Bucks New University Welcomes Our New Students To The Online MA in Animation!

The world's first online MA in animation

We're excited to welcome all our new students who have just started the journey with us on our brand-new online MA in animation, launched this week here at Bucks in partnership with Animation Apprentice.

This is a unique degree - the first of its kind - which can be undertaken by students anywhere in the world, leading to a formal qualification in the field. You will not only learn how to animate, but you will engage at Masters' level with the underpinning theory and structure behind the art form. So, what is this degree all about, and what can our new students expect?

Sydney Padua - Our New Animation Lecturer!

Bucks New University is proud to announce our new lecturer in Animation - industry veteran Sydney Padua, whose animation career not only includes a roster of Hollywood hits but also encompasses countless visual effects blockbusters.

If that's not enough for you, she has even published highly successful graphic novels.  So, some very good news then for animation and VFX students at Bucks.

Job Alert - Sheridan College Seek Professor of Animation - MA Required!

Sheridan College are hiring!

Sheridan College in Toronto are looking for a professor of animation. The job is a well-paid post at one of the world's most prestigious animation schools. So what's stopping you applying? Most likely, it's because you don't have an MA in your chosen field. To teach in higher education, even in the arts, you need an MA. But where to get one? That's where Bucks comes in.  In September 2015 we launch The World's First Online MA in Animation.  You can study from home part-time - all without ever leaving your desk.

Merry Christmas from the Float Folks!

The Float Folks

Merry Christmas from the Float Folks! And, of course, from all of us in the animation department at Bucks New University.  To see more about the Float Folks, and their watery world of bobbers, dragon flies and dogfish, created by our students and recent graduates at Bucks, follow this link.

Win £750! - Competition Launched for a Video on Life at Bucks New Uni

Bucks New Uni Film Competition

Calling all Bucks Animators! The Bucks Students’ Union is running a competition for university students and alumni to produce a short video about what it’s like to study here at Bucks. There is £750 up for grabs with a £500 prize for the most-viewed video at YouTube (ie a popularity contest) and a second prize of £250 for the best video as judged by a university panel.

MA Art and Design Exhibition at Bucks - Now Showing!

MA Art & Design Exhibit at Bucks

The free MA Art and Design Show is currently showing in the halls at Bucks, a reminder that animation is very far from being the only creative art form going on at our university.  This year’s MA Art and Design Show began with a private view last week and is open to the public until Thursday 11 December.  Take a walk around the Gateway Building and admire the excellent work that goes on here at Bucks, and celebrate the creativity of our designers and artists.

Lyuboslav Angelov explains what it's like coming from overseas to study at Bucks

From Bulgaria to High Wycombe

Lyuboslav Angelov is one of our first year animation students, having made his way to High Wycombe from Bulgaria to start with us on the second year of the new Animation and Visual Effects course this past September. We asked him to talk about what it was like coming to study in the UK, how he is finding the course so far, and what some of the challenges have been.

Bucks Animation Student Kalim Momen is Rusty - For a Day

As everyone at Bucks knows, Rusty is our official university mascot, the big furry character with antlers who welcomes you to our University Open Days and to Freshers’ Week. This week we did some filming for a short video about life at the university, and we needed someone to play Rusty. Fortunately, Kalim Momen, one of our 2nd year animation students, was game to try out the Rusty suit, and see what life is like as a loveable cartoon deer.

Wednesday 19th November - Come to Our Next Open Day at Bucks!

Wednesday 19th November is our next Open Day at Bucks. Open Days are a great way to meet the Course Leaders (for Animation & VFX - that's me and Dave Creighton) here at Bucks, find out about our courses, and also explore our campus.

We're sure you'll be impressed by the state-of-the-art technical equipment we have in the brand new Gateway Building; the result of a £40m investment program completed just a couple of years ago, aimed at turning Bucks into a creative hub for media production of all kinds.

Activities Week Comes to Bucks! - Monday November 17th

Activities Week at Bucks

Monday November 17th is the start of Activities Week at Bucks - a chance to explore the many and diverse aspects of life at the university, and tackle something new, exciting and different. It's all organised through the Bucks Student Union and forms part of the Bucks Big Deal - which aims to offer our students great value for money, making sure you're not confronted with unexpected costs or extra expenses. Best of all Activities Week is a chance to try your hand at stuff you've never done before.

Do you need to study at university to learn animation?

The TAAFI Education Panel

On Monday 16 June TAAFI - the Toronto Animation Art Festival International - hosted a panel talk on the subject of  “An Animation Education”. The sub-title of the talk was “Do you need to go to university to learn animation?”. In other words, given all the opportunities now available to study online, should  students still commit to the expense and time of a full undergraduate education?

On the panel to discuss the question were Richard Arroyo – head of Games at iAnimate.net,  Mark Jones, chair, School of Creative Arts, Aubrey Mintz, Head of Animation, California State University Long Beach, Brooke Keesling, Manager, Animation Talent, and Tony Tarantini, Sheridan College Professor of Animation. The first question was this:

Come to our next Open Day - Saturday 11 October 2014

Saturday 11th October is our next Open Day at Bucks. Open Days are a great way to meet the Tutors and Course Leaders (for Animation & VFX - that's me, Dave Creighton and Nick Brown) here at Bucks, find out about our course, and also explore our campus.

We think you'll be impressed by the state-of-the-art technical equipment we have in the brand new Gateway Building; the result of a £40m investment program completed just a couple of years ago, aimed at turning Bucks into a creative hub for media production of all kinds.

Periodic Review at Bucks - how can we do better?

On Friday March 14th we had Periodic Review at Bucks. Periodic Review is - as the name suggests - a review of the courses we run at Bucks, bringing in the views of our students, our academics, and external experts to give us all a reality check, and ask searching questions about what we are doing right - and what we are doing wrong. The process takes place every six years and, as it turned out,  friday was a surprisingly useful day, helping to shine a light on the way we do things at Bucks, asking questions about why things are the way they are - and how we might do things better in the future.

Introducing the Bucks New University Film Society - launching on Thursday 20 March

Film Club. Just like Fight Club - but without the fighting

Calling all film enthusiasts at Bucks: The BNU Film society is re-launching itself this coming Thursday 20th March. The film society is the best place to go at Bucks to watch, share and discuss films with people who love films just as much as you do.

Needless to say, anyone can stay at home and watch a film alone, but nothing beats sharing the excitement of watching an action, fantasy, science fiction, romance, thriller, horror or comedy with friends and others who share the same enthusiasm.

What is Student Number Control?

How it used to be

Student Number Control is the system by which the Government regulates how many students each university in the UK can welcome through its doors. In effect, every university has a quota, which it cannot exceed, and that quota is dictated by the Government. The purpose of the system is to control student numbers, and distribute students geographically throughout the country, ensuring that a handful of super universities don't soak up all the talent.

The system has been in place for many years, but - and this is the important bit - it is about to end. From 2015, Student Number Control will be gone. The announcement that Student Number Control will end was made in the 2013 Autumn statement by Chancellor George Osborne. So what does it all mean? The answer is - big changes are ahead for universities across the country.

Virtual Tour of our Animation Studio!

Animation - a fisheye view

The best way to figure out if Bucks is the right place for you to study animation and visual effects is to come in and visit us in person. We have regular Open Days; our next one is on Wednesday 19 February - you can sign up here.  But in case you can't make it in to see us in person, you can take our virtual tours instead from the comfort of your keyboard at home.

The Daily Telegraph ranks Bucks in top 14 Creative Universities

Art and Industry - what Bucks is all about

Recently the online magazine Huffington Post ranked Bucks in the top 12 Creative Universities in the UK. Now the Telegraph has weighed in, including us in a list of the 14 most creative universities in the UK.  So why are we in this list? The answer lies in the massive £40million investment made a few years ago in our shiny new Gateway media building - an investment that is now beginning to pay off handsomely.

Open Day today at Bucks!

Open Day at Bucks New University - come and see us!

Today, Wednesday 20th November 2013, is Open Day at Bucks. Open Days are a great way to meet the Tutors and Course Leaders (for Animation & VFX - that's me and Dave Creighton) here at Bucks, find out about our courses, and also explore our campus.

Bucks ranked in top 12 among "Creative Universities" in the UK by Huffington Post

Gateway media hub - opened in 2010

One of the best things about teaching at Bucks New University is the huge range of media disciplines that are gathered around our High Wycombe campus. In recent years Bucks has been re-inventing itself as a major creative hub, following the huge £40million investment in the Gateway media building that houses a wide variety of creative arts. That investment is now beginning to pay off, and recently the Huffington Post recognised this by ranking us number 12 among creative universities in the UK.

Meet our Tutors - Rob Kelly

Rob Kelly teaches Camera, TV production, Design and Motion Graphics at Bucks

Rob Kelly is a vastly experienced commercials director with a long and varied career in advertising and branding, and has numerous awards to his name. He has also worked as a creative director and graphic designer for some of the top branding, advertising and design agencies in London. We asked him to tell us about his remarkable career - and what brought him to teach here at Bucks New University.