The School of Art at the LSU College of Art & Design was ranked in the top 10 animation school programs in the South and top 50 programs in the nation by Animation Career Review. The site’s 2014 Animation School Rankings are the source for aspiring animation, design, and gaming professionals seeking information on training programs, schools, and colleges.

The LSU School of Art is home to several programs for aspiring animators, offering a BFA and MFA in studio art with a concentration in digital art. LSU’s Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technologies and Research (AVATAR) hiring initiative establishes a university-wide faculty focus on the intersections among art, technology, and computation, creating new research areas in virtual environments, digital art, electroacoustic music, animation, video game design, scientific visualization, and more. Students interested in expanding their studies beyond digital art and animation may consider LSU’s BA in theater with a film and television concentration, as well.

The digital art program at LSU is the newest concentration in the School of Art. The program fosters creative insight and theoretical grounding, in addition to practical expertise. Students refine their skills in classes that provide an integrated understanding of animation, visual effects, 3D modeling, and interactive systems. With the range of new digital media companies coming to Baton Rouge, LSU is able to pull in instructors from the industry to teach trends and practices used in current professional workflows.

Many digital art students also pursue the AVATAR digital media minor, which allows them to take classes in video game design, electronic music, and interactive graphics. LSU also benefits from a strong film and media arts program where students can take courses in screenwriting, film theory, and video production. LSU is just starting a master’s program in Digital Media Arts & Engineering, or DMAE, that will play an important role in the new digital ecosystem at LSU and the Baton Rouge community.

In preparing the 2014 rankings, Animation Career Review considered hundreds of schools in the U.S. that offer programs geared toward animation. Ranking criteria was based on academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of the program and faculty, value as it relates to tuition and indebtedness, and geographic location.

Louisiana universities, overall, were well represented in Animation Career Review’s 2014 Animation School Rankings, as three Louisiana universities were included in the top 15 programs in the South: LSU was ranked at No. 9, University of Louisiana at Lafayette at No. 11, and Southeastern Louisiana University was ranked at No. 13. LSU was the only university in the state to be ranked within the top 50 programs, coming in at No. 47 in the nation. The significant number of production companies and the prominence of Louisiana as a national filming location were, no doubt, influential factors for the geographic ranking criteria.

According to Animation Career Review, “the art, design, entertainment, and media industries in Louisiana employ 15,950 creative professionals . . . animators willing to work in a smaller market may be called upon often when productions come to town or when one of the local studios needs extra help. Full-time employment is a possibility, as well.”

“Education in animation, visual effects, and interactive media are particularly important to growing a sustainable and creative digital economy in Louisiana. Being able to tell a story or express an idea by combining art and technology is often a team effort. It’s our goal to create an environment that fosters collaboration with students, researchers, and industry. By going through a digital art BFA program, students not only learn how to make compelling visuals, they also learn how to think critically and create conceptually engaging work. Educating our own digital artists is vital to continue growing the digital media industry in Louisiana,” said Derick Ostrenko, assistant professor of digital art at LSU.

Visit animationcareerreview.com for more information and to view a complete list of rankings.

About LSU School of Art
The LSU School of Art combines the best of both worlds: the resources and faculty of a large liberal arts institution and the personal attention that comes in a close-knit community. Students in the School of Art develop specialized skills while experimenting with various mediums, exploring their own creative intuition, and studying art history and contemporary art theory. Education comes from intensive critiques, working studio classes, dedicated professors, and engagement with the larger arts community through a curriculum that combines academic teaching and hands-on experiences, both on and off campus. For more information, visit art.lsu.edu.

About LSU College of Art + Design
The LSU College of Art + Design includes programs in studio art, art history, architecture, graphic design, interior design, and landscape architecture. The college brings together a focus on creativity and expression, talented faculty, specialized concentration areas, outstanding studio and gallery spaces, and a connection to the community to create a dynamic program. For more information, visit design.lsu.edu.

Contact
Angela Harwood
Communications Coordinator
LSU College of Art + Design
102 Design Building
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
225-578-9041
aharwood@lsu.edu