| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge |
| 2 | Tulane University | New Orleans |
| 3 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Lafayette |
Our 2025 ranking -our fourteenth annual- of the top animation school programs in Louisiana. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
Louisiana State University (LSU) is in the elite 1% of academic institutions with land-, sea-, and space-grant designations. The school is also home to the College of Art and Design, which is one of less than 330 schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Within LSU’s College of Art and Design is the School of Art, which provides BA, BFA, MA, and MFA programs led by accomplished artists and designers.
Among the school’s programs are the Studio Art BFA and MFA degrees with a Digital Art concentration, and the Art and Design BA with a Digital Art area. Both are ideal options for aspiring animators. Other options include the interdisciplinary Master in Digital Media Arts and Engineering (DMAE); and DMAE minors including Digital Media Arts and Engineering Technology (DMAET), and Digital Media Art (DMART).
The DMAE Masters is provided in collaboration with the College of Engineering and the College of Art and Design. The DMAE minor (including DMART and DMAET) is a collaboration with six campus units including the Schools of Art and Music; the Departments of Computer Science, English, and Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Manship School of Mass Communication.
DMART is an arts-oriented minor and DMAET is a technology-oriented minor. Both options are interdisciplinary and require 21 credit hours, including 12 credit hours of electives. Course examples across programs include 3D Animation; Interactive Computer Graphics; Video Game Design; Moving Image; Computer Music; and Screenwriting Workshop. Both programs culminate with a three credit hour capstone.
The Studio Art BFA with a Digital Art concentration begins with a full year of preliminary foundation courses in art and design. This first year culminates with the Foundations Portfolio, which determines if students will be fully admitted into the School of Art and their chosen discipline. Once students have been admitted, they will begin taking courses specific to their concentration area.
For Digital Art, examples include Intermediate 3D Animation; Digital Art I-II; Virtual Space; Creative Coding; Digital Art Synthesis; Intermediate 3D Design; Moving Image; Digital Art Studio. This 120 credit-hour program culminates with a final project and portfolio.
The LSU Studio Art MFA (Digital Art) is a 60 credit-hour experimental program that blends computational artmaking courses with coursework in areas such as animation, film, computer science, electronic music, and painting. Up to 12 general electives may to be taken in any area at the 4000/7000 level. This provides additional opportunities to focus in animation.
The DMAE Master is housed in the DMAE Digital Media Center on LSU's campus. This new state-of-the-art $29.3 million facility is a shared space with Electronic Art’s (EA) North American Test Center. This provides opportunities to learn from and work with accomplished digital artists, programmers, designers, researchers, and musicians.
The intensive, two-year program DMAE Master explores animation, interactive design, visual effects (VFX), and video games. Course examples include Advanced Programming and Digital Art; Interactive Design, Rapid Prototyping, and Innovation; Interactive Design; Principal Production Workshop; Digital Media Production and Project Management; Innovation; and Interactive Production Team I-II. Electives allow students to take additional animation or other courses in different areas of interest. A Digital Media Internship is also part of the program.
The DMAE Master at Louisiana State University culminates with the Capstone Production Team course. This team-based collaborative project results in professional market-ready production. Students will also earn six credits for this course.
Across all Studio and Digital Art programs, students have opportunities to join the Digital Art and Design Association (DADA), which hosts an Annual Animation Jam. Students may also participate in LSU’s Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technologies, and Research (AVATAR) Initiative, and study abroad experiences developed specifically for the College of Art and Design. Examples include LSU in South Africa; College of Art and Design in Rome; ArtNYC; Footsteps in Berlin; LSU in China; Art in Florence; Design in Paris; and Art in Ireland. Other study abroad destinations may include the Netherlands, Vietnam, Haiti, and the UK.
Louisiana State University was founded in 1860 as the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy. The flagship institution of the Louisiana State University System, LSU serves approximately 32,490 students enrolled in more than 330 programs across 18 colleges, schools, and centers, and LSU Online. Louisiana State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
Tulane University (Tulane) is home to the School of Liberal Arts, which houses the Newcomb Art Department. Within the department is a Digital Arts area that explores time-based media (animation and video), 3-D graphics, virtual reality, interactivity, and digital imaging. The area is open to all Newcomb Studio Art BA, BFA and MFA students.
