Clearing offers from 48 UCAS tariff points. Subject-specific requirements still apply. See the entry requirements section for details.
At the University of Lincoln, Animation and Visual Effects combines creativity, storytelling, design, and digital production to help you become a versatile animator or VFX artist ready for today's creative industries.
Whether you're interested in 2D animation, 3D character work, visual effects, cinematic storytelling, motion design, or experimental animation, this course is designed to help you discover your strengths and develop a professional portfolio that reflects the kind of creative career you want.
From your first year, you'll work with industry-standard software and production workflows while learning the foundations of animation, including movement, timing, character performance, storyboarding, design, compositing, and digital production. As you progress, you can begin to specialise in areas such as:
• 2D animation
• 3D animation
• Visual effects (VFX)
• Story and visual development
• Real-time animation production
• Experimental animation
You'll learn through practical studio work, collaborative projects, creative experimentation, and professional-style production briefs - building both technical confidence and creative independence.
Lincoln's course is designed to balance artistic creativity with employability. Graduates have gone on to work with studios including TT Games, Framestore, Double Negative, Cinesite, Tandem Films, and Lupus Films, contributing to productions including The Jungle Book, Wonder Woman, Inception, The Snowman and the Snowdog, and We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
At the University of Lincoln, Animation and Visual Effects combines creativity, storytelling, design, and digital production to help you become a versatile animator or VFX artist ready for today's creative industries.
Whether you're interested in 2D animation, 3D character work, visual effects, cinematic storytelling, motion design, or experimental animation, this course is designed to help you discover your strengths and develop a professional portfolio that reflects the kind of creative career you want.
From your first year, you'll work with industry-standard software and production workflows while learning the foundations of animation, including movement, timing, character performance, storyboarding, design, compositing, and digital production. As you progress, you can begin to specialise in areas such as:
• 2D animation
• 3D animation
• Visual effects (VFX)
• Story and visual development
• Real-time animation production
• Experimental animation
You'll learn through practical studio work, collaborative projects, creative experimentation, and professional-style production briefs - building both technical confidence and creative independence.
Lincoln's course is designed to balance artistic creativity with employability. Graduates have gone on to work with studios including TT Games, Framestore, Double Negative, Cinesite, Tandem Films, and Lupus Films, contributing to productions including The Jungle Book, Wonder Woman, Inception, The Snowman and the Snowdog, and We're Going on a Bear Hunt.
Students can access specialist industry-standard facilities and equipment, including sound design and digital film production facilities, dedicated studios, workshops, Mac and PC suites, a render farm, and gallery space. All Animation and Visual Effects students currently have free access to Adobe Creative Cloud software for the duration of their studies via our media and design labs. Additional material costs will depend on the mediums you choose to work in.
✔ Build both creative and technical skills
Many animation courses lean heavily towards either art or software. Lincoln combines both, helping you develop storytelling, design, animation principles, and technical production workflows together.
✔ Explore different animation pathways before specialising
You don’t need to know exactly which role you want yet. The course introduces a wide range of techniques and workflows before allowing you to focus on your interests later in the degree.
✔ Learn using industry-standard facilities
You’ll have access to professional animation and media facilities including:
✔ Develop a portfolio employers can actually use
Throughout the course, you’ll create animated shorts, production work, pre-production projects, and specialist creative pieces that help you graduate with a portfolio and showreel ready for applications, freelance work, or further study.
✔ Gain exposure to the industry
Students have previously visited major creative hubs and festivals including:
These experiences help students understand the industry beyond the classroom and build confidence in professional environments.
This course focuses on helping you become a confident creative practitioner who understands both the artistic and technical sides of animation production.
Year One: Learn the foundations
You’ll build core creative and production skills including:
You’ll also begin learning professional workflows and how animated projects move from idea to final screen production.
Year Two: Develop your specialism
As your confidence grows, you can begin focusing on areas that align with your interests and career goals.
You may explore:
You’ll also work more collaboratively and begin tackling larger production challenges.
Final Year: Create industry-ready work
Your final year focuses on independent and professional practice.
You’ll develop:
By graduation, you should have a body of work that demonstrates your creative identity and technical capability to employers or clients.
This module introduces the core principles that underpin all animated movement. Students explore how timing, spacing, weight, and performance bring drawings and digital characters to life. Through a series of short, practical exercises, they develop the technical and creative skills essential for believable motion and expressive storytelling. Working with industry-standard animation software, students build confidence in planning, testing, and refining animated sequences. The module emphasises observation, iteration, and reflective practice, providing a foundation for advanced animation production and specialisation in later study.
This module explores the core ideas that shape computer-generated imagery in animation and visual effects. Students learn to interpret and construct digital form, light, and material using industry-standard software while gaining awareness of how CGI practices evolve through new technologies such as real-time rendering and procedural CG content generation. By combining creative experimentation with critical insight, students build the digital fluency and visual understanding needed to progress in contemporary CGI and related creative-technology disciplines.
Cultivating Creativity is a first-year interdisciplinary module designed to develop students' creative thinking and industry awareness. The module fosters curiosity, ideation, and practical application while equipping students with essential academic, creative and professional skills. Through engagement with contemporary issues, students will explore how these topics intersect with their chosen industry contexts.
This module explores the core principles of design for animation. Students develop character, prop, and environment designs while learning how visual language, composition, and colour communicate personality, mood, and story. Through hands-on workshops, tutorials, and peer feedback, students build creative confidence, technical awareness, and professional design skills that form a foundation for animation and visual effects study.
