BA (Hons) in Animation and Digital Arts (ADA) Overview

Programme Leaflet

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Lingnan University is launching the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Animation and Digital Arts (ADA) programme in the 2019/20 academic year. ADA will equip students who wish to make a career in the creative industry with creative arts skills and a solid foundation in art history. Starting from 2022-23. ADA is offering both UGC-funded and Self-financed places.

Including theory as much as technical skills, the undergraduate programme presents a balance of art history and theory courses, along with animation workshops, so students can apply what they learn in the classroom to the real world.
 

Game changers for all sides of the creative industry

Professor Emilie Yeh Yueh Yu, Dean of the University’s Faculty of Arts, is sure that the Animation and Digital Arts programme will pose an answer to the rising demand for digitally savvy talents across the globe. 

“Our current courses comprise of different elements, and the skills taught are transferable to media production. Graduates will be able to pursue a wide range of career paths other than that in animations, for instance post-production for films,” Prof Yeh, who also heads the University’s Centre for Cinema Studies, says. She adds that the industry has been grooming young people for the talent pool in creative industry. 

Pathways into the creative industry can be diverse for the programme’s graduates, according to Prof Yeh, which includes becoming

• video producers,
• art directors,
• animators,
• game designers and developers

across the sectors of gaming, animation and digital arts, VR engineering as well as information technology.

A curated blend of arts and technology

Vetted by two animation professors at universities overseas, the ADA curriculum was highly commended for its comprehensiveness. “Not only does the curriculum resonate with Lingnan’s liberal arts education by integrating art and science as a way to accentuate students’ whole-person development, it also eases students into the subject matter by laying a solid foundation with historical knowledge of animation and basic animation skills,” Prof Yeh says.

In addition to Lingnan’s liberal arts core courses, students will need to undertake 11 required courses for the programme, which fall into two main categories:

1. theory courses on the history of fine arts and moving images; and
2. skill courses on animation and digital arts.

There are many elective courses in this programme from which students can choose, starting in their second year: from courses about motion graphics and sound design to workshops on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), in which students can experiment with cutting-edge digital devices to explore ways to express and grow their creativity. 

Through enrichment of historical knowledge and hands-on training, students will be able to map out their career track with the help of mentors in the competitive employment market. In order to provide students with a convenient learning environment, the Digital and Media Lab fully equipped with industrial standard software is open to all ADA students 24 hours a day.
 

Telling stories in digital media to the world

To be eligible for admission to the Bachelor programme, applicants must satisfy the University’s general entrance requirements, or possess a degree or sub-degree awarded by a recognised post-secondary institution. Other local and non-local qualifications will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Interviews will be arranged.

Prof Yeh points out that the programme invites students who display strong interest and passion in art and animation, as such productions often take a lot of time. “Students must be strong-willed to invest lots of time and effort to hone their works.” she says.

ADA students can apply for overseas exchange programmes, which will open their eyes by studying and observing the creative industry in other parts of the world.