Animation program places in Top 10 in international ranking!

Posted on Thursday, April 30th, 2020

Algonquin CollegeAlgonquin College has been named among the top animation schools in the world in rankings recently published by Animation Career Review.
Algonquin ranks sixth in the world and fourth in Canada in the category of Top Animation Training Programs, according to the website. The Review bases its rankings on a wide range of criteria, including the depth and breadth of the program faculty, value related to tuition and indebtedness, the graduation rate and student employment data.

Student employment was given greater weight in the current rankings than in previous years. According to Professor Neil Hunter, co-coordinator of the Animation program, 96 to 98 per cent of its students find employment upon graduation.
Rachel Scott is one of those happy new animation professionals. Scott graduated this month and is now working for Ottawa’s Jam Filled Entertainment.
“I basically went from school into a great job,” Scott says. “I knew the program had a terrific reputation for getting employment for its grads. But it was still surprising to achieve this, and in the middle of COVID-19 and problems in the economy.”

Professor Hunter says he’s happy but not surprised at the program’s success and its growing acclaim internationally.
“We’ve been in the rankings before – we’ve been 16 and in the 20s – but to get into single digits is pretty awesome! We’re already known in the industry as being one of the top animation schools. Here in Ottawa, some of our graduates own animation studios that are working for the likes of Disney and Nickelodeon. Other grads are working across Canada, in the U.S. and around the world.

“But it’s always good news having a ranking like this that is widely seen and builds greater awareness of what we do.”
Hunter believes there are a number of factors behind the demanding program’s success, and the achievements of its students. He says the program is very much a team effort among instructors who have all worked in the animation industry. And the program maintains a strong rapport with graduates who work with animation studios now and often come back to teach part-time or present master classes. The two-way exchange involves the faculty, too. Hunter himself recently did a stint with Mercury Filmworks to learn how to composite.

“It’s an important but often overlooked part of animation that I wanted to understand and then offer back to our students,” he says. “By doing this, I have fun updating my skills and help keep the program fresh and up to date.”
Employers are firm in their praise of the program and its graduates. Hunter says surveys show the College has been hitting 100 per cent employer satisfaction with their new hires from the program for about a decade. Those grads are now working on such popular shows as Netflix’s Trailer Park Boys and The Last Kids on Earth, and Nickelodeon’s The Loud House.The program’s most celebrated alumnus, Trent Correy, works at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California and has contributed to such hits as Moana, Zootopia and Frozen.

Scott doesn’t know where her new career will take her, but for now she says she’s thrilled to be able to work with all the technical and creative skills she has acquired in the Animation program in her home town. “When I started, I had no idea there was such a booming animation industry in Ottawa. I wasn’t sure I wanted to take this path because I thought I would have to move elsewhere to pursue it. Instead, I can remain here and do something I love. I’m very happy that I’ve gotten to this point in my life.”


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