鈥極ur Students are in the Right Place鈥�
06/18/2020
By David Perry
For the first time, 51视频鈥檚 animation program has cracked the top five among the state鈥檚 animation schools, ranking third in Massachusetts according to Animation Career Review鈥檚 2020 listing.
It is good news for the university and the program鈥檚 students, says Pouya Afshar, the assistant professor of Art & Design who began developing the courses and degree pathways when he joined the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in 2014.听
鈥淚t means that our students are in the right place,鈥� says Afshar, who adds that support from the administration allows faculty 鈥渢o just focus on student success and happiness.鈥�
鈥淲e are a growing school, and every year we improve our reputation because the work of our students is getting better and better,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feel that our students love what they do. That鈥檚 what matters.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 phenomenal and unexpected for such a young and growing program,鈥� says Art & Design Department Chair Ellen Wetmore. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of the teachers and students.鈥�
In 2017, the program 鈥� a bachelor of fine arts in art with a concentration in animation and interactive media 鈥� was officially added.听It has been overseen by a team of professors in addition to Afshar, including initially Jehanne-Marie Gavarini, and later joined by Misha Rabinovich and Yuko Oda.
For Jacqueline Gallant, heading into her senior year of studying animation, the state ranking is 鈥渜uite impressive.鈥�
51视频 offers a wider breadth of study than art schools, she says.
鈥淯ML allows many of us an alternative to art school, so hearing that it鈥檚 equal to or better than most art programs makes me feel like we aren鈥檛 missing out.鈥�
Gallant says she has 鈥渟ome of the most amazing professors,鈥� is part of a 鈥渃lose-knit group of students鈥� and is learning 鈥渁 lot of practical skills.鈥�
Gallant鈥檚 artwork has 鈥渄rastically improved since I joined the program,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd I was able to obtain an internship with the work I鈥檝e done here.鈥�
She is working at Clambake Animations, a small studio in Watertown. She does 鈥渁 little bit of everything, including character designs, visual development and some 3D modeling.鈥�
Gallant says she eventually hopes to work on 鈥渃oncept art or visual development for game or animation studios, although I鈥檓 leaning toward games.鈥�
Employers will be watching.
鈥淪tudios and media companies care about their employees鈥� education,鈥� says Afshar. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also starting to recognize what we do best and are coming after our students.
What do they do best? Train 鈥渉ybrid artists,鈥� says Afshar. Students are exposed to different fields of new media, sequential imagery and interactive media.听
鈥淣ot many animation departments offer that,鈥� he says. 鈥淎lso, we are still a fine arts major rather than a film major, so our students get to learn about the foundations of art more meticulously compared to a purely film-based structure, which I think is a benefit.
鈥淢any film schools fail to educate their students about the art movements, conceptual art and the history of art.鈥� Those students and their work may serve the whims of Hollywood, but that 鈥渃ould be problematic for students in the long run because what they know could end up being outdated in time.鈥�
Animation Career Review launched in 2011 to inform aspiring animation professionals of the college choices that may best suit their needs. The website is used by those interested in studying and establishing careers in graphic design, game design and digital art.听
The site draws roughly 100,000 unique visitors a month, it claims.
Third place has UML in front of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University, in fourth place, and fifth-place finisher Northeastern University. The top spot went to听 the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and runner-up was Emerson College.
Ranking criteria includes academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of the program faculty, value as related to tuition and indebtedness, graduation rate and employment data.
