Happy New Year - the UCAS applications deadline is looming!

High Wycombe wants you

The deadline to apply for a place on our new Animation and Visual Effects course at Bucks New University is January 15th 2014. Despite all the recent changes in higher education, UCAS is still the main portal to access a place at university in the UK. To find out more, don't delay, check out the UCAS website.

What sort of students are we looking for" We want applicants with a real passion to do animation and visual effects work, a drive to become a digital artist and take advantage of the myriad opportunities for animation, games and online work in the new digital economy. Animation is now big business, but it is competitive, and we want to give all our graduates the best possible head start.

The most important thing you need to succeed is a passion for the medium and the desire to learn. Animation is hard work, and takes a while to learn. You will also need a creative spirit - someone who loves to doodle or sketch ideas is perfect for our course. Computer literacy is also vital; not that you need to know the software before you begin, but a willingness to learn and a desire to embrace digital challenges is all part of the job. Getting stuck on a technical problem? - Google it. You will not be the first person to face this hurdle.

Formally, we require 200 UCAS points to get started. But, apart from basic literacy and maths, we're not really that hung up about academic qualifications. Creativity and computer literacy are the building blocks of your career, plus a lot of determination.

Done any digital artwork lately? Bring it in!

Do we interview? Of course! We want to meet you, and we want you to meet us. To see more about what should go into your portfolio for interview, read this post, and check out this post on interview etiquette.

You can also take two minutes to watch this short video which sets out our big ambitions for our new course.

Plus, if you're serious about coming to Bucks, come in and meet us in person, and check out awesome facilities. Our next Open Day is February 19th 2014. You can see details here.

----Alex

(Editor's Note: To see the excellent work done by our students, see this post. Also check out the first exercise done by our new 2012 students here. Take a look at the animation of Jack Strood, as well as our latest commercial project for Rocketseed, our short film done for a global aid agency, and check out the excellent work of some of our recent graduates, such as designer Monika Dzikowicz, architectural visualisation specialist Krsytof Michalski, Alex Whitfield and the 3D artwork of Mike Swan. )