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Where did people who work as animators at Walt Disney Animation Studios go to college?
| College | Location | % of Employee Degrees |
|---|---|---|
| California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) | Santa Clarita, California | 11% |
| Sheridan College | Ontario, Canada | 8% |
| Ringling College of Art and Design | Sarasota, Florida | 4% |
| Academy of Art University | San Francisco, California | 4% |
| Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) | Savannah, Georgia | 3% |
| ArtCenter College of Design | Pasadena, California | 3% |
| Gobelins | Paris, France | 3% |
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | Los Angeles, California | 2% |
| School of Visual Arts (SVA) | New York, New York | 2% |
| New York University (NYU) | New York, New York | 2% |
| Gnomon - School of Visual Effects, Games & Animation | Los Angeles, California | 2% |
| University of Southern California (USC) | Los Angeles, California | 2% |
| Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) | Columbus, Ohio | 1% |
| California State University, Northridge | Los Angeles, California | 1% |
| Pratt Institute | New York, New York | 1% |
| Vancouver Film School (VFS) | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 1% |
| California State University, Fullerton | Fullerton, California | 1% |
| Brigham Young University (BYU) | Provo, Utah | 1% |
| California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach, California | 1% |
| University of Central Florida (UCF) | Orlando, Florida | 1% |
| Rhode Island College of Design (RISD) | Providence, Rhode Island | 1% |
| Texas A&M University (TAMU) | College Station, Texas | 1% |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, California | 1% |
| Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD) | Laguna Beach, California | 1% |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse, New York | 1% |
| Columbia College Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | 1% |
| Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) | Kansas City, Missouri | 1% |
| Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) | Rochester, New York | 1% |
| College for Creative Studies | Detroit, Michigan | 1% |
| Emily Carr University of Art + Design | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 1% |
| University of Technology Sydney | Sydney, Australia | 1% |
| Full Sail University | Winter Park, Florida | 1% |
| Otis College of Art and Design | Los Angeles, California | 1% |
We analyzed the academic backgrounds of over 1500 current and former Walt Disney Animation Studios employees who worked as animators, or in animation related jobs, at Walt Disney Animation Studios. The percentages of the schools and colleges listed above represent the amount of current and former Walt Disney Animation Studios animators that have a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree from that institution. We listed only those schools and colleges above 1% in our analysis. In total, the 33 schools listed above represent 61% of the degrees we considered.
Notes:
- For the purposes of our analysis, we only listed above the colleges offering animation related degrees.
- Many current and ex-Walt Disney Animation Studios employees have academic backgrounds that include unfinished degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificate programs, and other continuing training programs. While these are all relevant and important educational experiences, we excluded them from our analysis in an effort to focus on degree granting programs.
- Non-degree granting animation career training programs offered by Animation Mentor, The Animation Collaborative, Animsquad, iAnimate, and AnimSchool are not included in our analysis but it is worth noting these programs are enormously popular among current and former Walt Disney animators. These programs are often utilized by working, professional animators to enhance their skill set in specific areas.
- While most professional animators have a formal college degree in animation, there are some professional animators who studied a major other than animation in college. These people are included in our analysis.
- This data is not meant to indicate nor suggest that Walt Disney Animation Studios actively recruits from any of these schools or colleges. It only conveys from which schools and colleges current and former Walt Disney Animation Studios animators earned their degrees.
- This analysis is as of July, 2022.