All students will have opportunities to work and create animated projects in the Digital Arts Studio, which is equipped with Mac workstations; the latest industry-standard software such as After Effects, Illustrator, and Premier; and digital video equipment.
The Studio Art BA and BFA programs begin with the Foundations of Art Series where students will have opportunities to complete several projects. Course examples across programs include Digital Arts, which explores 2D animation, video editing, color and composition, and digital imaging; Time-Based Media, which covers animation, video, and sound design; Drawing II: Materials and Strategies; Digital Arts II: Creative Computing; Studio Art Principles; Drawing II: Figure Drawing; and Special Topics.
Both BA and BFA students will also have the opportunity to complete the Independent Study course; Service Learning (ARST 2890); Studio Research; and the Junior Year Abroad (ARST 5380 or 5390). In addition, students in both programs will complete the Senior Capstone Studio (5020) to graduate.
The course culminates with the exhibition of the students' work in the BFA and BA Exhibitions in the Carroll Gallery at Woldenberg Art Center, where students will design, install, promote, and document their projects. Graduates are prepared to pursue roles across the digital arts. This includes areas such as animation, special effects, games, 3D modeling, illustration, graphic design, UI/UX design, and virtual reality.
The Studio Art MFA at Tulane University is an intensive, interdisciplinary program that focuses on individual studio practice and cross-disciplinary seminars. Consisting of 63 credit hours completed in-residence over two years, the program allows students to work closely with faculty and peers to create works, complete courses, and participate in seminars. Studio, course, and seminar examples include Canon in Crisis: Challenging the Tenets of Art Theory; Studio Art MFA Critique; Special Problems I-II; Graduate Art Studio; and MFA Seminar.
The program culminates with the Thesis Project and Exhibition, where each artist will exhibit a culminating body of work in the Carroll Gallery. Graduates are prepared to pursue leadership roles across the digital arts. Tulane alumni have been hired at places such as Amazon and Disney.
Tulane University was founded in 1834 as Medical College of Louisiana. The school merged with the University of Louisiana in 1847. Today, Tulane serves approximately 14,645 students enrolled in more than 75 majors and minors across 10 academic divisions. Tulane University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) houses the College of the Arts. Established in 1958 as the School of Art and Architecture, the college serves more than 900 undergraduate and graduate students across the Department of Visual Arts, the School of Architecture and Design, and the School of Music and Performing Arts. Within the Department of Visual Arts is a BFA program with a Computer art and Animation concentration.
Launched in 1992, Computer Art and Animation is considered the oldest established program of its kind in the state of Louisiana. Courses and projects for the program take place in a hands-on studio environment equipped with state-of-the art high-tech classrooms and workstations outfitted with Mac computers; flatbed scanners, digital cameras, and projectors; and the latest versions of industry software such as Adobe Creative Suite and Maya.
Visual Arts BFA students also have access to the Animation Studio and the New Media and Digital Art Studio. Equipment includes compositing and editing software, a video/audio lecture system, and a Green Screen production studio with HD digital cameras, lighting equipment, tripods, and storage space.
The Computer Art and Animation concentration at UL Lafayette explores animating, compositing, storyboarding, creating animatic studies, concept development, scriptwriting, video and audio editing, animation history, contemporary works, and theory in animation. Course examples include Introduction to Computer Animation; New Media and Digital Art; Intermediate Computer Animation; Drawing I-III; Sound Design; Design I-II; Conceptual and Formal Development Through Drawing; and Art Since 1945.
During the final year of the program, students will complete two Advanced Computer Animation courses and the Senior Capstone Art Project I-II courses. This culminating experience results in a completed professional portfolio and exhibition.
Graduates of the Computer Art and Animation (Visual Arts BFA) program are prepared to pursue careers in areas such as animated films, game art and design, television production, multimedia, and advertising. Program alumni have worked on projects for Pixel Magic in Lafayette, Louisiana. Examples include Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One and Part Two, Men in Black, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One, Looper, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette was established in 1898 as the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute. The school serves approximately 19,215 students, making it the second largest university in Louisiana and the largest in the University of Louisiana System. Students at UL Lafayette have access to more than 300 programs across 14 colleges and schools. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
