2021 Best Creative Media and Entertainment Art Schools in the World - Archive

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Since 2011, The Rookies has been supplying reliable performance information about colleges and universities to students, their families, academics, university leaders, governments, and business.

What sets us apart from other school and college rankings systems is that our rankings are based on the quality and performance of student work that is completed at school. To collect this data, each year we ask students to submit their best work to the Rookie Awards 2021 to be reviewed by our industry panel. For 2021, we received 4,200 portfolios from students that attended over 500 schools and colleges around the world which is a whole lot of interesting data that is the basis for our annual education ranking system.

Top 50 Best Creative Media & Entertainment Art Schools or Colleges

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	97.33
2	SCHOOL-ING	Spain, Online	85.80
3	Think Tank Training Centre	Canada, Online	80.07
4	SF Film School	Korea	78.34
5	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	76.58
6	New3dge	France	75.27
7	ArtFX School	France	74.51
8	School of Visual Arts	United States	74.13
9	Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects	Canada	70.82
10	3dsense Media School	Singapore	69.60
11	ISART Digital	France, Canada	69.26
12	Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment	Belgium	68.78
13	Syn Studio	Canada, Online	68.17
14	PIXL VISN | media arts academy	Germany	64.25
15	Ringling College of Art and Design	United States	64.10
16	Gnomon	Online, United States	64.09
17	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	62.94
18	Yrgo	Sweden	61.68
19	The Game Assembly	Sweden	60.29
20	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	59.58
21	Netherlands Film Academy	Netherlands	57.25
22	University of Hertfordshire	United Kingdom, Online	56.74
23	Vancouver Film School	Canada	56.33
24	FX ANIMATION Barcelona 3D and Film School	Spain	55.99
25	ESMA	France	55.95
26	Butic The New School	Online	53.98
27	DigiPen Institute of Technology	Singapore, Spain, United States, Online	53.78
28	Vertex School Inc	Online	53.21
29	Escape Studios	United Kingdom, Online	52.80
30	The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College	Denmark	52.66
31	Staffordshire University	United Kingdom	51.64
32	Futuregames	Sweden	51.47
33	Bellecour Ecole	France	51.28
34	Bournemouth University	United Kingdom	50.14
35	Universal Arts School	Spain	49.61
36	Solent University	United Kingdom, Online	49.46
37	CG Spectrum	Online	49.37
38	Academy of Art University	United States, Online	48.72
39	University of South Wales	United Kingdom, Online	46.81
40	3D College	Denmark	46.54
41	Lightbox Academy	Spain, Online	45.53
42	Media Design School	Australia, New Zealand	45.51
43	Breda University of Applied Sciences	Netherlands	44.10
44	Institut Artline	Online	43.93
45	Nanyang Polytechnic - School of Design & Media	Singapore	43.84
46	Falmouth University	United Kingdom	40.94
47	Norwich University of the Arts	United Kingdom, Online	39.54
48	Voxel School	Spain	39.24
49	SAE Creative Media Institute	Multiple Locations	38.93
50	Flinders University / CDW Studios	Australia, Online	38.27

Best 2D Animation School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	School of Visual Arts	United States	82.64
2	University of Hertfordshire	United Kingdom, Online	69.26
3	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	60.26
4	Cleveland Institute of Art	United States	58.06
5	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	57.64
6	Ringling College of Art and Design	United States	55.43
7	Flinders University / CDW Studios	Australia, Online	47.59

Best 3D Animation School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	Ringling College of Art and Design	United States	78.06
2	ArtFX School	France	73.76
3	Think Tank Training Centre	Canada, Online	66.60
4	Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects	Canada	66.57
5	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	65.59
6	Gnomon	Online, United States	63.93
7	3dsense Media School	Singapore	61.85
8	School of Visual Arts	United States	61.51
9	PIXL VISN | media arts academy	Germany	58.86
10	ESMA	France	57.82
11	The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College	Denmark	57.42
12	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	57.28
13	Vancouver Film School	Canada	56.19
14	Academy of Art University	United States, Online	55.63
15	Netherlands Film Academy	Netherlands	55.25
16	New3dge	France	53.99
17	CG Spectrum	Online	53.97
18	Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment	Belgium	52.47
19	Lightbox Academy	Spain, Online	52.01
20	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	50.92

Best Architectural Visualisation School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	SCHOOL-ING	Spain	106.80
2	FX ANIMATION Barcelona 3D and Film School	Spain	67.90
3	Yrgo	Sweden	65.26
4	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	63.78
5	University of Kent	Multiple Locations	57.42
6	SAE Creative Media Institute	Multiple Locations	57.27
7	Butic The New School	Online	54.32
8	3D College	Denmark	47.05
9	Savannah College of Art and Design	Multiple Locations	41.82
10	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	36.31

Best Concept Art and Illustration School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	New3dge	France	94.99
2	ISART Digital	France, Canada	87.99
3	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	73.34
4	Syn Studio	Canada, Online	71.17
5	3dsense Media School	Singapore	61.07
6	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	58.35
7	Universal Arts School	Spain	56.97
8	CG Spectrum	Online	53.91
9	Bellecour Ecole	France	50.95
10	Flinders University / CDW Studios	Australia, Online	48.14
11	Academy of Art University	United States, Online	45.72
12	Norwich University of the Arts	United Kingdom, Online	45.23
13	Lightbox Academy	Spain, Online	41.06
14	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	39.47
15	Falmouth University	United Kingdom	38.73

