First, if the thought of animating has even crossed your mind, the major is worth exploring.  If you’ve thought about it, you probably like to draw and create characters.  You’ve very likely spent countless hours doodling and sketching, maybe even taking it beyond the individual characters to comic strip style illustrations.  Expanding those doodles to more complete stories is where storytelling comes into play.  If you love to spin a tale to bring life to your drawings, you’re two thirds of the way to being an animator.  Sprinkle in some technology to really bring your creation to life and you’ve got everything you need to major in animation and make it a career.  What happens if you can tell a great story and truly love animation, but your artistic skills are less compelling?  You could still major in animation and make your love your career.  It will just take work, determination and drive to be successful. 

Once you’ve determined that you possess all the elements to pursue animation, major in it in school and graduate, what are your career options?  There is a broad spectrum of industries that use animators.  Of course, movies or cartoons and video game design are at the top of that list.  Animation is also used in advertising, training, website design, and three dimensional product modeling, just to name a few.  Depending on the company, the job and your experience, salary may range from the low $30,000’s to over $100,000. 

Now that you know you have the natural abilities and interest to major in animation and some of the basics about career possibilities, you should begin looking at options for schools.  There are a number of possibilities, so it’s important to explore everything that is available and choose what your best fit may be.  A great place to start investigating the prospects is, of course, online.  There are numerous comprehensive lists of schools that include brief descriptions of the programs available.  If you decide to make animation your major and future career, you could choose to go to school online or attend a more traditional campus and obtain an associate, bachelor and even a master’s degree, so follow your passion and choose to major in animation.        

The University of Southern California (USC) offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in animation and digital arts.  Being located in Los Angeles, California, the animation program at USC is provided through their School of Cinematic Arts, which is part of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.  This program includes theatre and humanities classes to enlighten students on multicultural issues and how art can be used to propagate social change.  Through the program, students explore interactive and experimental animation, as well as character animation and visual effects.  To complete the degree, a senior project is required and will include document research, production and post production work.

Brigham-Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in animation.  Their program is provided through the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.  It is a special enrollment program and only a few, select sophomores are invited to participate annually.  These students are high achievers and are expected to maintain these achievement levels throughout the program.  Areas of study within the curriculum include media design, creating story boards, hand drawing, figure drawing, photography, and computer animation.  Students will be trained for working in studios and special effects and coursework may include an internship.  Completion of the degree will require a capstone project for graduation.

The University of Idaho offers a completely different perspective on animation through their Bachelor of Science in Virtual Technology and Design.  From their campus in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, this school provides a program with focus on the technological aspects of animation.  This program uses technology, physics, cutting edge software, and multimedia communications to teach multi-dimensional design and modeling.  They incorporate the more traditional aspects of animation, like sketching, art history and creating story boards, to compliment the high tech aspect and prepare their graduates for a career in animation.

In addition to these three schools, there are many others scattered across the country that rate very well in the field of animation.  The programs offered by the various schools are just as diverse as the geographic locations of the institutions, not to mention there is an assortment of distinguished schools that offer their animation programs through distance learning online.  The distinctive characteristics of each school and each program are as unique as the prospective students, so there really is no way for one school to be perfect for everyone.

Nestled in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University offers a Master’s of Fine Arts degree program in multimedia art through their College of Fine Arts.  Through this program, they augment the prestige of the art school with the strength of their School of Computer Science to create a curriculum that prepares students for a career path where technology and creativity are unified.  This type of combination is particularly suited for game design, robotic art, animation, and interactive stagecraft.

The California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California also offers a Master’s of Fine Arts degree.  This program offers extensive study in character and experimental animation, along with courses in drawing, storytelling, 2-D and 3-D computer animation, and visual design.  In addition to the more traditional animation studies, a heavy focus on the addition of technology is infused into the program. 

A Master’s of Fine Arts program in Digital + Media is offered at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island.  This graduate program broadens the scope of interdisciplinary study even further.  The goal of this program is to marry the undergraduate art studies with the technological advances in numerous career fields to create innovative methods and solutions within that given field.  The program consists of individualized courses focusing on the student’s strengths and interests and culminates with a thesis and accompanying project.

In addition to these top ranking schools, there are many others.  The University of California and University of Southern California, both in Los Angeles, provide well respected graduate programs in animation.  New York boasts the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York University, the School of Visual Arts, and the Rochester Institute of Technology.  A compilation of the best animation schools wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Most graduate schools offering a degree in animation provide a strong tie between the creative side of the industry and the technical side.  This marriage allows you to expand your artistic talents well into multiple careers that wouldn’t necessarily come to mind when one thinks of animation.  As you explore graduate schools, make sure you find a school that allows you to take your passion in the direction you feel driven.

One of these ranking methods is peer review.  With this system a survey is developed asking very specific questions regarding the major area of study.  The survey is then given to a predetermined number of academic peers, like the deans of art schools or equivalent academics, and they are asked to respond to the questions for certain schools by rating them on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being marginal and 5 being outstanding.  Once the results of these surveys have all been submitted, the ranking for each question or category is determined by tallying the responses to that question and dividing the total by the number of responses received.  This method was used in 2008 to compile a list of the top 10 graduate schools for multimedia and visual communications, which includes animation.  The top 10 schools were Carnegie Mellon University, California Institute of the Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, School of Visual Arts, University of Southern California, Virginia Commonwealth University, and New York University and Rochester Institute of Technology tied for 10^th place.