This module introduces key elements of the animation pipeline, focusing on story, character development, and film language. Students learn foundational skills in ideation, communication, visual storytelling, and cinematic design. Through hands-on workshops, they develop narrative concepts into beat boards, storyboards, and animatics, gaining confidence in layout, composition, and animated storytelling techniques.
This module introduces students to the historical development, formats, and cultural practices of criticism across film, television, and screen media. It explores the distinctions and overlaps between criticism, reviewing, and analysis, developing students’ understanding of how each operates within different professional and cultural contexts.
Through collaborative discussion and close engagement with a range of media texts, students will strengthen their ability to articulate informed interpretations and critical judgements for diverse audiences. The module supports the development of both analytical rigour and creative communication skills.
The module culminates in the production of a portfolio of critical work across multiple formats — which may include written, audio, video-based, and interactive pieces — reflecting the varied ways in which contemporary screen media criticism is produced and shared.
Your learning on this module encourages you to be adaptive and inquisitive in the face of change, equipping you with the critical awareness and agility needed to navigate a rapidly shifting media landscape. Alongside theoretical inquiry, you will engage in practical experimentation with selected emerging technologies or tools, analysing their creative potential through testing and evaluation. You will communicate your findings through research-led creative outputs, such as a video essay or another critically informed presentation format.
Expanded Film invites students into the world of experimental and artist-led moving-image practice. Through screenings, lectures and hands-on workshops, the module explores how filmmakers and visual artists challenge conventional storytelling to create bold, alternative screen works. Students experiment with a range of techniques and forms, such as expanded cinema, installation, video essay and title-sequence design. W, while developing their own short experimental artefact. Along the way, they learn to connect creative choices with key artistic influences and critical ideas, building confidence in imaginative, boundary-pushing practice.
The module is designed to be flexible in both content and assessment. Students may use a wide range of tools, methods, and forms. The portfolio format supports different working styles and access needs. Readings are short, accessible and available digitally.
This module introduces students to experimental approaches within animation, encouraging exploration beyond conventional workflows through the use of 2D rigs, hybrid techniques, and emerging digital tools. Students engage in short practical projects that integrate traditional animation principles with innovative processes, developing confidence in creative risk-taking and technical experimentation. By testing the boundaries of animation practice, students broaden their understanding of how alternative methods can enhance storytelling, motion design, and visual expression. The module provides a foundation for more advanced creative and technical development in later years.
Sound for Visual Media equips and empowers you to apply fundamental sound production skills in a variety of visual media contexts. Through a range of industry-aligned methods and practices, you will create complex soundtracks in response to specific visual media, drawing on key principles and theories of sound.
Animation Practice allows students to specialise in an area of animation or explore a hybrid creative pathway that supports their individual aspirations. Working within Story & Visual Development, 2D Animation, 3D Animation, or Visual Effects (VFX), students develop technical skills, creative confidence, and professional workflows. The module encourages experimentation, visual research, and problem-solving while offering opportunities for collaboration, competitions, and external engagement. This prepares students for advanced study and professional practice in the animation and VFX industries.
This module develops the applied production skills required for creating 3D assets in animation and visual effects. Students work on environment and character projects, exploring how design, form, and surface communicate narrative and function in digital space. They gain experience with industry-standard tools for modelling, sculpting, surfacing, and rendering, and learn how to optimise and present work for production pipelines. The module emphasises creative problem-solving, procedural thinking, and professional presentation, providing a foundation for advanced CGI and team production practice in the final year.
Creative Collaboration is a Level 5 shared core module that develops students’ ability to work effectively with others in the conception, development, and presentation of creative media projects. Through a series of intensive design sprints, students will collaborate in small groups to respond to a set of themed creative challenges aligned with real-world contexts such as social impact, sustainability, and emerging cultural practices.
The module emphasises collaboration as a creative and professional practice, foregrounding communication, negotiation, leadership, and problem-solving alongside ethical and cultural awareness. Students will be supported to reflect critically on both the creative outcomes and the collaborative processes that shape them.
The module culminates in a project-pitching event in which students present their collaborative projects and participate in a panel discussion, demonstrating their ability to articulate creative intent, evaluate collaborative dynamics, and respond to critical questioning.
This module aims to give you an opportunity to immerse yourself in a specialist area within the creative arts. The content of the module is shaped by the research and practice expertise of staff members who actively collaborate with and mentor you throughout your exploration of this specialist area. This ensures that you benefit from the latest insights and methodologies within the chosen specialist area, gaining a well-rounded understanding that integrates theoretical knowledge with practical application.
This module explores the creative and technical processes of post-production for animation and visual effects. Students learn to integrate multiple visual layers, rendered passes, and live-action plates to produce seamless, cinematic imagery. Workshops cover keying, rotoscoping, tracking, and grading using professional software and emerging novel tools that enhance efficiency without replacing creative control. By the end of the module, students will produce a short composited sequence demonstrating visual coherence, colour harmony, and narrative intent — preparing them for advanced production and real-time workflows in Level 6 study
This module introduces students to the principles and practices of commercial motion design, where animation, graphic design and video combine to create moving visuals for professional and promotional purposes. Motion design is widely used in advertising, branding, broadcast, digital and social media, as well as in corporate communication and experiential contexts such as title sequences, film credits, music videos, product launches and digital interfaces.
