Best Universities for Animation in the UK 2027
Cardiff Metropolitan University tops our 2027 animation ranking with a score of 160, achieving 100% for both teaching quality and academic support while performing strongly on social life and sustainability. York St John University is second with 150 points and University of Worcester third with 149. We ranked 52 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Animation is one of the most widely available creative degrees in the UK, offered at over 50 universities. That breadth makes this ranking genuinely useful. Graduate earnings range from £17,500 (Bedfordshire) to £30,000 (Edinburgh Napier), and course quality varies significantly. Where you study matters for your showreel environment, your industry connections and the resources available to you. A well-known art institution is not automatically a better choice than a strong specialist programme at a less familiar university.
For how these universities perform across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Animation University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£23,500 | 75% | 100% | 100% | 160 |
| 2 | York St John University York |
£22,000 | 80% | 98% | 95% | 150 |
| 3 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£22,500 | 79% | 93% | 94% | 149 |
| 4 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£24,000 | 74% | 94% | 99% | 144 |
| 5 | Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh |
£30,000 | 72% | 98% | 96% | 142 |
| 6 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£24,000 | 76% | 97% | 100% | 139 |
| 7 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£22,000 | 83% | 91% | 90% | 138 |
| 8 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£24,500 | 78% | 87% | 91% | 137 |
| 8 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£23,500 | 73% | 100% | 100% | 137 |
| 9 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£22,500 | 73% | 92% | 94% | 131 |
| 10 | Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow |
£28,000 | 71% | 95% | 86% | 124 |
| 11 | Coventry University Coventry |
£24,000 | 72% | 97% | 100% | 123 |
| 12 | Arts University Bournemouth Bournemouth |
£25,000 | 83% | 85% | 87% | 121 |
| 12 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£20,000 | 76% | 92% | 92% | 121 |
| 13 | Leeds Art University Leeds |
£22,500 | 86% | 87% | 96% | 120 |
| 14 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£25,000 | 71% | 81% | 83% | 118 |
| 14 | University of Greenwich London |
£24,000 | 69% | 92% | 100% | 118 |
| 15 | University of the Arts London London |
£20,500 | 81% | 89% | 93% | 116 |
| 15 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£17,500 | 68% | 98% | 100% | 116 |
| 16 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£25,000 | 72% | 79% | 76% | 115 |
| 16 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£24,000 | 70% | 89% | 93% | 115 |
| 16 | University of Edinburgh Edinburgh |
£24,000 | 74% | 91% | 96% | 115 |
| 17 | University for the Creative Arts Canterbury / Epsom / Farnham |
£23,000 | 82% | 84% | 93% | 114 |
| 18 | University of West London London |
£27,000 | 72% | 88% | 89% | 113 |
| 19 | University of Sunderland Sunderland |
£20,500 | 74% | 88% | 88% | 111 |
| 20 | Glyndwr University, Wrexham Wrexham |
£23,000 | 74% | 64% | 65% | 110 |
| 20 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£24,000 | 69% | 92% | 92% | 110 |
| 21 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£24,000 | 70% | 84% | 88% | 109 |
| 22 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£24,000 | 79% | 85% | 87% | 107 |
| 23 | University of Salford Salford |
£24,000 | 73% | 73% | 86% | 106 |
| 23 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£25,000 | 71% | 89% | 89% | 106 |
| 24 | University of Derby Derby |
£22,000 | 74% | 90% | 90% | 105 |
| 25 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£27,000 | 71% | 83% | 83% | 104 |
| 26 | Norwich University of the Arts Norwich |
£24,000 | 85% | 84% | 84% | 103 |
| 26 | University of the West of Scotland Glasgow |
£25,500 | 73% | 99% | 95% | 103 |
| 27 | Falmouth University Falmouth |
£23,000 | 82% | 72% | 67% | 102 |
| 27 | University of Dundee Dundee |
£24,000 | 75% | 96% | 99% | 102 |
| 28 | Staffordshire University Stoke-on-Trent |
£22,000 | 72% | 94% | 92% | 95 |
| 29 | Teesside University Middlesbrough |
£25,000 | 78% | 93% | 97% | 93 |