Another method used for ranking animation schools is calculating the number of films produced by students that are placed on the shortlist at international film festivals over a five year period of time.  This method is more typically used to rank schools on an international basis.  The compilation of schools for the period of 2002 -2007 included a total of 20 schools from all over the world.  Schools from the United States that were ranked in this international list included Ringling College of Art and Design, University of Southern California, California Institute of the Arts School of Film and Video, Savannah College of Art and Design, School of Visual Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design. 

Even with the difference in rating and ranking criteria, four schools appeared on both lists.  This overlap may provide a solid indication of the excellent reputation of these particular institutions.  While certainly not the only things to consider, these types of rankings provide prospective students with a firm footing on which to begin their evaluations of schools.  Knowing how the rankings were established makes the information even more viable in the process of elimination. 

Animators are artists that create multiple images for a story or specific purpose.  The images may be characters or special effects.  Depending on the industry, these images may be created by hand or by using computer software.  Animators typically work in creating movies, video games, or advertising.

Modelers take the images created by the animators and make them into three dimensional creations to bring them to life.  Like animators, modelers generally work in the entertainment or advertising industries.

Painters add color to the finished black and white animation drawings.  They paint the background for each scene.  Painters are most typically employed in the process of creating movies.

Graphic designers combine their artistic talent and computer skills to create stories or convey information.  They often work in advertising or web design.  Work in web design has increased exponentially as online business and advertising has escalated.

Multimedia service managers are animators with significant experience that can oversee the production of entire projects.  They supervise a variety of contributors to create multimedia products for web animation and advertising.

Story board artists are interpreters.  They take the script for the project and illustrate it in short snippets to prepare for the rest of the animating process.  They usually work in the entertainment industry.

Layout artists create and draw the backgrounds for the animation.  Their work is usually done in pencil and it’s later painted by the painters.  This is another movie industry position. 

Inbetweeners are the artists that create the connecting pictures between the big scene drawings.  Their drawings are the glue that put all the scenes together to create the continuous action.  This is often times an entry level position in the movie industry.

Technical directors put the pieces of the puzzle together.  They oversee putting all of the different parts of an animated feature together to create the finished product.  This includes the artwork, sound and all the special effects.  This position could span any of the areas where animation is used.

Effects animators create the special effects.  They add aspects to the animated film to make them seem more real.  Depending on the script the effects may be natural or supernatural.  This position could likely be found in any industry where animated film is used.

The school will provide you with a list of the different drawings they want to see.  This list will contain very specific instructions on the format you will need to provide.  The school will want copies of your work, not originals, Specific sizes will also be required, generally 8 ½” x 11”.  Once you have all your work together and in the appropriate size and format, place all of it in some type of portfolio, so your work is presented in an attractive fashion but is protected and stays neat and clean.  There will be a number of different types of drawings required. 

They may ask you to provide an original scene.  This could be a fantasy creature with full background or realistic beings in a surrealistic scene.  It’s supposed to be creative and show your imagination.

Color work will very possibly be required.  This will be used to assess your ability to use and combine colors, contrasts, compliments and so forth.  Some schools will specify the medium they want to see, other will allow you to choose.

You will probably be asked to include multiple drawings of the same character showing different emotions.  Animation is simply another form of acting, so this segment will allow the school to assess your ability to be expressive and effective with those expressions.

Technical ability will likely be reviewed through requiring multiple interior scenes.  They will want to see your ability to draw perspectives and background.  You may be asked to draw the inside of rooms, including the room contents, from various angles.

To show your ability to draw portions of human form and do it three dimensionally, you may be asked to submit multiple drawings of a portion of a human body in different positions.  This is a dual assessment because they will also be looking for how you construct the drawing so keep the rough parts of the drawings and don’t go overboard on perfecting the work.

You will also be given the opportunity to select some of your favorites.  Include a couple of complete illustrations showing action.  If you include other work, like photos, paintings, and so forth, make sure the composition is strong, interesting and dynamic.  The big things to remember are put your best foot forward and follow the instructions.

Start with research.  Know what is available, the requirements for each of the available scholarships and the deadlines for applications.  Once you know what is out there, compare your abilities and your plans to the requirements for each of the scholarships.  Many animation school scholarships are just like scholarships for any college, they are based on academic achievement and talent.  Apply for all of the scholarships for which you meet the academic requirements, like grade point average or testing scores.  In preparation for these applications, make sure you’ve done all you can to keep your grades up and do well in school.

Another possible way to be awarded a scholarship for animation is through a competition.  Periodically schools or organizations will sponsor competitions to look for talent and the competition winner will be awarded a scholarship.  If you find these types of competitions, always submit your best work that meets the criteria of the competition.

Sometimes schools or organizations will work directly with the instructors to award scholarships.  They will request that the instructors review the student portfolios and course work then provide recommendations for deserving students.  The scholarship will then be awarded to one of those students.

Regardless of the type of scholarship for which you are vying, make sure to implement all of the tools within your power to keep you at the top of the group.  First, make sure your grades are strong in all subjects.  This will keep your grade point average up and show that you are engaged in your education.  When submitting animation work, always select the best examples from your portfolio.  Be sure the work meets any criteria that may be included in the application, including format, size and medium.  Be fully aware of all timelines within the scholarship process.  This will give you the benefit of time.  It will allow you to apply early and will give you plenty of opportunity to ensure that your submission is in full compliance with the requirements.  Applying early will also allow the judges more time to review your submission because the majority of applications will likely arrive on the due date.  Your goal is to set yourself apart in the most positive light possible and these are some of things you can do to help your standings.