Power up your audio production skills with this hands-on, deep dive into the virtual worlds of game audio. Learn how sound designers and studios create atmospheric and action-packed soundscapes to accompany complex gameplay. From creating bespoke sound assets to integrating audio into game engine software, this module is tailor made for those seeking to work in the game audio sector.
The module aims to introduce you to a range of conceptual and theoretical approaches to the study of horror in popular culture. It explores the history of the genre and selected subgenres as well as contemporary manifestations, both supernatural, and realist horror.
The module looks at the horror genre in terms of various social, cultural and national contexts. Students can study psychoanalytical approaches to these fictions as well as approaches such as affect theory which attempt to go beyond psychoanalysis. Through lectures, screenings and discussions, students are encouraged to apply these approaches to the analysis of selected media texts and subgenres.
Ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes on a professional film set? This module lifts the curtain on the fascinating world of the lesser-known – but absolutely essential – roles that bring a production to life. From discovering what an Assistant Director actually does to exploring the creative magic of a Foley Artist, you’ll get an inside look at the craft, the teamwork, and the problem-solving that power the screen industries.
You’ll be introduced to the full range of production roles, learning what each one does, how they collaborate, and the specialist skills involved. By the end of the module, you’ll have a confident, industry-level understanding of the entire production pipeline—and a clear sense of where you might fit within it. Whether you’re aiming to step onto set, into the studio, or behind the scenes, this module helps you discover the exciting career pathways that lie ahead.
This module is part of the University's commitment to academic programmes that encourage a high level of vocational relevance. This module encourages students to think beyond their University life, reaching into the wider community to hone their skills and target future employment possibilities. The module aims to enable students to examine how arts-based organisations, educational and non-traditional arts-based establishments function and provide students with valuable workplace experience.
Discover the twin pillars of professional screenwriting: creating original story material and evaluating scripts with an industry-ready eye. In this module, you’ll learn how to develop compelling film and television ideas, shape them into concise story outlines, and craft polished opening pages of screenplay that showcase your voice and creative intent. You’ll also step into the world of script development, where you’ll analyse feature film screenplays and produce clear, insightful script coverage — a skill used daily across studios, production companies, agencies, and development rooms. Through workshops, practical tasks, and guided feedback, you’ll build the creative, analytical, and communication skills that underpin successful writing careers. Whether you’re aiming to write your own projects or support the development of others, this module gives you the tools, confidence, and professional mindset to thrive in the screen industries.
The Industry Placement Year is an exciting opportunity for students to take a year out of formal study to gain real-world experience in the creative industries. Whether you’re looking to build industry connections, develop professional skills, or explore career options, this year will give you a full-time, hands-on experience within an arts, cultural, or creative organisation.
This year is a collaborative experience between you, your employer, and the University—ensuring that you get the most out of your time in a professional setting.
Study Abroad is an optional module which enables students to spend a semester studying abroad at one of the University’s approved partner institutions. Eligible students must have completed their first year of study to a satisfactory standard and successfully completed the application process for the study abroad scheme. During the semester spent abroad, students share classes with local students and study on a suite of locally-delivered taught modules which have been approved in advance by the University. Upon their return, as part of the assessment for this module, students are required to critically reflect upon their experience of living and studying in a different cultural environment and the skills acquired.
This module aims to give students a thorough understanding of production design, together with practical and creative skills to develop their own design solutions. Using key examples of production design throughout cinematic and televisual history, students will develop an understanding of how the role has evolved and changed over the years, and where it may be going. Using diverse examples of production designers across multiple genres, the aim is to provide a broad range of contextual references, to provide a foundation for the students’ own creative exploration and experimentation. The students will develop and realise their own production design proposal. This will be presented in an industry-inspired portfolio.
The space occupied by Youth is one that is frequently highly contested, debated and dissected. From ideas of alienated Other to active change maker, youth culture is situated as a fascinating in between site (as a bridge between child and adulthood), as challenging authority and belonging nowhere. The screen scrutinises youth culture through a socio-political lens and asks questions of it, such as how is it perceived, where is it positioned and what does it want?
Screening Youth explores the representation of young people in film and television within the context of society, culture and politics. The module will address youth on screen through themes that contextualise young people in and out of society, which may include image, space, sexuality, violence, identity and sub-cultures to enable students to understand and disseminate youth representations on UK, Hollywood and Global screens.
Enter the exciting world of sound design for moving image, where you will learn the methods and techniques employed by audio professionals working on some of your favourite films and television shows. You will be taken through the processes of creating the soundtrack for a dynamic moving image production, from its inception to completion. Using your imagination, you will channel your creative ideas into sound, using a range of industry-aligned equipment and facilities.
Storytelling for Animation and VFX equips students with the creative skills needed to write compelling narratives that challenge preconceptions of the medium. Students explore global animations, comics and folklore as inspirations and create their own original short form stories.
Animation Pre-production is where ideas take shape. Students transform concepts into production-ready animation proposals through story development, visual design, and cinematic planning. Workshops and tutorials guide them through research, storytelling, layout, storyboarding, and animatic creation, supported by industry-standard tools and professional critique. Students may choose to pursue an individual concept or respond to a live client brief, gaining real-world experience in negotiation and presentation. By the end of the module, each student will have a polished pre-production portfolio and pitch that demonstrate creative vision and production awareness.
