UW-Stout's Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Animation & Digital Media provides you with the skills and flexibility to succeed in a wide variety of animation-related careers, combining robust art foundations with discipline-specific courses in animation and design software. Students will produce individual and collaborative works to engage audiences in a variety of venues ranging from corporate and commercial to broadcast and streaming platforms.
100% of Graduates Are Employed or Continuing Education Within 6 Months
Career-Defining Curriculum
Our experienced faculty will introduce you to creative and critical thinking skills, principles of visual storytelling, character and environment design, traditional two-dimensional animation, three-dimensional modeling and animation, motion capture, real-time production and much more.
Program Overview
Program Highlights
Our program is an exceptional value compared to other regional and national animation schools offering:
- Industry-inspired animation studios, labs and technology
- Energetic and engaged faculty with wide-ranging professional experience
- A cross-disciplinary environment with frequent opportunities for collaboration
- Regional, national, and international internship opportunities
- A rigorous program advised by a board of industry professionals
Use the Request Information form to receive a program summary and learn more about the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Animation & Digital Media (formerly Entertainment Design).
Request Information
UW-Stout's School of Art & Design is accredited by the National Association for Schools of Art and Design.
We’re looking forward to kick-starting your creative future in the fast-changing world of entertainment, animation, and digital media.
"I was very fortunate to work on the Memorial Student Center design team as a digital signage and animation designer. It gave me a taste of real world experiences, what it is like to work for clients with specific requests and visions."
B.F.A. Alumna
Industry-Experienced Faculty Instruction
Forget TA-taught classes and 200-person lectures. At UW-Stout, building close relationships with our industry-experienced and academically accomplished animation faculty will play a key role in your polytechnic education and your career. Learn more about your future instructors!
Do More in Our Industry-Standard Labs & Studios
Professional Internship Placements in Animation & Digital Media
Take your education into industry and earn while you learn through UW-Stout’s award-winning Cooperative Education & Internship Program (CEIP) and other placements. Unlike traditional internships, our professional paid and pro bono credit-earning experiences connect you with leaders in your field, including leading corporations, animation studios, and government agencies and municipalities, to ensure you’re set up for success long before you graduate. More than a third of Stout students accept positions after graduation with their internship employer.
Recent Internship Employers
- Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.
- The Bernard Group
- ClearView Productions, Inc.
- Make-a-Wish Minnesota
- Mayo Clinic
- Michael Lynn Animation Studio
- Spectrum Industies
- Universal Phoenix Group, LLC
- Unscrolled
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
Select Internship Position Titles
- 2D/3D Artist
- 3D Character Rigger
- 3D Modeler
- Animation Creator/Intern
- Assembly Animation Intern
- FX Animator
- Medical Animation Intern
- Motion Graphics Intern
- Production Assistant
"My work on my student thesis film, Marcus The Teenager’s Never-Ending Quest for Popularity, demonstrated clearly what I could do for potential employers. Suddenly I had this amazing conversation starter, and I landed my first animation industry gig before graduation!”
B.F.A. Alumnus
Portfolio of Student Work
New First-Year Students
Students admitted as Pre-Bachelor of Fine Arts (Pre-BFA) students will join an exciting community of first-year art and design students with classes and events geared towards preparing you for a successful application to the intended BFA program.
Acceptance Into the Pre-BFA & BFA Program
Your acceptance into UW-Stout automatically enters you into the Pre-BFA program that you chose on your application. Starting with incoming first-year students for fall 2026, you have two potential pathways into your BFA major.
We’re here to help guide you along the way.
- Pathway 1: Submit a Portfolio Before Enrolling in Your First-Year Coursework.
Before the start of school, you may submit an independent portfolio for review. If successful, you will be approved for direct-entry into your BFA major and will not be required to apply for the major later. You will still complete the School of Art & Design’s First-Year Experience (FYX) regardless of that outcome. If your portfolio review is unsuccessful, or if you choose not to pursue this pathway, you will still enroll as a “Pre-BFA” in your chosen BFA major. Deadlines and requirements are below. Ready to apply or have questions? Email artdesign@uwstout.edu. - Pathway 2: Submit a Portfolio During or After Your First-Year Coursework.
You enroll as a “Pre-BFA” student and develop a portfolio from the School of Art & Design’s FYX to apply for formal acceptance into your BFA major. After enrolling at UW-Stout, you have two opportunities to apply for acceptance.
What do I need to get accepted into my BFA program?
Pathway 1: After Admission to Stout, Submit the Following by Feb. 1 (Priority Deadline) or April 1 (Regular Decision).
- Your portfolio is the most important part of your application. It is evaluated on artistic and conceptual content, design, composition, technical skill, and creative potential. Your portfolio should contain 12 examples of your best and most recent work that showcases your technical skills and idea development. Select works that demonstrate the depth and breadth of your creative experiences and interests. Your portfolio may include works in a variety of media, including two-dimensional work, photography, three-dimensional work, design, architectural renderings, interactive media, websites, video and animation. Portfolio samples may come from formal assignments or outside of an art class.
- Submit an essay, saved as one PDF, that includes responses of 150 words or less for each of the three prompts below. Incorporate terms and concepts learned to discuss your work.