| 30 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£23,500 | 77% | 85% | 92% | 92 |
| 31 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£21,000 | 71% | 88% | 97% | 89 |
| 31 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£22,500 | 72% | 68% | 67% | 86 |
| 32 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe |
£24,000 | 70% | 85% | 95% | 83 |
| 33 | University of Westminster London |
£22,000 | 68% | 89% | 93% | 80 |
| 34 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£23,000 | 71% | 96% | 95% | 79 |
| 35 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£22,000 | 80% | 94% | 100% | 78 |
| 36 | Solent University Southampton |
£24,000 | 71% | 86% | 83% | 75 |
| 37 | Middlesex University Middlesex |
£22,000 | 69% | 89% | 90% | 73 |
| 38 | University of Northampton Northampton |
£24,000 | 75% | 78% | 89% | 71 |
| 38 | London Metropolitan University London |
£19,500 | 66% | 97% | 97% | 71 |
| 39 | University of East London London |
£29,000 | 68% | 54% | 71% | 65 |
| 40 | University of Roehampton London |
£21,000 | 72% | 83% | 87% | 51 |
What the ranking tells you about studying animation
Animation is one of the most widely available creative degrees in the UK, but availability does not mean consistency. Course quality, industry connections, studio facilities and graduate outcomes vary significantly across 52 institutions. This ranking cuts through that by scoring every university on eight metrics that reflect both the academic experience and life as a student. Graduate earnings alone range from £17,500 to £30,000 within six months — for students with the same degree title.
Why Cardiff Met and York St John lead a field of specialist art schools
Cardiff Metropolitan University and York St John University are not the most prominent names in animation education, yet they top a ranking that includes Arts University Bournemouth, University of the Arts London, Falmouth and Leeds Art University. Cardiff Met scores 100% on both teaching quality and academic support for animation, the only university in this field to achieve that double. York St John scores 98% for teaching and 95% for academic support, with the second-highest student satisfaction in the ranking at 80%. Both universities combine strong course delivery with lower costs of living than London-based alternatives.
Edinburgh Napier: the graduate earnings outlier
Edinburgh Napier is the only university in this ranking to produce animation graduates earning £30,000 on average within six months — £7,500 more than the next best, Glasgow Caledonian (£28,000). It ranks 5th overall. Edinburgh's games and animation industry is a significant and growing employer, and Napier has well-established links with studios across Scotland. If graduate earnings are your primary concern, Napier's combination of salary outcomes, 98% teaching quality and 96% academic support makes it the strongest single package in this dataset.
UAL, Falmouth and the specialist art school question: University of the Arts London ranks 15th overall (116 points), Falmouth ranks 27th (102 points) and Arts University Bournemouth ranks 12th (121 points). These institutions carry strong industry reputations, particularly in film, games and broadcast animation. Their ranking positions are held down by London cost of living (UAL), lower academic support scores (Falmouth: 67%) and graduate earnings that sit in the mid-table. Reputation with employers matters in animation. This ranking cannot fully capture that, so it is worth researching studio recruitment pipelines and alumni networks at each institution alongside our scores.
The graduate earnings gap in animation
The £12,500 gap between the lowest (£17,500, Bedfordshire) and highest (£30,000, Napier) earning animation graduates is one of the widest in creative arts. This is partly explained by location — London graduates often earn more but also spend more — and partly by the type of industry roles each university's networks feed into. Games and visual effects roles tend to pay more than broadcast or online content production. Before choosing a university purely on graduate earnings, check where its recent graduates are actually working. A strong placement in a games studio or VFX house is worth more than a mid-range average salary figure.
To see how your shortlisted universities compare across all subjects and student experience measures, visit the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
