Game Arts & Animation (Extended Degree)

If you want to pursue a creative degree at Arts University Plymouth but feel you have yet to acquire the experience and range of skills necessary, our Extended BA programme will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses.

What is Extended BA?
Our Extended BA (Hons) Degrees offers a unique four-year route for students aiming to delve into the diverse realm of art, design, and media. This programme provides an initial exploratory year, where you'll cultivate insight into various creative skills and approaches, laying a robust foundation before advancing to a specialised degree of your choice. Whether you're returning to education after a hiatus or entering without formal qualifications, our Extended BA equips you with the requisite skills, knowledge, and experience to secure a place in our full undergraduate program.

Our Intensive Extended Degree program is a dynamic blend of lectures, workshops, and practical studio sessions designed to challenge and inspire. Our diverse student body spans from fresh-faced eighteen-year-olds to seasoned creatives in their seventies, fostering a rich collaborative environment. With the freedom to take risks and experiment, you'll develop a diverse skill set through hands-on experimentation with materials, processes, and methodologies. This transformative journey hones critical skills essential for degree-level study, expanding your proficiency in drawing, visual research, contextual studies, digital imaging, and design methods. Gain invaluable experience in a supportive atmosphere that encourages creativity, collaboration, and innovation.

Our BA (Hons) Game Arts & Animation degree prepares you for today’s highly competitive market and rapidly expanding entertainment and media industry, which is forecast to reach $3.5 trillion globally by 2029.

Through storytelling, prototyping and problem-solving, you will develop projects and lead in interdisciplinary contexts, gaining knowledge that will be valuable whether you work for a multinational organisation or a small studio. Alongside the teaching of other content linked to entertainment designs, integrated studies and the humanities and arts, you will develop a comprehensive and sustainable approach for creating dynamic and engaging games and animations.

At a glance

• Degree: BA (Hons) Game Arts & Animation

• UCAS codes: 3-year degree W61M / 4-year extended degree W618

• Typical UCAS points: 104–120

Course overview

The objective of the course is to prepare each student to join a studio, having observed and practised the numerous phases required in the production of game design and animated features, including:

• Writing

• Concept art

• Storyboarding

• Art direction

• Animation

• Editing

Choose your specialism in year two

During your second year you will be able to select either a games or animation career development specialism.

• Game arts path: prepares students to create and communicate visual concepts through 3D and 2D prototyping, iteration and production.

• Animation path: develops students in the disciplines of character animation, storyboarding, modelling, art direction and the principles of 2D and 3D lighting.

Why choose this course?

• Industry-ready expertise: graduates emerge with expertise in storytelling, prototyping and problem-solving, perfectly primed for fulfilling roles in the dynamic and demanding entertainment industry.

• Real Ideas partnership: opportunities to develop and screen 360-degree content in Europe’s first-of-its-kind immersive dome, compatible with VR, AR, mixed reality, games and animation software.

Careers and future opportunities

Career opportunities include: 2D Texture Artists, 3D CGI Animators, 3D Modellers, Print Artists (stop-motion production), Animators, Art Directors, Character Designers, Compositors, Concept Artists, Illustrators, Set and Prop Designers and Storyboard Artists.

Course Modules

The first year of an Extended Degree is not a qualification in its own right, but when you successfully complete it you are guaranteed a place on our full undergraduate programme.

You’ll develop confidence in your use of drawing, visual research, contextual studies, digital imaging and design methods, and you’ll have the chance to experiment with a range of materials, equipment, processes and software.

As the year goes by you’ll specialise in your chosen undergraduate subject (illustration, graphic design, fine art, etc.), helping you to become a confident, independent and creative artist, designer or maker.