Master of Animantion - Avans University

Students gain access to the formidable expertise and resources of our strong industry partners - Playgrounds, Submarine, The Panics, Ambassadors and many more, as well as connections with studios and festivals in the Netherlands and abroad. We have a regular programme of lectures, workshops and events by leading animators, such as Leon Tukker, Dirk van Dulmen and Anna Eijsbouts. Taking account of sector needs in creative employment, students benefit from direct access to the industry network and execute assignments in collaboration with our partners, allowing them to test their abilities with confidence within a professional context. Our alumni form an invaluable international network of creatives. Each year we offer teaching opportunities to support and build this vibrant ecosystem.

The programme:
The curriculum offers students flexibility, as well as a fixed programme of classes. Fixed elements are: Independent Studio Practice, Professional Practice and Research Seminars. Flexible elements allow students to design their own curriculum through tutorials (one-to-one and group), skills-based workshops, lectures and (international) study trips. The most significant point of reference for each student is their self-directed research and independent studio project. The curriculum is designed to foster a student’s studious enquiry into the forms, meanings and knowledges and experiences that issue from the production of a body of artistic works, and to assist them in recognizing the questions, ideas or themes that motivate their practice. In a highly experimental environment, students develop their conceptual, creative and technical skill sets, and learn to build critical content through narrative strategies. The programme explores animation’s pervasively expanding field across a broad range of experimental visual media, new applications in design, games and interactive media. Students are challenged to find novel ways to enter these areas, and to establish their own unique position within them.

The research aspect of the curriculum supports students’ engagement in processes of reflective critique in order to analyze chosen working methods, and to build a framework to situate and speak about their artistic practice. Students are encouraged to understand their practice contextually and to discuss its underpinnings in relation to theoretical and historical trajectories, with a view to generating informed meanings within a range of contexts. Through exposure to a variety of methodologies and practices, students learn to iterate concepts and are able to analyze, inform and shape their projects from concept to final project.
In line with our international reach and network, we provide students an expansive awareness of the field of animation and adhering global net-work through International study trips to Animation festivals in Europe. Students may choose to attend one of two festivals offered each year. These are organized in Semester 2. Festivals such as: Pictoplasma in Berlin, OFFF in Barcelona, Annecy and ITFS/FMX in Stuttgart have been visited by our students in recent years.