Augusta University animation program sees growing interest

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Students in Augusta University’s animation department are hard at work creating pieces showcasing different styles and genres.

We spoke with those in the program who say it’s doubled in two years.

Hannah Adams is a junior in the animation program. She says she has seen interest in the program grow after going to different events talking about it.

“It’s growing. We went from only 15 of us to going to almost 200 hundred people wanting to apply,” she said.

There are about 40 students in the program, nearly tripling since Adams started.

“It’s honestly really exciting to watch it grow and people to get to experience what I experience,” she said.

A.B. Osborne, the professor who built the program, says it reflects Georgia’s growing film industry.

“It’s a really good market, and we need to be able to fill those skill sets,” he said.

It’s designed to equip students with what they need to fill those vacancies.

“The idea was to be able to build something that was industry ready and have something that would allow students to be able to graduate and land job,” he said.

Adams says she is excited about the potential the program gives to fill jobs.

“With the program, you don’t really get to pick and choose what classes you want to do. You have to go through every single type of animation,” she said. “Whether it’s video game or graphic design or motion graphics, they want you to have a chance to really decide what you want to do.”

It seems like growing interest in animation isn’t the only reason AU is seeing an increase in students joining the program. Adams says cost was also a big factor.

”I found it when I was having difficulties not being able to afford SCAD,” she said. “I was like oh I can go here a lot cheaper than I would anywhere else.”

AU says it’s planning to build more labs and hire more staff for the program. The goal is to accommodate as many as 400 animation students. There’s no timeline for that project yet.

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