  • IM 441 Animation Capstone II - 6 hrs. 
  • IM 450 Issues in New Media Theory - 3 hrs.

“I discovered my passion had a career. Animation certainly is an emerging field. It offers so many opportunities in movies, games, commercials, and websites. Everything is moving.”


Animation Student

Learn the 12 principles of animation and how those are executed in character animation, procedual animation, stop-motion, and previsualization.