My daughter has been admitted to Otis College of Art and Design and San Jose State University for animation. I’m trying to get opinions regarding each school’s program. She also got into CCA and UCSC but Otis and SJSU are the top two considerations. They are very different schools and I don’t hear much about the programs on these boards. Can anyone chime in with information/advice?
Hi, my son is in the same boat. He got in VCU Art, MICA, CCA, UCSD, SJSU animation. He is leaning towards SJSU animation. Which school did your daughter choose? Does she like it? Thanks!
I’ve heard from my Bay Area friends that SJSU animation is very strong and that its grads have great career opportunities. My impression is that SJSU’s reputation in tech-oriented fields like CS and animation has risen sharply in the past decade or two, which makes sense given its location. Having grown up in San Jose, I’ve always thought the campus was meh though.
The SJSU campus is a mostly a square in downtown San Jose.
In case anyone comes across this thread, we visited SJSU. Kids were really nice, campus good enough for a localish university. However, one of the kids we met had been in the animation program. She said that it’s a 5-year program (we didn’t realize this), and that there is a portfolio check about a year or two in that is brutal. No feedback from the profs, and only 25-30 of the 100 kids make it past this check to continue in animation.
Animation & Illustration Degrees | Department of Design notes that the BFA in animation and illustration requires a portfolio review; students who do not pass the portfolio review are changed to BA design studies. Both are listed as 120 credit programs, although the BFA program has no free electives (i.e. every credit is taken up by some major or general education requirement).