Do you need a Master Degree in Animation

Hi,

A Master's Degree is not essential to be in the industry. A lot of it depends on what you want to do. If you want to have the option to teach, especially full time, having a masters degree will be helpful. Another reason to get a Master's in Animation would be for some contacts in the industry/ animation community, and to get into the experimental animation realm. If you are interested in becoming an independent animator, a Master's can give you time to work on creating your own animations from start to finish. You can learn aspects of story boarding, character design, directing, lighting, sound, etc. However you may also get a chance to do this in your Bachelor's program during your senior year as I did.

What you learn in a Bachelor's program for Animation depends on the school you go to. If you end up going somewhere like the Rhode Island School of Design, or the Royal College of Art in the U.K. , you will be focusing on elements of fine art and design. Whereas if you attend somewhere like Savannah College of Art and Design, you will learn more technical aspects of what you need to be able to work in the industry. There are other schools that show this divide as well. If you want one type of program over another, you should research each school and try to talk to a student from each of those schools as well. Each program type has its strengths and weaknesses.

So, if you want to teach or need more time to explore animation, or are looking to be an independent animator and submit your work to festivals like, Animation Block Party, Sundance, Ottawa etc. consider a fine art Bachelors degree or a Master's. If you want to learn technical skills to fill a specific role in a feature film, perhaps try a more technical Bachelor's in animation and you will be able to work you way up in the field.

Depends, you trying to be in upper managment?

If not then you can get by on a two year course from a smaller college.

Good luck

No, not unless your dream job is being a professor, or getting in to the super technical end of things. For a really good job in animation, all you really need is a strong portfolio & demo reel, as well as a way to make your portfolio stand out so that prospective employers will actually look at said reel & portfolio. Now, this said, a degree certainly isn't going to hurt your chances of getting employed, but it's also not at all required.