School of DesignComputer Animation Bachelor's Degree
- BFA
At Columbia, you’ll explore the world of 3D animation and learn technical and storytelling skills from a faculty of professional animators with decades of industry experience. Consistently ranked among the top animation schools in the Midwest, Columbia helps animation students bring their unique voice and aesthetic to their work, and best of all, employers want Columbia College Chicago grads. The BFA allows you to specialize within your area of animation interest and complete two animated films by your final year. Plan to apply directly to the Computer Animation BFA program? you’ll need to include some additional materials.
Examples of Computer Animation Careers
The Student Experience
The best artists constantly create. At Columbia, you’ll start animating in your first year. With practice, you’ll become more comfortable with the tools of the trade and develop a keen eye for storytelling. As a senior, you’ll collaborate with peers to create an animated film.
Early on, you’ll take courses that lay the foundations and establish context for your work as well as build virtual environments and create and animate CG characters as you learn Autodesk’s Maya (an industry-standard software).
Our faculty members, many of whom have won awards for their own work, bring their in-depth knowledge of animation, game art, cinema, television, graphic novels, and illustration to the classroom.
Senior year, you’ll work on every aspect of your solo thesis project. You’ll work as the producer, director, editor, and every other role in between.
For your senior year capstone project, supervise and be supervised in roles ranging from director to editor. First semester: pitch ideas to your team and choose a story together and create preproduction concept art, storyboards, and computer-generated (CG) assets. Second semester: Build and refine the film, presenting it in May at Manifest, Columbia’s annual urban arts festival that celebrates the amazing work of our graduating students.
The one-credit class Animation Studios in LA takes select students to the entertainment capital. Spend mornings learning professional standards and industry preparation and afternoons touring animation studios such as Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Cartoon Network, and Disney.
Career Readiness
Our graduates leave Columbia with portfolios to impress future employers, and you’ll them around the world working in major animation studios and showcasing their award-winning films at festivals.
Thanks to our Career Center and industry-connected faculty, Columbia Animation students have access to internships that put the real-world experiences from the classroom to work and provide experiences that will build your resume.
Animation alumni hold jobs in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and production studios around the world. They win Oscars and Emmys and work at companies like Disney, Pixar, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Animation, DreamWorks Studios, Weta Digital, and more. Our Alumni Network is here to connect you to key people to support and guide you throughout your career in animation.
Alumni Spotlight
Rachael Russakoff ’12
Currently a lead editor with Marvel Studios, Rachael is also animatic editor and voice actress. She is known for her work as an animatic editor on Nickelodeon's “The Loud House.”
of 2023 grads are employed, enrolled in continued education, or pursuing their creative practice.