This capstone production module turns pre-production plans into a completed short film or VFX moment. Students specialise in Art Direction, Animation Direction, or Technical Direction while collaborating across the full pipeline—from layout and rigging to animation, rendering, and post. Working to a negotiated production plan, teams simulate studio practice and deliver a broadcast-quality outcome supported by professional documentation and evaluation. Graduates emerge with a substantial portfolio piece and demonstrable production experience
Creative Futures is a final-year module designed to prepare students for the transition into professional life. Through guest talks, lectures, tutorials, and flexible online learning, students gain a critical understanding of creative careers and the wider labour market. The module focuses on key transferable skills such as emotional intelligence, resilience, digital literacy, critical thinking, leadership, and intercultural awareness. Students will reflect on their strengths, values, and goals, and emerge confident, career-ready, and equipped to thrive in diverse professional environments.
Students undertaking this module develop the ability to generate, research, and realise innovative ideas through an independently conceived project within their Animation and VFX specialism. Guided by workshops and tutorials, students move from concept development and research through to the creation of a visual artefact or written piece. The module supports creative autonomy, problem-solving, and reflective practice, enabling students to produce an outcome that reflects their developing interests, skills, and professional identity.
This module explores the technical backbone of animation production, focusing on rigging, technical animation, and character-effects workflows used in professional pipelines. Students learn how to design, build, and manage functional rigs for characters, props, and articulated systems, while integrating procedural or effects-driven elements to enhance motion and performance. By combining creative problem-solving with industry-standard production methods, students gain the core technical direction skills that underpin modern animation and VFX practice
Community Impact gives students the opportunity to apply their creative skills to real-world challenges in collaboration with external partners and communities. Working individually or in teams, students research, propose, and deliver creative responses to community-focused briefs that address social, cultural, or ethical issues. The module develops professional and transferable skills including project management, communication, collaboration, and reflective practice, while encouraging students to consider how creative work can make a meaningful contribution beyond the University environment.
This module helps you discover how to market and promote creative work effectively. You’ll build practical skills in communication, marketing, and distribution, exploring how creative products and services are positioned and reach audiences across different sectors. You’ll also learn research approaches that give you insight into industry trends and apply these ideas to real-world contexts. Through hands-on assignments, you’ll develop strategies to showcase your work and make it stand out in the competitive creative industries.
This module examines principles of games and play as cultural, aesthetic, and conceptual forms across multiple film and media contexts. It considers how these principles increasingly shape visual culture and digital media practices, including cinematic games, streaming cultures, and forms of interactive storytelling. Through critical study and creative experimentation, the module explores gamification, gameful design, and the growing influence of play-based systems across media and everyday life. It culminates in the creation of design prototypes that reflect games as spaces of cultural expression and innovation.
In this module, you’ll develop skills and knowledge in immersive audio. You’ll explore cutting-edge concepts, technologies, and production techniques that bring sound to life in three dimensions. Through hands-on experience, you’ll work with spatial audio formats like Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos, and binaural rendering, while mastering the principles of multichannel capture, mixing, and monitoring in a professional immersive studio environment.
This module gives students the opportunity to explore how digital content can shape physical spaces, real time environments and interactive experiences. Through hands on experimentation, rapid prototyping and user centred design, students investigate contemporary immersive practices and develop adaptable production methods suited to a fast-changing creative landscape. By the end of the module, students will have produced a small-scale immersive prototype that demonstrates clear problem solving, creative exploration and confident technical decision making.
The module focuses on screen media representations of minds and bodies with an emphasis on moving beyond assessing accuracy of portrayals to understanding the ideological contexts, discourses of power and critical debates in which perceptions of authenticity are constructed. It expands students’ knowledge of screen media’s role in processes of racialization, gendering and othering. Students taking this module will venture beyond film and media scholarship to develop intellectually rigorous critical reading. Drawing on this advanced engagement with established and contemporary debates students will undertake nuanced close textual analysis Students taking this module will develop research skills and written argumentation to support preparation for independent study or similar in-depth engagement with critical ideas.
This module offers students the opportunity to produce a professional-quality short film project that reflects their creative interests and career ambitions. Working within an open brief, students will develop and realise a moving-image work that demonstrates both creative intent and professional production practice. The completed film will serve as a key portfolio piece, supporting progression into industry or further study.
This module offers students the opportunity to develop a professional-quality screenplay project tailored to their creative interests and career goals. Working within an open brief, students will produce an original screenplay artefact that demonstrates advanced storytelling and professional presentation, forming a strong addition to their final portfolio.
This module immerses students in the creative and technical processes of real-time animation production. Using digital content creation (DCC) tools and game engines, students design cinematic sequences that bring animated stories to life in real time. They explore 3D layout, digital cinematography, and shot composition while learning how to manage efficient real-time workflows used in pre-viz, game cinematics and virtual production. By end of the module, students will have produced a short real-time cinematic sequence that demonstrates professional storytelling, aesthetic control, and technical proficiency suitable for contemporary animation and VFX pipelines.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
This module introduces the core principles that underpin all animated movement. Students explore how timing, spacing, weight, and performance bring drawings and digital characters to life. Through a series of short, practical exercises, they develop the technical and creative skills essential for believable motion and expressive storytelling. Working with industry-standard animation software, students build confidence in planning, testing, and refining animated sequences. The module emphasises observation, iteration, and reflective practice, providing a foundation for advanced animation production and specialisation in later study.
