Best animation course between three choices...help?

Poll

Best animation course between these three choices

Hello,

I am an EU student and applying for an animation/3D graphics course and I am still deciding between three courses that I cannot make up my mind with!

The courses are:
University of Portmouth - BSc Computer Animation
University of Abertay Dundee - BA Computer Arts
University of Staffordshire - BA VFX: Visual Effects and Concept Design

Now, another problem is that I am not entirely sure in what industry to work: Film or Games industry or maybe in visualization. I would like working in the visual effects industry, the problem is that not anybody gets there and of course, you don't find it anywhere. Here is why this can influence my decision:

Abertay Dundee is focued more on games industry and I am worried that it would be difficult to find a workplace afterwards for VFX, but the course is very known through UK and is Skillset accredited. Weirdly the works of the students are rather mediocre from what I seen for such a popular course(but I also seen some very good ones!).

Portsmouth, I heard, again, to have a good animation course. I like that they teach you VFX and the student works seem to be good...it is also near the sea... :biggrin:

. The university seem nice and modern with very good facilities.

Staffordshire accepted me with much less for the exams, the course seems very good for what I want, 3D for film and games and concept design. The problem that the university buildings are rather old (they announced a 10 million pound investment for renovation, but I doubt they will finish before I graduate) and they have dropped in the league table very much.

A thing that also I need to consider is...THE TUITION FEES! I am a little scared of them. :frown:

In Scotland is free and Abertay would have a plus here.

Ugh, sorry for the long post, but have someone heard of this courses/universities, any recommendations or suggestions?

PS: The other two course that I applied for are: Glasgow Caledonian - Computer Animation and Worcester - Graphic Design and Multimedia.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

moid

The VFX industry in the UK employs over 5000 artists! The UK is one of the main VFX hubs in the world. Most of the jobs are in London of course, but there are plenty of UK graduates working amongst those artists. If you are serious about the VFX industry you should be applying to different universities than the ones you have chosen.

The tuition fees should be automatically given to you if you come from one of the EU states (there are a few minor exceptions). You don't need to pay anything until you graduate, and then you only start paying back if you earn over £21,000 - and then you pay 9% of everything you earn over £21,000. Of course you only pay the money back if you work in the UK... our government has no way or taking the money out of any other country's taxation system, so if you study in the UK and then work anywhere in Europe except the UK, you don't have to give them any money. Slightly illegal of course, but very cheap :smile:

Reply 2

Cip

Thank you for the post, I didn't expected you to reply...I have seen a lot of your posts. :wink:

I don't know what to say, possibly I should have made a better decision with the universities, but I don't know if I am good enough for the better ones. But now I say it is late, because I need to make a firm choice and I don't want to wait a year after I finish high school to apply again...I am sorry for not applying at Hertfordshire...

I looked at Portsmouth and they seemed to have a lot of graduates going to big companies. Are there any other good cities to work in 3D other than London(just for my general knowledge)?

Regarding the fees...I know about the loan, but it is still nice to not pay anything. :biggrin:

I thought that you need to pay even if you move in another country.

Reply 3

moid

You should pay if you move to another country, but they have no way of making you pay... it is illegal not to pay the money back, but unless you return to the UK to work at any point it isn't likely to be a problem. Of course the bulk of CG animation related jobs in Europe are in the UK, which might cause you to repay whether you wish to or not.

Reply 4

Cip

I see, but still, I wouldn't do it. :smile:

I just hope that I will get a job out of it. :|

In the end, I had chosen Portsmouth (Seen on UCAS that I can still change it in a few days if I change my mind), I was deciding between Portsmouth and Abertay. I liked that Abertay were known for their professionalism and that they teach you 2D graphics (still not animated) as well, but they were too focused on games, the course at Portsmouth, on the other hand, is more universal and more VFX relevant, but also hope it won't be too technical...too bad it isn't accredited by SkillSet thought.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

moid

Skillset accreditation isn't everything you should look for... if you look at the work of many of the courses with Skillset accreditation you'll find it's not as good as the work of courses that don't have accreditation... Look at the work of the students, not whether they have some nice logos from the government (that's a nice bonus of course, but let your eyes do the thinking). If the student work looks good and they have a strong track record of graduates getting hired, it's worth going to the course. Having said that, most courses in the UK want to get the accreditation, but it takes a very long time to do so... so if you ask, you'll probably find that every course you have applied to is currently going through the application procedure :smile: