Singing a Successful Toon: Woodbury University's Animation Program Ranked 13th in the West, 40th Nationally
Animation Career Website Ranks Programs Based on Reputation, Quality of Student Work, Technology, Facilities, Proximity to Employment.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) June 05, 2014 - Woodbury University today announced that its Animation Department and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation degree program ranked No. 13 among the Top 25 Animation Schools in the West and No. 40 among the Top 100 Animation Schools in the nation by Animation Career Review, an online resource for people who aspire to a career in animation; game design, development and art; graphic design; digital art; and related fields.
The 2014 rankings are based on the overall quality of the program, including technology and facilities available to students; consistency and quality of student and graduate animation works; proximity to employment opportunities; and reputation of the program in the industry. [The publication's Top 25 review of Woodbury's animation program can be found here.]
"Woodbury University's location in the heart of Southern California's animation industry provides our students with access to faculty who work in the field, the latest technology tools available anywhere and plentiful opportunities to build a strong foundation that ultimately will lead to a successful career," said Eddie Clift, Ph.D., dean of Woodbury's School of Media, Culture and Design, which offers a bachelor of fine arts degree in animation or film, and a bachelor of science degree in Media Technology. "We are delighted to be recognized for creating a program that provides our students with a strong foundation in the art of animation while also enabling them to experience a wide range of experiences that broaden their horizons and prepare them for jobs within the animation industry."
"Animation brings together art, film, television, new media, technology, sound design and the written word," said Dori Littell-Herrick, chair of the Animation Department with credits that include television shows, such as Fat Albert and He-man and She-ra, television commercials and motion pictures, including Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, The Little Mermaid and Osmosis Jones. "By engaging our students in the production of challenging and relevant animation in all its forms, we encourage the development and growth of new animation talent."
Case in point: 2004 Woodbury graduate and Disney Animation employee Ross Blocher, who parlayed his degree into a job as a technical director on The Simpsons Movie, The Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh and, more recently, as a trainer working with the team responsible for Disney's Oscar®-winning animated feature, Frozen. As a high school senior, Blocher applied to only two schools: a high-profile Los Angeles university and Woodbury, where his entire graduating class numbered in the hundreds, not the thousands.
"At Woodbury, I wasn't just a number," Blocher said. "I realized I would have more opportunity to get to know people and for them to get to know me. I also was able to work with professors who were working in the field and could be advocates for me, which was critically important when it came time to get a job."
Woodbury is accredited by the National Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
About Woodbury University
Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Organizational Leadership. The San Diego campus offers Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Real Estate Development for Architects (MRED), and Master of Science in Architecture, Landscape, and Urbanism degrees. Visit www.woodbury.edu for more information, and Reflections on Excellence, a twice-monthly blog written by Woodbury University President Luis Maria R. Calingo, Ph.D.
Media Contact:
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
(323) 469-3397
ken ( @ ) edgecommunicationsinc dot com
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