
2020 Best Creative Media and Entertainment Art Schools in the World
Discover the world's top art schools. Explore the Rookies World School Rankings® 2020.
The Best Creative Media and Entertainment Art Schools for 2020 is something we take very seriously and no external influences or payments are entered into at any point. Our rankings focus on the quality of students portfolios that are submitted to our judging panel which best reflect the recruitment interview process.
We feel that traditional school rankings that include peer and employer reviews, faculty to student ratio, citations and other data are not adequate when ranking the best creative schools. For a complete breakdown of how we rank the best schools for 2018 please read how we rank the best schools and how we analyse the data in the sections located at the bottom of this page.

Best Architectural Visualisation Schools and Colleges 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score | View |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3D College | Denmark | 89.19 | Learn More |
2 | SCHOOL-ING | Spain | 82.52 | Learn More |
3 | University of Kent | Multiple Locations | 67.36 | Learn More |
4 | Yrgo | School of Architectural Visualization | Sweden | 60.02 | Learn More |
5 | CICE, The Professional School in New Technologies | Spain | 59.58 | Learn More |
Best Animation School and Colleges 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score | View |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ringling College of Art and Design | United States | 93.54 | Learn More |
2 | Gnomon | United States | 81.79 | Learn More |
3 | School of Visual Arts | United States | 70.14 | Learn More |
4 | Think Tank Training Centre | Canada | 65.85 | Learn More |
5 | Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects | Canada | 65.47 | Learn More |
6 | Bellecour Ecole | France | 59.79 | Learn More |
7 | ArtFX | France | 59.70 | Learn More |
8 | Vancouver Film School | Canada | 57.41 | Learn More |
9 | Bournemouth University | United Kingdom | 56.50 | Learn More |
10 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 55.32 | Learn More |
11 | Academy of Art University | United States | 55.04 | Learn More |
12 | ESMA | France | 54.69 | Learn More |
13 | Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment | Belgium | 53.59 | Learn More |
14 | Animum Creativity Advanced School | Spain | 50.32 | Learn More |
15 | University of Hertfordshire | United Kingdom | 48.43 | Learn More |
16 | Savannah College of Art and Design | United States | 47.92 | Learn More |
17 | PIXL VISN | Media Arts Academy | Germany | 47.59 | Learn More |
18 | The One Academy of Communication Design | Malaysia | 46.57 | Learn More |
19 | University of South Wales | United Kingdom | 43.26 | Learn More |
20 | SAE Creative Media Institute | Multiple Locations | 39.28 | Learn More |
Best Visual Effects School and Colleges 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score | View |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gnomon | United States | 92.46 | Learn More |
2 | Think Tank Training Centre | Canada | 82.125 | Learn More |
3 | Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects | Canada | 72.39 | Learn More |
4 | FX Animation | Spain | 67.425 | Learn More |
5 | University of Hertfordshire | United Kingdom | 65.85 | Learn More |
6 | ArtFX | France | 64.84 | Learn More |
7 | SF Filmschool | Republic of Korea | 61.77 | Learn More |
8 | Bournemouth University | United Kingdom | 61.475 | Learn More |
9 | Savannah College of Art and Design | United States | 60.87 | Learn More |
10 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 60.17 | Learn More |
11 | ESMA | France | 60.13 | Learn More |
12 | Kristiania University College | Norway | 59.41 | Learn More |
13 | The Animation Workshop | Denmark | 58.8 | Learn More |
14 | New3dge | France | 58.115 | Learn More |
15 | Flinders University / CDW Studios | Australia | 55.87 | Learn More |
16 | PIXL VISN | Media Arts Academy | Germany | 55.32 | Learn More |
17 | The One Academy of Communication Design | Malaysia | 54.48 | Learn More |
18 | Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment | Belgium | 51.115 | Learn More |
19 | Animum Creativity Advanced School | Spain | 50.4 | Learn More |
20 | Academy of Art University | United States | 46.585 | Learn More |
Best Concept Art & Illustration School and Colleges 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Syn Studio | Canada | 76.64 | Learn More |
2 | The One Academy of Communication Design | Malaysia | 73.67 | Learn More |
3 | FZD School of Design | Singapore | 62.06 | Learn More |
4 | Flinders University / CDW Studios | Australia | 61.59 | Learn More |
5 | Academy of Art University | United States | 60.76 | Learn More |
6 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 59.565 | Learn More |
7 | Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art & Design | Canada | 56.9 | Learn More |
8 | School of Visual Arts | United States | 56.22 | Learn More |
9 | ESMA | France | 54.01 | Learn More |
10 | Breda University - IGAD - (BUAS) | Netherlands | 51.59 | Learn More |
11 | New3dge | France | 51.55 | Learn More |
12 | Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment | Belgium | 50.585 | Learn More |
13 | Nanyang Polytechnic - School of Interactive & Digital Media | Singapore | 48.3 | Learn More |
14 | Savannah College of Art and Design | United States | 47.39 | Learn More |
15 | CG Spectrum | Online | 46.59 | Learn More |
16 | Norwich University of the Arts | United Kingdom | 46.5 | Learn More |
Best Game Design & Development School and Colleges 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Think Tank Training Centre | Vancouver, Canada | 94.325 |
2 | FutureGames | Stockholm, Sweden | 85.625 |
3 | Ringling College of Art and Design | Florida, United States | 76.97 |
4 | Breda University of Applied Sciences | Breda, Netherlands | 71.41 |
5 | Howest - Digital Arts and Entertainment | Kortrijk, Belgium | 69.58 |
6 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 67.49 |
7 | The Game Assembly | Malmo, Sweden | 65.12 |
8 | University of Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire, United Kingdom | 61.115 |
9 | Gnomon | Los Angeles, United States | 61.07 |
