| Ranking | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheridan College | Brampton, Mississauga, and Oakville, Ontario |
| 2 | Ontario College of Art and Design | Toronto, Ontario |
| 3 | York University | Toronto, Ontario |
For this ranking we only consider formal degree programs (bachelor's degree or equivalent). For an explanation of our ranking criteria, click here.
Sheridan College (Sheridan) houses the Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design (FAAD). The largest art school and Canada and known as the “Harvard of Animation,” FAAD serves approximately 4,925 full-time students across 32 programs in Animation and Game Design; Film, TV, and Journalism; Visual and Performing Arts; Design, Illustration, and Photography; and Material Art and Design.
Animation options include a Bachelor of Animation and graduate certificates in Computer Animation or Digital Creature Animation-Technical Direction. The bachelor’s program takes four years to complete and graduate certificates take one year to complete. Course examples for the Computer Animation program include Animation Design; Technical Direction; Lighting and Look Development; Animation Methodology; and Directed Projects.
Students in the Digital Creature Animation-Technical Direction will take courses such as Digital Sculpting; Anatomy and Life Drawing; Digital Creature Systems; and Digital Creature Methodology. Bachelor of animation students will take courses such as Introduction to Digital Tools; Character Design; Composition and Rhetoric; Introduction to Life Drawing; Animation Principles; and Story Development.
A major component of the Bachelor of Animation is the mandatory three-month work placement, which allows students to gain professional work experience in the field prior to graduation. Students will also participate in Sheridan’s Annual Industry Day, where they will meet with employers from across North America. Examples include DreamWorks, HP, Illumination, NVIDIA, Brown Bag Films, Big Jump, Atomic Cartoons, Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI), House of Cool, Switch FX, Wacom, Jam Filled, Wild Brain Studios, and Mercury Filmworks.
Students in all FAAD animation programs also benefit from study abroad opportunities at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design (IADT) in Ireland; access to state-of-the-art facilities at the Sheridan Centre for Animation and Emerging Technologies (SCAET); and collaborative projects that take place in an immersive, hands-on, studio environment.
The Computer Animation certificate program at Sheridan College culminates with a Capstone, while the Digital Creature Animation-Technical Direction program culminates with a directed project completed across two courses. Students in the Bachelor of Animation program will graduate with a professional demo reel of their best work.
Graduates are prepared for careers across the feature film, animation, television, gaming, and advertising industries. To date, more than 80 FAAD program alumni have been nominated for Emmys, and nearly 20 have been nominated for Oscars. FAAD graduates can also be found at major studios across North America and around the world. They work in roles such as Animator, Layout Artist, Animation Director, Creature Animator, Rigger, TD Supervisor, Video Game Artist, Modeler, and Technical Director.
Sheridan College serves approximately 40,065 students making it one of Canada’s largest universities by enrollment. With 3,380 employees, Sheridan is also one of the top 10 largest employer’s in Oakville, Ontario. Established in 1967, Sheridan College provides more than 140 programs across five faculties and four campuses including Davis (Brampton, Ontario), Hazel McCallion (Mississauga, Ontario), Trafalgar Road (Oakville, Ontario), and the Virtual Campus. Of the school’s 140+ programs, more than 90 provide work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities.
The Faculty of Art at Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD University or OCAD U) is home to the Experimental Animation program. Leading to a BFA, this four-year, honors degree combines 2D and 3D, stop motion, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and digital compositing with traditional and digital media. Students also have opportunities to develop skills in other areas of art and design through more than 90 elective options and 25 focused minors. Examples include Wearable Technology, Integrated Media, Games and Play, Creative Writing, Drawing and Painting, and on-Screen.
The Faculty of Art at Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD University or OCAD U) is home to the Experimental Animation program. Leading to a BFA, this four-year, honors degree combines 2D and 3D, stop motion, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and digital compositing with traditional and digital media. Students also have opportunities to develop skills in other areas of art and design through more than 90 elective options and 25 focused minors. Examples include Wearable Technology, Integrated Media, Games and Play, Creative Writing, Drawing and Painting, and on-Screen.
The OCAD University Experimental Animation program provides opportunities to participate in projects with real-world industry partners; summer internships; short, experiential learning experiences across hundreds of organizations; and study abroad experiences at the OCAD U campus in Florence, Italy or another art and design school the university’s Mobility/Exchange Program.
Other program features freelance creative opportunities; automatic membership at the non-profit XSPACE Cultural Centre, which houses the student-run gallery—XSPACE; and the opportunity to participate in Toronto’s largest free art and design exhibition—GradEX.
The Experimental Animation BFA program at Ontario College of Art and Design University prepares students to pursue careers in animation gaming, film production, video, and television.
For students seeking a shorter path to study animation, Ontario College of Art and Design University has an Expanded Animation minor that can be added to any OCAD U major or taken as a post-graduate certificate. A collaboration between the Faculties of Art, Design, and Liberal Arts & Sciences, the minor combines drawing, graphic design, experimentation, and media art.
Course examples include Animation Fundamentals; Exploring Drawing Processes; Animation: Stop Motion; Motion Design; 3D Modeling and Animation; Compositing and Digital Animation; Animated Illustration; Installation: Screen to Space; Advanced Animation Studio; Painting and Digital Imaging; Screenwriting; and History of New Media Art.
OCAD University has an additional option for students seeking flexible continuing education program. The Animation Skills Certificate consists of five courses selected from nine options. Examples include 3D Animation Studio 1: Introduction to Blender; Introduction to Toon Boom Harmony; Character Design Studio; Storyboarding for Media Production; and Stop-Motion Puppet Making Studio.
