BA (Hons) Illustration with Animation (Dual)
Programme Overview
- Degree: Bachelor of Design (Illustration with Animation) (Awarded by British University Vietnam)
*Option for dual award: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Illustration with Animation (Awarded by Manchester Metropolitan University and British University Vietnam) - Duration: 3 years (Full-time)
- Location: BUV Campus, Ecopark, Hanoi
- Timetable: Student’s timetable will be sent to BUV student’s emails prior to the commencement date of each semester
This programme is subject to validation.
Dual International Degree with Accredited Quality
World‑class School Recognition
182 years of pioneering art and design education, shaped by industry and dedicated to career-ready graduate
Home to generations of globally recognised creatives who carry forward our philosophy of creativity
- Building on Foundations and Individuality: The BA (Hons) Illustration with Animation programme is built on a strong foundation of drawing, with a focus on shaping personal style. Students combine illustration and animation while developing strategies and skills to tackle diverse challenges in the field of visual communication.
- Diverse Creative Practice: Through practice-based research, students bring their creative ambitions to life in both print and film. They work with traditional hand-drawn and digital techniques across multiple formats, designing characters and settings for illustration, graphic novels, and animation.
- Industry Connections and Modern Tools: Students regularly take part in industry-led live projects and learn to use AI tools effectively to enhance and professionalise their creative outputs. Continuous engagement with industry ensures that graduates are ready to launch their careers with professional-standard illustration and animation portfolios.
- Successful Alumni Network: Many Manchester Metropolitan graduates have progressed to postgraduate study at prestigious institutions such as the Royal College of Art, the National Film School, and Manchester Metropolitan University. Alumni have also gone on to careers as freelance illustrators, animators, filmmakers, designers, pre-production artists, storyboard artists, and educators.
Course Structure 
Year 1 
Year 2 
Year 3 
Year 4
This module will equip students with a greater ability to communicate through writing, and speaking, as well as enhance their receptive skills with reading and listening. Overall, students will learn key foundational skills in academic English and develop a greater ability to use English in both formal and informal settings. The aim of this course is to build a strong foundation for students to extend towards more specialist, academic forms of English usage and comprehension.
This module introduces core materials and approaches to illustration and animation through building observation skills, Manchester-based location visits, text interpretation and research. You'll build an essential illustrator/animator ‘toolkit’ by exploring still and moving images, generating a body of exploratory work, documenting and reflecting on your methods. The module offers an experimental journey, expanding your skillset through a series of dynamic briefs.
In this module, you will tackle complex planetary challenges by working with students from different creative fields. Through our lab-studio-classroom, experimental approaches to practice will explore the notion of ‘What if?’ as a way to explore open-ended enquiries that allow critical space to propose alternative futures. Through multidisciplinary perspectives you'll develop innovative responses to societal issues, combining practical skills and theory to create resilient, inclusive outcomes for our changing world.
This module offers the opportunity to build a solid foundation for your practice. You will tackle diverse briefs, directing your work, identifying potential audiences, and collaborating with external institutions and contexts. Through this, you'll enhance your professional skills, employability awareness and practitioner profile. You'll also apply your evolving skills and methodologies to create a substantial body of work, leading towards a professional illustration and/or animation portfolio.
Programme Outcomes
Combine illustration with animation
Develop as a versatile visual designer and communicator by integrating illustration with animation. Learn to apply your creative skills across a wide range of professional contexts—from screen-based media to publishing and site-specific installations.
Diverse skillset development
Build expertise in both traditional and digital techniques, including drawing, reportage, life drawing, printmaking (screen print, Riso, monoprint, etching), bookbinding, 3D making, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Character Animator, Aero), and animation (experimental, short-form, 2D with TV Paint, 3D stop-motion with Dragonframe, and Maxon Cinema 4D).
Award-winning competitions
Boost your portfolio and visibility through industry-recognised competitions such as the Penguin Design Awards, World Illustration Awards, and Creative Conscience Awards.
Inspiration from Industry Experts
Learn from internationally renowned guest speakers and leading industry professionals. Gain career insights from school graduates working across illustration, animation, and creative enterprise.
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Employability
Graduates of Illustration with Animation will be well-prepared to embark on diverse careers within the creative industries, including:
- Freelance or in-house illustrator/designer
- Book illustrator or publishing artist
- Storyboard artist
- Animator (2D, 3D, or mixed media)
- Filmmaker or visual storyteller
- Art educator
Graduates may also choose to progress on to postgraduate study.
Admission requirements
Requirements to the BUV award
1. Academic Requirements: Graduated high school or equivalent.
2. English Language Requirements: IELTS: 4.5 overall (no less than 4.0 in any section) or equivalent.
Requirements to the Manchester Metropolitan University Dual award
1. Academic Requirements: (one of the following)
- Successful completion of BUV Year 1.
- Successful completion of BUV Pathway to University.
- Successful completion of Year 1 of a Vietnamese Bachelor’s degree, in a relevant subject area.
- Other qualifications that meet entry requirements for each course that are listed on website of Manchester Metropolitan University.
2. English Language Requirements: (one of the following)
- IELTS: 6.0 overall (no less than 5.5 in any section) or equivalent.
- Complete BUV UNIPATH 3.
Fees & Financial Aid
Financial Aid
The British University Vietnam (BUV) scholarship fund was established in 2018 with the goal of giving students the opportunity to study UK undergraduate and graduate programmes in an international learning environment. With an aim to improve and increase accessibility to high-quality education, BUV has officially launched the fund valued at 150 billion VND in 2024 with hundreds of scholarships and financial aid made available.
You can visit our Scholarship page to find out more and check your eligibility.