- Please tell us about your pre-college background, including your experience with making art or design, your educational experience, and influences.
- Tell us about a single project this year that has been included in the portfolio. Why did you include it? What skills did you learn from this project (technical, critical, creative/process)? Which of your strengths do you think it highlights?
- Give us a vision for your future self: What areas will you improve on? What opportunities have been revealed with your learning at Stout? Describe your career objectives.
- A $10 application fee is assessed at the time you electronically submit your portfolio.
Pathway 2: Commonly submitted at the end of the second semester.
- 2.0 or higher UW-Stout cumulative GPA and a grade of C or better for all art, art history, and design courses.
- A personal essay of 300-500 words about how your Foundations work represents your preparedness for your intended major
- Your FYX portfolio
Transfer Students
- All transfer students will be admitted as a Pre-Bachelor of Fine Arts (Pre-BFA) student. Upon acceptance information will be provided on how to submit a portfolio and essay to be reviewed by a committee of School of Art & Design faculty, who will determine direct admissions into the BFA major of your choice.
- Priority Deadlines:
- Spring Admission: October 1 at 9 a.m. CST
- Fall Admission: March 1 at 9 a.m. CST
- Submissions may be made after the priority date; however, there is no guarantee when it will be reviewed for a decision nor what art-specific coursework you may be able to get into after the review is completed and whether or not registration for the next semester has begun. There is a $10 application fee assessed at the time you electronically submit your portfolio.
Transfer students are considered for both fall and spring. This includes portfolio and essay submission by the priority deadline. Students applying for one of the BFA programs will remain admitted as a "Pre-BFA" student if you:
- do not submit a portfolio/essay
or - apply after the BFA program has closed
or - are not approved for the BFA program after submission of a portfolio/essay.
You may then apply for a change of major in subsequent semesters, depending upon available openings in the program. If needed, BFA Foundations courses will be available to "Pre-BFA" students pending seat availability.
Upon completion of the B.F.A. in Animation & Digital Media, graduates will be able to:
- Understand and apply knowledge, techniques, and methods necessary to become a successful production artist.
- Understand the collaborative, multidisciplinary nature of art and design through exposure to faculty and students from multiple design disciplines.
- Define, understand, and identify the elements and principles of art and design and apply them to a variety art and design solutions.
- Understand, analyze and integrate art, design and technology within a historical, cultural and aesthetic context.
- Communicate successfully using various means including speaking, writing, and graphic communication including the discipline specific communication of technical information.
- Apply art and design solutions in relationship to various social, behavioral, and cultural factors.
- Utilize industry-standard software, equipment, production technologies and materials.
- Apply methods and theory (best practices) through all research and development phases of the art and design process.
- Apply and demonstrate visual storytelling techniques and cinematic structure to a variety of creative problems/projects.
- Understand and apply standards of practice for the entertainment design profession including ethics, professional development, and business models.
- Draw, model (three-dimensionally) and illustrate using a variety of traditional and computer-based tools.
Positions
- Animator (2D or 3D)
- Digital Illustrator
- Concept Artist
- Creative/Art Director
- Producer
- Stop Motion Animator
- 3D Modeler
- Game Designer
Employers
- Ziba
- Flurry Animation Studio
- Puny Entertainment
- Larsen Design
- Studio 150
- Raven Software
- Disney
- The Nerdery
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Kuryakyn
Salaries
- Animation & Digital Media Salaries (Animator, Digital Artist, Digital Cinema)
- Entry-level salary $27,000 – $34,000
- Average mean salary in the Minneapolis area $53,300 – $55,200
Advisory Committee Members
| Betty | Chin-Wu | Motion Graphic Artist | Target |
| Alexis | Bellotti | Student | UW-Stout |
| Shannon | Brady | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Jim | Bryan | Professor | UW-Stout |
| Holly | Clark | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Aaron | Dabelow | Technical Director | Make |
| Kimberly | Delain | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Cyndi | Greening | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Chris | Grun | Head of Matte Painting | Dreamworks Animation |
| Kate | Hadley | Senior Content Producer / Filmmaker | Don't Blink |
| Michael | Heagle | Associate Professor; Program Director | UW-Stout |
| Gus | Hinton | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Karl | Koehle | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Kim | Loken | Lecturer; Program Director, B.F.A. Game Design & Development | UW-Stout |
| David | Lund | Multimedia Designer | Siteimprove |
| Stephen | Nicksic | Senior Designer | Trane / Ingersoll Rand |
| Mike | Owens | Director, Animator | Mike Owens Productions |
| Shelley | Pecha | Chair, Design Department; Program Director, B.F.A. Interior Design | UW-Stout |
| Sarah | Pflughoeft | Student | UW-Stout |
| Rachel | Rohe | Look Artist | Gasket Studios |
| Jayson | Slinger | Creative Director | Ghost Productions |
| Darren | Tesar | Lecturer; Program Director, B.S. Arts Administration & Entrepreneurship | UW-Stout |
| Emalie | Tison | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Andrew | Williams | Professor | UW-Stout |
| Jesse | Woodward | Assistant Professor | UW-Stout |