Across all programs, OCAD U graduates enjoy a more than 90% employment rate. Careers range from entry-level to leadership roles at animation studios, production companies, game design studios, television stations, advertising agencies, marketing firms, and more.
Established in 1876 as Ontario School of Art, Ontario College of Art and Design was the first school in Canada dedicated exclusively to educating aspiring fine and commercial artists. Serving approximately 4,190 students, OCAD U is also the country’s largest art, media, and design school. Ontario College of Art and Design provides nearly 30 degree programs and close to 30 minors across the Faculties of Art, Design, and Arts & Science.
The OCAD University Experimental Animation program provides opportunities to participate in projects with real-world industry partners; summer internships; short, experiential learning experiences across hundreds of organizations; and study abroad experiences at the OCAD U campus in Florence, Italy or another art and design school the university’s Mobility/Exchange Program.
Other program features freelance creative opportunities; automatic membership at the non-profit XSPACE Cultural Centre, which houses the student-run gallery—XSPACE; and the opportunity to participate in Toronto’s largest free art and design exhibition—GradEX.
The Experimental Animation BFA program at Ontario College of Art and Design University prepares students to pursue careers in animation gaming, film production, video, and television.
For students seeking a shorter path to study animation, Ontario College of Art and Design University has an Expanded Animation minor that can be added to any OCAD U major or taken as a post-graduate certificate. A collaboration between the Faculties of Art, Design, and Liberal Arts & Sciences, the minor combines drawing, graphic design, experimentation, and media art.
Course examples include Animation Fundamentals; Exploring Drawing Processes; Animation: Stop Motion; Motion Design; 3D Modeling and Animation; Compositing and Digital Animation; Animated Illustration; Installation: Screen to Space; Advanced Animation Studio; Painting and Digital Imaging; Screenwriting; and History of New Media Art.
OCAD University has an additional option for students seeking flexible continuing education program. The Animation Skills Certificate consists of five courses selected from nine options. Examples include 3D Animation Studio 1: Introduction to Blender; Introduction to Toon Boom Harmony; Character Design Studio; Storyboarding for Media Production; and Stop-Motion Puppet Making Studio.
Across all programs, OCAD U graduates enjoy a more than 90% employment rate. Careers range from entry-level to leadership roles at animation studios, production companies, game design studios, television stations, advertising agencies, marketing firms, and more.
Established in 1876 as Ontario School of Art, Ontario College of Art and Design was the first school in Canada dedicated exclusively to educating aspiring fine and commercial artists. Serving approximately 4,190 students, OCAD U is also the country’s largest art, media, and design school. Ontario College of Art and Design provides nearly 30 degree programs and close to 30 minors across the Faculties of Art, Design, and Arts & Science.
The School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) at York University (York U) provides two paths to study animation: the BA in Digital Media Arts (DMA) and Media Arts BFA. The DMA BA is provided in partnership Lassonde School of Engineering and it is Ontario’s only degree program that integrates Computer Science, Art, and Engineering.
The program has three focus areas including Digital Media Game Arts, Digital Media Arts, and Digital Media Development. Students in all areas will begin the DMA program with an 18-month common core. The Digital Media Game Arts focus features courses such as Introduction to 3D Animation; Interactive Sonic Arts; Game Mechanics; Time-Based Art: Video in the Expanded Field; and Generative and Parametric 3D Modeling for the Arts.
Sample Digital Media Arts courses include Artificial Life, Generative Art, and Creative Code; Publishing in Digital Media; Modeling for 3D; Introduction to Interactive Digital Media I-II; and Making Interactive New Media Art. In Digital Media Development, students will take courses such as Introduction to Animation; Simulation and Animation for Computer Games; Interactive Sonic Arts; Advanced Topics in 3D Computer Graphics; and Introduction to Virtual Reality.
Other program features include collaborative project development courses; opportunities to gain experience through the York University Technology Internship Program; public showings at the Ontario Science Centre, Digifest, and Interaccess; and access to state-of-the-art classrooms, studios, labs, and research facilities.
The DMA programs at York University culminate with the Digital Media capstone project. Graduates are prepared to pursue careers across the entertainment, media, publishing, television production, advertising, and other fields. Program alumni have gone on to become Animators, VFX Artists, Cartoonists, Game Artists, Illustrators, UI/UX Designers, Art Directors, AI Software Developers, and New Media Artists.
The Media Arts BFA program explores animation; mobile, interactive, and immersive media; storytelling; augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR); gaming; interactive cinema; artificial intelligence (AI); social media; and sound arts. Course examples include Introduction to 3D Animation; Animation and New Media; The Art of Animating; Games and Media; Virtual Worldbuilding: Methods and Issues; Motion Capture: Performance and Interactivity; Transmedia Storytelling; and Time-Based Art: Video in the Expanded Field.
All York U Media Arts BFA students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, labs, and studios; masterclasses led by industry professionals; immersive workshops; and networking opportunities across the media and creative industries.
The Media Arts BFA program culminates with a capstone project and a field placement in the media industries, including content creation on campus at York U’s Cinespace Film Studios. Graduates are prepared to pursue roles across the entertainment and media industries.
York University serves approximately 54,720 students from 170+ countries, making it the third largest university in Canada. Founded in 1959, this teaching and research university provides more than 200 undergraduate and graduate degree programs across three core campuses (Glendon, Keele, and Markham), numerous satellite locations, and 11 faculties and schools.