Best Game Development School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	Howest University of Applied Sciences - Digital Arts and Entertainment	Belgium	85.17
2	Think Tank Training Centre	Canada, Online	78.18
3	New3dge	France	68.37
4	Academy of Art University	United States, Online	60.48
5	3dsense Media School	Singapore	59.61
6	Gnomon	Online, United States	59.22
7	Ringling College of Art and Design	United States	58.70
8	Escape Studios	United Kingdom, Online	54.92
9	Vertex School Inc	Online	54.64
10	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	54.26
11	The Game Assembly	Sweden	54.09
12	University of Hertfordshire	United Kingdom, Online	54.08
13	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	53.90
14	Solent University	United Kingdom, Online	51.54
15	Staffordshire University	United Kingdom	51.30
16	Futuregames	Sweden	47.81
17	CG Spectrum	Online	46.91
18	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	46.60
19	FX ANIMATION Barcelona 3D and Film School	Spain	46.44
20	Falmouth University	United Kingdom	43.77

Best Motion Graphics School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	98.48
2	3dsense Media School	Singapore	83.38
3	School of Visual Arts	United States	57.20
4	Ringling College of Art and Design	United States	56.06
5	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	54.59
6	Nanyang Polytechnic - School of Design & Media	Singapore	50.36
7	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	44.19

Best Product Design School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	102.76
2	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	58.52
3	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	40.36

Best Visual Effects School or College

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	SF Film School	Korea	92.11
2	ArtFX School	France	86.95
3	Think Tank Training Centre	Canada, Online	86.48
4	Lost Boys | School of Visual Effects	Canada	77.40
5	Gnomon	Online, United States	70.09
6	PIXL VISN | media arts academy	Germany	68.49
7	Netherlands Film Academy	Netherlands	64.07
8	3dsense Media School	Singapore	58.39
9	Animum Creativity Advanced School	Spain	57.34
10	FX ANIMATION Barcelona 3D and Film School	Spain	55.68
11	Savannah College of Art and Design	United States, France, Online	55.55
12	The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College	Denmark	53.93
13	New3dge	France	52.64
14	CG Spectrum	Online	50.48
15	ESMA	France	49.42
16	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	41.41
17	Flinders University / CDW Studios	Australia, Online	41.11
18	UniSA / Rising Sun Pictures	Australia	34.21

Best Game Design & Development Schools - Production Excellence

Console & PC

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	New3dge	France	105.52
2	The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College	Denmark	81.34
3	ISART Digital	France, Canada	78.50
4	University of Huddersfield	United Kingdom	73.44
5	PlaygroundSquad	Sweden	72.86
6	HKU University of the Arts Utrecht	Netherlands	71.78
7	Brigham Young University	United States	70.59
8	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	70.11
9	RUBIKA	France	67.81
10	Breda University of Applied Sciences	Netherlands	66.41

Mobile Games

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	ISART Digital	France, Canada	89.36
2	The One Academy of Communication Design	Malaysia	86.92
3	The Game Assembly	Sweden	86.86
4	Laval 3Di	France	60.71
5	Academy of Art University	United States	54.65
6	MAGES Institute of Excellence	Singapore	47.86

Best Visual Effects and Animation School - Production Excellence

Visual Effects

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	ArtFX School	France	128.22
2	Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie, Baden-Württemberg	Germany	81.02
3	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	75.36
4	Escape Studios	United Kingdom	69.54
5	ISART Digital	France, Canada	68.30
6	School of Visual Arts	United States	47.67

3D Animation

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	ArtFX School	France	128.22
2	Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie, Baden-Württemberg	Germany	81.02
3	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	75.36
4	Escape Studios	United Kingdom	69.54
5	ISART Digital	France, Canada	68.30
6	School of Visual Arts	United States	47.67

2D Animation

Rank	School	Location	Score
1	GOBELINS, l'école de l'image	France	83.71
2	ArtFX School	France	78.61
3	School of Visual Arts	United States	74.86
4	The Animation Workshop/ VIA University College	Denmark	72.16
5	Savannah College of Art and Design	Multiple Locations	70.98
6	ECV Creative Schools & Community	France	70.31
7	University of Hertfordshire	United Kingdom, Online	64.45
8	Cleveland Institute of Art	United States	63.58
9	DigiPen Institute of Technology	Multiple Locations	61.21
10	University of South Wales	United Kingdom, Online	45.36

How we calculate global school rankings

Data is based on the quality and performance of student work that is submitted to our judging panel for the Rookie Awards.

The Judging Process

Each entrant is reviewed by members of the official Judging Panel which includes over 150+ highly influential and respected industry veterans. The Judges were asked to score entries based on criteria including — creative skills, technical skills, presentation, variety of skills, complexity, raw talent, and employment potential.

School Calculations

Based on the results of student submissions we received this year we have released the following in-depth breakdowns about the best schools.

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.

• Schools with < 14 student entries are excluded from ranking.
• Incomplete student entries are removed from calculations. No penalties.
• Each student receives a performance score. Max 100 points.
• Median students score calculated per school. Max 100 points.
• Each category finalist receives 2 bonus points toward School Score.
• Each category highly commended receives 4 bonus points toward School Score.
• Each category runner up receives 6 bonus points toward School Score.
• Each category winner receives 10 bonus points toward School Score.

Do you feel your school should be listed here?

Over 500 international schools submitted their student work to the Rookie Awards 2022 and were reviewed by industry professionals. To make sure your school is considered for next year's rankings please use the live-chat system located at the bottom-right of this page, or email our team at [email protected].