Having completed the above application webform, qualified applicants will be sent a second form which must be filled out in order to complete the application to the programme.
Spotlight Session
Join us for an online Spotlight Session about the MA in Animation on Thursday 6th February at 5pm – Register Now.
This Spotlight Session will cover:
- What is the DL931 Masters in Animation course?
- Possible study opportunities within the programmes four strands, Practice-based; Practice-led; Scholarly; and Animation Teaching
- The application process
- How to develop your Animation-project proposals
- What some of our current students are working on
- Key dates and other information
What will I do?
This MA in Animation programme is a broad and imaginatively inclusive offering featuring four distinct study pathways. The pathways include Practice-based; Practice-led; Scholarly; and Animation Teaching options.
The programme will be flexible, capable of adaptation and will be much less prescriptive than existing offerings across Ireland and the UK. All Masters in Animation study pathways will require Masters-level engagement with the Research Methods module and with components of scholarly and reflective reading, research and writing through each of the Project modules (alternative modes of project submission and delivery are welcomed).
Who can apply?
Level 8 or RPL (to include completed postgraduate study in related Art and Design areas or postgraduate experience working in the animation industry). We also envisage learners coming from other discipline areas, with a strong interest in relating their expertise to animation-related practice.
What should my portfolio include?
Applicants need to present an animation-related project proposal. This can be an animated film project, an animation project with a research or scholarly component, a proposal to attempt a piece of animation-related scholarly research or writing or a proposal to investigate a specific aspect of animation teaching and learning.
We suggest that applicants should submit, at this early stage, three very short proposal ideas (can be up to one page each, can include images or video/animation links). Applicants must understand that any project proposal (even seemingly highly developed proposals) will be subject to modification and change as they develop through the Masters in Animation application and learning processes.
Any animation-related project proposals should attempt to focus clearly on two central questions:
What I am proposing to DO through my Masters in Animation project?
What I hope to learn through my Masters in Animation project?
Applicants will also present a portfolio of art or animation work, relevant showreel, film or animation-related work, scholarly work, digital or web-based work or other relevant work. Any work submitted as part of the application process, whether creative or scholarly (film, art, or text-based), should support the specific project proposals of the applicant. Any presented work will be assessed by the programme team as part of the application or RPL process. The DL931 Masters in Animation lecturing team may choose to interview applicants (online). The programme has agreed to start no more than 12 Masters in Animation students per annum.
What modules will I study?
Research Methods for Visual Media and Creative Arts (20 credits)
Students will learn research methodologies appropriate to Level 9 practice, scholarship and pedagogy. This is an opportunity to integrate research skills and associated knowledge and to apply transformational potentials and learnings to the student’s chosen project.
Early Project module (10 credits)
The student’s applicant project proposal is refined (with Masters programme team) to become the Learning Agreement. Early preparatory work is done on the student’s project.
Collaborative Project module (10 credits)
Collaborative project challenges learners to collaborate within Animation creative teams, or to critically analyse group working in order to properly understand the creative power of jointness.
Major Project module (20 credits)
The student embarks on the main creative work for their chosen Project. Their Learning Agreement refined and revised at end of module.
Project Completion module (20 credits)
The student brings their chosen project to successful completion.
Capstone and Exhibition module (10 credits)
Students demonstrate their competencies in meeting the Programme Learning Outcomes. Students integrate a wide array of Animation skills and knowledge in order to answer reflective questions directly related to their chosen project. Students are also asked to map their learning, to plan for the future and to exhibit and/or present their Major Project work.
Student Funding Opportunities
The DL931 Masters in Animation is a full-time, taught study programme. It is thus eligible for SUSI funding, providing students meet SUSI’s eligibility criteria. Find out more here:
The Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship (GOI-IES) Non-EU applicants already holding either a conditional or unconditional offer for the MA in Animation may be eligible to also apply for the Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship. Awardees of the scholarship received a stipend of €10,000 and have their full fees waived. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is 5th March 2025 Further details can be found on the HEA website: https://hea.ie/policy/internationalisation/goi-ies.
Future careers
The Masters in Animation programme will keep pace with what is a rapidly evolving medium and with a constantly changing industrial and technological context, future proofing graduates to accommodate challenges and opportunities that emerge within the field, in terms of practice, scholarship and pedagogical methodologies. Successful candidates, whether working independently, in specific studio-based contexts, or in research and academia, will have the opportunity to develop and enhance specific areas of their professional and/or creative practice.
The Masters in Animation programme and our Masters students will play a particular role in coalescing and consolidating the field of Animation practice, research and scholarship, marking IADT’s leadership (nationally and internationally).
IADT Animation graduates are employed in leading Irish animation studios such as Cartoon Saloon, Boulder Media, ELK Studios, Kavaleer, Lighthouse and Brown Bag Films. In addition, IADT recent graduates have established independent animation studios and enterprises including Paper Panther Productions, and maps and plans, Algorithm and Matchbox Mountain.
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