10 | The One Academy | Malaysia, Malaysia | 60.1 |
Best 3D Motion Graphics School and Colleges 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Savannah College of Art and Design | United States | 78.885 | Learn More |
2 | Ringling College of Art and Design | United States | 73.92 | Learn More |
3 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 58.92 | Learn More |
4 | Nanyang Polytechnic - School of Interactive & Digital Media | Singapore | 55.21 | Learn More |
5 | The One Academy of Communication Design | Malaysia | 50.33 | Learn More |
Best Game Design & Development Schools - Console & PC - Production Excellence 2020
Rank | School | Location | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | University of Hertfordshire | United Kingdom | 104.61 | Learn More |
2 | ISART Digital | France, Canada | 91.05 | Learn More |
3 | New3dge | France | 86.41 | Learn More |
4 | Savannah College of Art and Design | United States | 82.79 | Learn More |
5 | The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College | Denmark | 72.70 | Learn More |
6 | The Game Assembly | Sweden | 72.17 | Learn More |
7 | ArtFX School | France | 71.27 | Learn More |
8 | Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment | Belgium | 71.06 | Learn More |
9 | Breda University - IGAD - (BUAS) | Netherlands | 63.92 | Learn More |
10 | Escape Studios | United Kingdom | 63.62 | Learn More |
Best Visual Effects and Animation Schools - Production Excellence - 2D Animation
Rank | School | Location | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GOBELINS, l'école de l'image | France | 105.22 | Learn More |
2 | School of Visual Arts | United States | 86.14 | Learn More |
3 | The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College | Denmark | 78.56 | Learn More |
4 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 65.50 | Learn More |
5 | Cleveland Institute of Art | United States | 64.89 | Learn More |
6 | Atelier de Sèvres | France | 64.27 | Learn More |
7 | Ringling College of Art and Design | United States | 62.59 | Learn More |
8 | University of Hertfordshire | United Kingdom | 61.14 | Learn More |
9 | Savannah College of Art and Design | United States | 60.52 | Learn More |
10 | DigiPen Institute of Technology | Multiple Locations | 58.57 | Learn More |
Best Visual Effects and Animation Schools - Production Excellence - 3D Animation
Rank | School | Location | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ESMA | France | 117.70 | Learn More |
2 | Supinfocom Rubika | Multiple Locations | 92.69 | Learn More |
3 | Ringling College of Art and Design | United States | 89.15 | Learn More |
4 | ArtFX School | France | 85.87 | Learn More |
5 | New3dge | France | 80.01 | Learn More |
6 | School of Visual Arts | United States | 77.03 | Learn More |
7 | GOBELINS, l'école de l'image | France | 73.92 | Learn More |
8 | The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College | Denmark | 72.46 | Learn More |
9 | UTS Animal Logic Academy | Australia | 69.19 | Learn More |
10 | 3dsense Media School | Singapore | 67.00 | Learn More |
Best Visual Effects and Animation Schools - Production Excellence - Visual Effects
Rank | School | Location | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ArtFX School | France | 90.67 | Learn More |
2 | University of Hertfordshire | United Kingdom, Online | 86.67 | Learn More |
3 | School of Visual Arts | United States | 81.32 | Learn More |
4 | ISART DIGITAL | France, Canada | 76.26 | Learn More |
5 | Escape Studios | United Kingdom | 71.51 | Learn More |
6 | Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie, Baden-Württemberg | Germany | 68.89 | Learn More |
7 | New3dge | France | 65.55 | Learn More |
How we rank the best Art Schools and Colleges
Our rankings focus on the quality of students portfolios that are submitted to our judging panel which best reflect the recruitment interview process.
The reason we take this approach is because we believe the goal of each creative school is tasked with helping students learn the right creative and technical skills that mirror the requirements of industry. It is their job to train artists to a level that allows them to transition from to a professional environment with ease.
The end result for students is less about grades, it’s about creating a digital portfolio that best showcases their skills and displays an understanding of production pipelines. This is why our judges review portfolios and review student work in the same manner as a professional job application.
The rankings are based on the scores as awarded by the official judging panel. Opinions by the general public are by no means considered.
Students are judged on their creative skills, technical skills, presentation, variety of skills, complexity, raw talent, and employment potential.
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How we analyse the data
Each school is awarded a final score based on the performance of each student representing their academic facility.
When analysing the average scores of each student per school there are three possible data formulas available to use: mean, median and mode.
The Rookies uses median. The median is the middle point of a number set, in which half the numbers are above the median and half are below. A median is intrinsically understandable. It is the middle number when the values are put in order.
The most important factor here is that a median is not affected by outliers. This means that schools are not penalised for incomplete entries and schools are not favoured for a single high score that is not the norm. Student scores often have outlier values and using the median is the more robust solution to determine an average.
Important details about how a school score is calculated:
- Schools with < 5 student entries are excluded from ranking.
- Incomplete student entries are removed from calculations. No penalties.
- Each student receives a performance score. Max 100 points. (Student Score)
- Median students score calculated per school. Max 100 points. (Median Student Score)
- Each category finalist receives 10 bonus points toward School Score.
- Each category runner up receives 15 bonus points toward School Score.
- Each category winner receives 20 bonus points toward School Score.