Bachelor of Arts in Animation
The Bachelor of Arts in Animation program mirrors the University vision, mission, and mission outcomes. The fundamental philosophy of the program is to encourage innovation, experimentation, imagination, creativity, multi-cultural approach and critical thinking in students with a passion for visual arts, drawing and storytelling with the goal of creating animation work that stands out in the global industry. The program incorporates into its curriculum a theoretical and critical approach to the development and research of digital art forms as well as creating original content for TV, film, advertising and other media.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Bachelor of Arts in Animation program will be to prepare students for entry-level employment in the digital animation industry and/or further studies at the graduate level.

Program Learning Outcomes

In addition to the university wide outcomes of: higher order thinking; oral and written competence; scientific and technological literacy; global understanding and multicultural perspectives; and service to the community whose foundation is laid by the General Education Program (see section on General Education), the following are the Bachelor of Arts in Animation program-specific Learning Outcomes:

1. Analyze animation theory, tradition and practice in global context
2. Develop creative animated stories for different genres and platforms
3. Apply legal ethics in the management of animation business
4. Use variety of software to develop characters capable of acting and speaking in the animation production process

Key Features of the Program

The BAA program prepares students for entry-level employment in the digital animation industry and/or further studies at the graduate level. It incorporates into its curriculum a theoretical and critical approach to the development and research on digital art forms. We understand that animation is closely related to film but it’s not just about that. We expose the students to the physics, the architecture, and generally wider understanding of animation and how it can be used beyond animated film. USIU’s BAA is a first in Kenya and the region. No other university offers a BA in Animation without tagging along other courses like film, etc.

We train our students in our state-of-the -art animation labs which are spacious and well equipped with top notch range of iMacs and software. The idea is to give our students limitless opportunities for creativity.
At each level/year of study, students produce tangible outputs in terms of real animated projects so that by the time they graduate, they seamlessly fit in and actually challenge the industry.

We teach them to think outside the box to come up with solutions to industry challenges. Given the new dimensions and opportunities in the animation industry, plans are underway to develop a Gaming concentration so that our graduates are not only standing out in film animation, but also in the currently trending gaming industry. BAA graduates find relevance in basically every audiovisual platform including advertising, broadcast journalism and film making.