This module explores the core ideas that shape computer-generated imagery in animation and visual effects. Students learn to interpret and construct digital form, light, and material using industry-standard software while gaining awareness of how CGI practices evolve through new technologies such as real-time rendering and procedural CG content generation. By combining creative experimentation with critical insight, students build the digital fluency and visual understanding needed to progress in contemporary CGI and related creative-technology disciplines.
Cultivating Creativity is a first-year interdisciplinary module designed to develop students' creative thinking and industry awareness. The module fosters curiosity, ideation, and practical application while equipping students with essential academic, creative and professional skills. Through engagement with contemporary issues, students will explore how these topics intersect with their chosen industry contexts.
This module explores the core principles of design for animation. Students develop character, prop, and environment designs while learning how visual language, composition, and colour communicate personality, mood, and story. Through hands-on workshops, tutorials, and peer feedback, students build creative confidence, technical awareness, and professional design skills that form a foundation for animation and visual effects study.
This module introduces key elements of the animation pipeline, focusing on story, character development, and film language. Students learn foundational skills in ideation, communication, visual storytelling, and cinematic design. Through hands-on workshops, they develop narrative concepts into beat boards, storyboards, and animatics, gaining confidence in layout, composition, and animated storytelling techniques.
This module introduces students to the historical development, formats, and cultural practices of criticism across film, television, and screen media. It explores the distinctions and overlaps between criticism, reviewing, and analysis, developing students’ understanding of how each operates within different professional and cultural contexts.
Through collaborative discussion and close engagement with a range of media texts, students will strengthen their ability to articulate informed interpretations and critical judgements for diverse audiences. The module supports the development of both analytical rigour and creative communication skills.
The module culminates in the production of a portfolio of critical work across multiple formats — which may include written, audio, video-based, and interactive pieces — reflecting the varied ways in which contemporary screen media criticism is produced and shared.
Your learning on this module encourages you to be adaptive and inquisitive in the face of change, equipping you with the critical awareness and agility needed to navigate a rapidly shifting media landscape. Alongside theoretical inquiry, you will engage in practical experimentation with selected emerging technologies or tools, analysing their creative potential through testing and evaluation. You will communicate your findings through research-led creative outputs, such as a video essay or another critically informed presentation format.
Expanded Film invites students into the world of experimental and artist-led moving-image practice. Through screenings, lectures and hands-on workshops, the module explores how filmmakers and visual artists challenge conventional storytelling to create bold, alternative screen works. Students experiment with a range of techniques and forms, such as expanded cinema, installation, video essay and title-sequence design. W, while developing their own short experimental artefact. Along the way, they learn to connect creative choices with key artistic influences and critical ideas, building confidence in imaginative, boundary-pushing practice.
The module is designed to be flexible in both content and assessment. Students may use a wide range of tools, methods, and forms. The portfolio format supports different working styles and access needs. Readings are short, accessible and available digitally.
This module introduces students to experimental approaches within animation, encouraging exploration beyond conventional workflows through the use of 2D rigs, hybrid techniques, and emerging digital tools. Students engage in short practical projects that integrate traditional animation principles with innovative processes, developing confidence in creative risk-taking and technical experimentation. By testing the boundaries of animation practice, students broaden their understanding of how alternative methods can enhance storytelling, motion design, and visual expression. The module provides a foundation for more advanced creative and technical development in later years.
Sound for Visual Media equips and empowers you to apply fundamental sound production skills in a variety of visual media contexts. Through a range of industry-aligned methods and practices, you will create complex soundtracks in response to specific visual media, drawing on key principles and theories of sound.
Animation Practice allows students to specialise in an area of animation or explore a hybrid creative pathway that supports their individual aspirations. Working within Story & Visual Development, 2D Animation, 3D Animation, or Visual Effects (VFX), students develop technical skills, creative confidence, and professional workflows. The module encourages experimentation, visual research, and problem-solving while offering opportunities for collaboration, competitions, and external engagement. This prepares students for advanced study and professional practice in the animation and VFX industries.
This module develops the applied production skills required for creating 3D assets in animation and visual effects. Students work on environment and character projects, exploring how design, form, and surface communicate narrative and function in digital space. They gain experience with industry-standard tools for modelling, sculpting, surfacing, and rendering, and learn how to optimise and present work for production pipelines. The module emphasises creative problem-solving, procedural thinking, and professional presentation, providing a foundation for advanced CGI and team production practice in the final year.
Creative Collaboration is a Level 5 shared core module that develops students’ ability to work effectively with others in the conception, development, and presentation of creative media projects. Through a series of intensive design sprints, students will collaborate in small groups to respond to a set of themed creative challenges aligned with real-world contexts such as social impact, sustainability, and emerging cultural practices.
The module emphasises collaboration as a creative and professional practice, foregrounding communication, negotiation, leadership, and problem-solving alongside ethical and cultural awareness. Students will be supported to reflect critically on both the creative outcomes and the collaborative processes that shape them.
The module culminates in a project-pitching event in which students present their collaborative projects and participate in a panel discussion, demonstrating their ability to articulate creative intent, evaluate collaborative dynamics, and respond to critical questioning.
This module aims to give you an opportunity to immerse yourself in a specialist area within the creative arts. The content of the module is shaped by the research and practice expertise of staff members who actively collaborate with and mentor you throughout your exploration of this specialist area. This ensures that you benefit from the latest insights and methodologies within the chosen specialist area, gaining a well-rounded understanding that integrates theoretical knowledge with practical application.
