Class-leading Industry Certification

Become a Rookies Certified School

There are thousands of creative media schools in the world. We want to help make your school stand out from the crowd. To help, we award the very best schools with Rookies Certified Schools accolade. The accolade is a quality mark which identifies the schools that are best suited to prepare artists for a career in the Creative Industries.

We believe it's important for artists to know the school they're applying for will give them the skills they actually need to succeed in industry. There are too many schools not delivering on this objective and it's our goal to help artists boost their employability by making sure they attend a certified school.

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Only the very best are approved

Independently Assessed & Reviewed

The Rookies work with an independent panel to assess creative media and entertainment schools. The in-depth review process makes sure only the best schools are accepted and the accolade remains exclusive. Below are some of the factors that are reviewed to help make an informed decision.

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Graduate Acceptance Rates

Acceptance rates are a very strong indicator of how well a school prepares their students for industry. This is why our certification reviews these stats very closely to make sure rates are of the highest level.

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Facilities and Resources

Often schools lack facilities that truly allow students to grow and learn. Schools are asked to provide detailed information and photographs to show their facilities and resources are at an adequate level.

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Software and Curriculum

Learning the right software and skills is one of the most important aspects for any student. Our panel makes sure that accredited schools not only have well planned curriculums, but also teach relevant and up-to-date software.

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Staff Development & Training

All schools love to showcase their amazing staff that have worked on the latest blockbuster movie or AAA game. We need schools to show they have development and training plans in place to keep their staff ahead of the game.

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Alumni Feedback & Success Stories

Our accreditation requires testimonials from recent alumni to make sure they are truly happy and impressed with the education provided by the school. Success stories from recent graduates are equally important.

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Relationship with Industry

The relationship between schools and industry is a critical part of any good education. Our accreditation relies on making sure each school has a strong relationship with a range of local production studios and industry professionals.

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Studios that Hire Graduates

In addition to having a strong relationship with industry, we closely review where recent graduates are being hired. This provides a great indication of how industry ready students are and if strong relationships are in place to help students with interviewing and job applications.

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Quality of Student Work (all years)

Our panel reviews the work of all students, not just graduates. It's important for us to see the progression of skills all the way to an industry level. It's not always about showing the best work, the journey is equally important and a factor that truly highlights a schools worth.

Time and energy where it needs to be

Features & Benefits

Rookies Certified Schools are invite only. To receive an invitation to receive this special accolade your school must have performed well in the Rookie Awards, or have been invited by one of our independent panel advisors. If you have not received an invitation but would like to be considered please contact us.

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Exclusivity is always nice

Everyone likes to feel a bit special, even schools. This is our way of rewarding the very best schools in the world and making sure they are promoted and showcased the way they deserve.

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Official Badges & Certificates

When you look at school websites, one of the first thing you will see are badges, accolades and recent achievements. We encourage all certified schools to showcase their official badges and certificates on their website and social media channels.

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Increase your Organic Search

Organics search is one of the most important things for any business. It's something very important to our team and we perform very strongly with keyword searches for people Google searching for creative media schools. By being a Certified Rookies School, you will benefit from our experience and Google rankings.

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Advanced targeting to prospective students

Built into The Rookies is an advanced marketing application that allows our team to target specific users based on their skills level, interests and demographics. This allows us to make sure artists that are looking for an education can be presented with relevant and informative information about your school.

Only the very best creative media schools are eligible to apply as a Rookies Certified School®.

Rookies Certified Schools is a formal accreditation is designed to showcase and acknowledge the very best schools that provide the most up-to-date and relevant industry training and education. The accreditation also helps you identify the world's most industry focused schools that are nurturing talent of all skill levels.

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COMPLETE APPLICATION FORM

To help us get to know your school, please follow the link below and answer a few questions for our independent panel to review.

Application Form

PAY APPLICATION FEE

The fee is a one-off payment for our independent panel to review your application. Our fees are based on a pricing model which calculates the direct cost incurred by us and is designed to minimise the cost to you.

$895

Single application fee to have your school reviewed independently.

Recent Testimonials

… and they’re saying a lot of great things about us! It's super humbling for us to here these opinions, but our team truly enjoys helping everyone as we have all been on this same journey before.

Saint John Walker
Dean, Escape Studios UK

Being part of The Rookies is great for students and staff to benchmark themselves with some of the most visually creative people in the world. It helps us all feel we are not alone in seeking out excellence and ambition!

Renaud Jungmann
Founder and Director, VFX-Workshop

What makes me happy is thanks to The Rookies, our school and the work created by our students gets a much stronger visibility than we can achieve by ourselves!