This module explores the creative and technical processes of post-production for animation and visual effects. Students learn to integrate multiple visual layers, rendered passes, and live-action plates to produce seamless, cinematic imagery. Workshops cover keying, rotoscoping, tracking, and grading using professional software and emerging novel tools that enhance efficiency without replacing creative control. By the end of the module, students will produce a short composited sequence demonstrating visual coherence, colour harmony, and narrative intent — preparing them for advanced production and real-time workflows in Level 6 study
This module introduces students to the principles and practices of commercial motion design, where animation, graphic design and video combine to create moving visuals for professional and promotional purposes. Motion design is widely used in advertising, branding, broadcast, digital and social media, as well as in corporate communication and experiential contexts such as title sequences, film credits, music videos, product launches and digital interfaces.
Power up your audio production skills with this hands-on, deep dive into the virtual worlds of game audio. Learn how sound designers and studios create atmospheric and action-packed soundscapes to accompany complex gameplay. From creating bespoke sound assets to integrating audio into game engine software, this module is tailor made for those seeking to work in the game audio sector.
The module aims to introduce you to a range of conceptual and theoretical approaches to the study of horror in popular culture. It explores the history of the genre and selected subgenres as well as contemporary manifestations, both supernatural, and realist horror.
The module looks at the horror genre in terms of various social, cultural and national contexts. Students can study psychoanalytical approaches to these fictions as well as approaches such as affect theory which attempt to go beyond psychoanalysis. Through lectures, screenings and discussions, students are encouraged to apply these approaches to the analysis of selected media texts and subgenres.
Ever wondered what really happens behind the scenes on a professional film set? This module lifts the curtain on the fascinating world of the lesser-known – but absolutely essential – roles that bring a production to life. From discovering what an Assistant Director actually does to exploring the creative magic of a Foley Artist, you’ll get an inside look at the craft, the teamwork, and the problem-solving that power the screen industries.
You’ll be introduced to the full range of production roles, learning what each one does, how they collaborate, and the specialist skills involved. By the end of the module, you’ll have a confident, industry-level understanding of the entire production pipeline—and a clear sense of where you might fit within it. Whether you’re aiming to step onto set, into the studio, or behind the scenes, this module helps you discover the exciting career pathways that lie ahead.
This module is part of the University's commitment to academic programmes that encourage a high level of vocational relevance. This module encourages students to think beyond their University life, reaching into the wider community to hone their skills and target future employment possibilities. The module aims to enable students to examine how arts-based organisations, educational and non-traditional arts-based establishments function and provide students with valuable workplace experience.
Discover the twin pillars of professional screenwriting: creating original story material and evaluating scripts with an industry-ready eye. In this module, you’ll learn how to develop compelling film and television ideas, shape them into concise story outlines, and craft polished opening pages of screenplay that showcase your voice and creative intent. You’ll also step into the world of script development, where you’ll analyse feature film screenplays and produce clear, insightful script coverage — a skill used daily across studios, production companies, agencies, and development rooms. Through workshops, practical tasks, and guided feedback, you’ll build the creative, analytical, and communication skills that underpin successful writing careers. Whether you’re aiming to write your own projects or support the development of others, this module gives you the tools, confidence, and professional mindset to thrive in the screen industries.
The Industry Placement Year is an exciting opportunity for students to take a year out of formal study to gain real-world experience in the creative industries. Whether you’re looking to build industry connections, develop professional skills, or explore career options, this year will give you a full-time, hands-on experience within an arts, cultural, or creative organisation.
This year is a collaborative experience between you, your employer, and the University—ensuring that you get the most out of your time in a professional setting.
Study Abroad is an optional module which enables students to spend a semester studying abroad at one of the University’s approved partner institutions. Eligible students must have completed their first year of study to a satisfactory standard and successfully completed the application process for the study abroad scheme. During the semester spent abroad, students share classes with local students and study on a suite of locally-delivered taught modules which have been approved in advance by the University. Upon their return, as part of the assessment for this module, students are required to critically reflect upon their experience of living and studying in a different cultural environment and the skills acquired.
This module aims to give students a thorough understanding of production design, together with practical and creative skills to develop their own design solutions. Using key examples of production design throughout cinematic and televisual history, students will develop an understanding of how the role has evolved and changed over the years, and where it may be going. Using diverse examples of production designers across multiple genres, the aim is to provide a broad range of contextual references, to provide a foundation for the students’ own creative exploration and experimentation. The students will develop and realise their own production design proposal. This will be presented in an industry-inspired portfolio.
The space occupied by Youth is one that is frequently highly contested, debated and dissected. From ideas of alienated Other to active change maker, youth culture is situated as a fascinating in between site (as a bridge between child and adulthood), as challenging authority and belonging nowhere. The screen scrutinises youth culture through a socio-political lens and asks questions of it, such as how is it perceived, where is it positioned and what does it want?
Screening Youth explores the representation of young people in film and television within the context of society, culture and politics. The module will address youth on screen through themes that contextualise young people in and out of society, which may include image, space, sexuality, violence, identity and sub-cultures to enable students to understand and disseminate youth representations on UK, Hollywood and Global screens.
Enter the exciting world of sound design for moving image, where you will learn the methods and techniques employed by audio professionals working on some of your favourite films and television shows. You will be taken through the processes of creating the soundtrack for a dynamic moving image production, from its inception to completion. Using your imagination, you will channel your creative ideas into sound, using a range of industry-aligned equipment and facilities.
Storytelling for Animation and VFX equips students with the creative skills needed to write compelling narratives that challenge preconceptions of the medium. Students explore global animations, comics and folklore as inspirations and create their own original short form stories.
Animation Pre-production is where ideas take shape. Students transform concepts into production-ready animation proposals through story development, visual design, and cinematic planning. Workshops and tutorials guide them through research, storytelling, layout, storyboarding, and animatic creation, supported by industry-standard tools and professional critique. Students may choose to pursue an individual concept or respond to a live client brief, gaining real-world experience in negotiation and presentation. By the end of the module, each student will have a polished pre-production portfolio and pitch that demonstrate creative vision and production awareness.
This capstone production module turns pre-production plans into a completed short film or VFX moment. Students specialise in Art Direction, Animation Direction, or Technical Direction while collaborating across the full pipeline—from layout and rigging to animation, rendering, and post. Working to a negotiated production plan, teams simulate studio practice and deliver a broadcast-quality outcome supported by professional documentation and evaluation. Graduates emerge with a substantial portfolio piece and demonstrable production experience
Creative Futures is a final-year module designed to prepare students for the transition into professional life. Through guest talks, lectures, tutorials, and flexible online learning, students gain a critical understanding of creative careers and the wider labour market. The module focuses on key transferable skills such as emotional intelligence, resilience, digital literacy, critical thinking, leadership, and intercultural awareness. Students will reflect on their strengths, values, and goals, and emerge confident, career-ready, and equipped to thrive in diverse professional environments.
Students undertaking this module develop the ability to generate, research, and realise innovative ideas through an independently conceived project within their Animation and VFX specialism. Guided by workshops and tutorials, students move from concept development and research through to the creation of a visual artefact or written piece. The module supports creative autonomy, problem-solving, and reflective practice, enabling students to produce an outcome that reflects their developing interests, skills, and professional identity.
This module explores the technical backbone of animation production, focusing on rigging, technical animation, and character-effects workflows used in professional pipelines. Students learn how to design, build, and manage functional rigs for characters, props, and articulated systems, while integrating procedural or effects-driven elements to enhance motion and performance. By combining creative problem-solving with industry-standard production methods, students gain the core technical direction skills that underpin modern animation and VFX practice
Community Impact gives students the opportunity to apply their creative skills to real-world challenges in collaboration with external partners and communities. Working individually or in teams, students research, propose, and deliver creative responses to community-focused briefs that address social, cultural, or ethical issues. The module develops professional and transferable skills including project management, communication, collaboration, and reflective practice, while encouraging students to consider how creative work can make a meaningful contribution beyond the University environment.
This module helps you discover how to market and promote creative work effectively. You’ll build practical skills in communication, marketing, and distribution, exploring how creative products and services are positioned and reach audiences across different sectors. You’ll also learn research approaches that give you insight into industry trends and apply these ideas to real-world contexts. Through hands-on assignments, you’ll develop strategies to showcase your work and make it stand out in the competitive creative industries.
This module examines principles of games and play as cultural, aesthetic, and conceptual forms across multiple film and media contexts. It considers how these principles increasingly shape visual culture and digital media practices, including cinematic games, streaming cultures, and forms of interactive storytelling. Through critical study and creative experimentation, the module explores gamification, gameful design, and the growing influence of play-based systems across media and everyday life. It culminates in the creation of design prototypes that reflect games as spaces of cultural expression and innovation.
In this module, you’ll develop skills and knowledge in immersive audio. You’ll explore cutting-edge concepts, technologies, and production techniques that bring sound to life in three dimensions. Through hands-on experience, you’ll work with spatial audio formats like Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos, and binaural rendering, while mastering the principles of multichannel capture, mixing, and monitoring in a professional immersive studio environment.
This module gives students the opportunity to explore how digital content can shape physical spaces, real time environments and interactive experiences. Through hands on experimentation, rapid prototyping and user centred design, students investigate contemporary immersive practices and develop adaptable production methods suited to a fast-changing creative landscape. By the end of the module, students will have produced a small-scale immersive prototype that demonstrates clear problem solving, creative exploration and confident technical decision making.
The module focuses on screen media representations of minds and bodies with an emphasis on moving beyond assessing accuracy of portrayals to understanding the ideological contexts, discourses of power and critical debates in which perceptions of authenticity are constructed. It expands students’ knowledge of screen media’s role in processes of racialization, gendering and othering. Students taking this module will venture beyond film and media scholarship to develop intellectually rigorous critical reading. Drawing on this advanced engagement with established and contemporary debates students will undertake nuanced close textual analysis Students taking this module will develop research skills and written argumentation to support preparation for independent study or similar in-depth engagement with critical ideas.
This module offers students the opportunity to produce a professional-quality short film project that reflects their creative interests and career ambitions. Working within an open brief, students will develop and realise a moving-image work that demonstrates both creative intent and professional production practice. The completed film will serve as a key portfolio piece, supporting progression into industry or further study.
This module offers students the opportunity to develop a professional-quality screenplay project tailored to their creative interests and career goals. Working within an open brief, students will produce an original screenplay artefact that demonstrates advanced storytelling and professional presentation, forming a strong addition to their final portfolio.
This module immerses students in the creative and technical processes of real-time animation production. Using digital content creation (DCC) tools and game engines, students design cinematic sequences that bring animated stories to life in real time. They explore 3D layout, digital cinematography, and shot composition while learning how to manage efficient real-time workflows used in pre-viz, game cinematics and virtual production. By end of the module, students will have produced a short real-time cinematic sequence that demonstrates professional storytelling, aesthetic control, and technical proficiency suitable for contemporary animation and VFX pipelines.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
Learn in a supportive studio environment
Lincoln’s course is designed to help students grow gradually in confidence, technical ability, and creative independence.
You’ll receive support through:
Assessment designed around creative practice
Assessment is coursework-based, allowing you to demonstrate your skills through practical creative outputs rather than traditional exams.
Develop confidence as a creative professional
Many students start the course unsure whether they want to work in animation, games, VFX, or broader creative media. The course structure allows room to experiment, discover your interests, and build confidence before specialising.
What can you do with an Animation and Visual Effects degree?
Possible career paths include:
Graduates may work in:
Lincoln graduates have secured roles with studios including TT Games, Framestore, Double Negative, Cinesite, Tandem Films, and Lupus Films.
Career-focused learning throughout the course
Unlike courses that focus only on theory or experimentation, Lincoln integrates employability into studio practice through:
This helps students graduate with practical experience that mirrors real creative production environments.
Further study options
Graduates may also progress into:
I was able to secure a role as a Junior Animator on the acclaimed LEGO video games series at TT Games, before I even graduated. I wouldn't have been able to do this were it not for the phenomenal guidance and expert tuition I received at the University of Lincoln.
Thaxnay Kapdee
BA (Hons) Animation
This course could be a good fit if you:
You do not need to have mastered every animation tool before applying. Curiosity, creativity, and willingness to experiment are just as important as technical experience.
104 to 112 UCAS Tariff points.
This must be achieved from a minimum of 2 A Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications. For example:
A Level: BCC to BBC
BTEC Extended Diploma: Distinction Merit Merit
T Level: Merit Overall
Access to Higher Education Diploma: 104 to 112 UCAS points to be achieved from 45 Level 3 credits.
International Baccalaureate: 29 points overall.
GCSE's: Minimum of three at grade 4 or above, which must include English . Equivalent Level 2 qualifications may be considered.
The University accepts a wide range of qualifications as the basis for entry and do accept a combination of qualifications which may include A Levels, BTECs, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
We may also consider applicants with extensive and relevant work experience and will give special individual consideration to those who do not meet the standard entry qualifications.
For applicants who do not meet our standard entry requirements, our Arts Foundation Year can provide an alternative route of entry onto our full degree programmes:
Non UK Qualifications:
If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.
EU and Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page
If you do not meet the above IELTS requirements, you may be able to take part in one of our Pre-sessional English and Academic Study Skills courses.
If you would like further information about entry requirements, or would like to discuss whether the qualifications you are currently studying are acceptable, please contact the Admissions team on 01522 886097, or email admissions@lincoln.ac.uk
104 to 112 UCAS Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications.
If you are eligible for a contextual offer, a one grade or 8 UCAS Tariff point reduction to the standard entry requirements will be applied.
A Level: BBC
BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
T Level: Merit
Access to Higher Education Diploma: 45 Level 3 credits with a minimum of 112 UCAS Tariff points.
International Baccalaureate: 29 points overall
GCSE's: Minimum of three at grade 4 or above, which must include English and Maths . Equivalent Level 2 qualifications may be considered.
The University accepts a wide range of qualifications as the basis for entry and do accept a combination of qualifications which may include A Levels, BTECs, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
We will also consider applicants with extensive and relevant work experience and will give special individual consideration to those who do not meet the standard entry qualifications.
Non UK Qualifications:
If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.
EU and Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page
If you do not meet the above IELTS requirements, you may be able to take part in one of our Pre-sessional English and Academic Study Skills courses.
If you would like further information about entry requirements, or would like to discuss whether the qualifications you are currently studying are acceptable, please contact the Admissions team on 01522 886097, or email admissions@lincoln.ac.uk
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Don't meet the full entry requirements?
The Arts Foundation Year at Lincoln is the first year of a four-year degree programme, offering students the chance to explore a range of creative subjects including Animation, Architecture, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography, and Product Design before progressing onto a specialist degree.
University Study is a major investment, so it’s important to understand the costs and support available. A full breakdown of the fees associated with this programme can be found below. Eligible students may be able to access scholarships and bursaries to help with study costs.
Students participating in optional field trips are expected to pay for the cost of their travel, accommodation, and general living expenses. Any trips included within a compulsory module are fully funded.
Additional material costs depend on the mediums you choose to work in.
University Study is a major investment, so it’s important to understand the costs and support available. A full breakdown of the fees associated with this programme can be found below. Eligible students may be able to access scholarships and bursaries to help with study costs.
Students participating in optional field trips are expected to pay for the cost of their travel, accommodation, and general living expenses. Any trips included within a compulsory module are fully funded.
Additional material costs depend on the mediums you choose to work in.
The best way to find out what it is really like to live and learn at Lincoln is to visit us in person. We offer a range of opportunities across the year to help you to get a real feel for what it might be like to study here.
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We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, and contact hours.
We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, and contact hours.
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