The Computer Science Animation Emphasis is NOT an open-enrollmentmajor. Students interested in participating in the program for the2010-2011 academic year must apply by Wednesday, April 15, 2010.  The 2009-2010 applications have closed.

The Computer Science Animation Emphasis gives students the opportunity to learn both the technical and artistic side of creating and implementing digital animation and games, preparing them for technical careers with animation and game programming studios.

The BYU Computer Science Department has a long history of contribution to the field of computer-generated animation. BYU Computer Science students have been instrumental in the production of each of BYU's celebrated animated shorts. These short films, including "Lemmings," "Petshop," "Faux Paw," "Turtles," "Noggin," "Las Pinatas," "Lion and the Mouse," "Pajama Gladiators," and "Kites have been widely heralded by the animation industry. They have garnered 9 "College Television Awards" or "Student Emmys" from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as 4 "Student Academy Awards" from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Upon entering the industry, BYU Computer Science students continue to excel. Each computer science student who has worked on one of BYU's animatedfilms has gone on to graduate school or has accepted a position at ananimation studio. BYU Computer Science Alumni are employed with some of the top studios in the industry, including Pixar, Disney Animation, EntertainmentArts, Industrial Light + Magic, Avalanche Studios, and LucasFilmsAnimation. BYU Computer Science students have contributed to a number of recent blockbuster films, including "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Dead Man's Chest," "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," "Cars," "Ratatouille," "Shrek 3," and "Transformers." Recently, one computer science alumni, Jason Smith, who is currently employed as a technology lead at Industrial Light + Magic, was named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the industry's "Brightest and Most Talented 35-and-Under Artisans."

During a speech given at BYU in 2008, Ed Catmul, president and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Disney Animation, lauded the work in animation at BYU. He remarked, "over the years, Pixar has worked with alot of different universities around the country and hired people. One of the interesting things is, all of a sudden, in thelast few years, we found that BYU has risen to the top." Later that afternoon in a press conference, Dr. Catmul told journalists that BYU students hired as interns "come in and doproduction work right away and do a fantastic job." He continued, "it'samazing to suddenly see that BYU is producing the best in theindustry. It's the perception not just at Pixar butalso at the other studios that something pretty remarkable is happeninghere."

The creation of the Computer Science Animation Emphasis, in conjunction with BYU's newly created Center for Animation, will continue the trend of preparing BYU students to enter the workforce with the technological background and skills necessary to influence the growing animation industry.

The 79-hour BYU Computer Science Animation Emphasis gives students a strong background in computer science fundamentals (38 hours) , which is complemented by courses in visual arts (21). For more information, please see the Animation Emphasis files listed in the sidebar.

Computer Science Animation students may also choose to augment their studies by participating in undergraduate research with one of the many graphics-oriented research projects in the department

Advanced 3D Animation Laboratory, Dr.Parris Egbert

Computer-Generated Natural Phenomena Laboratory, Dr. Mike Jones

Computer Graphics, Vision, and Image Processing Laboratory, Dr. Robert Burton, Dr. Bryan Morse, Dr. Tom Sederberg, and Dr. Bill Barrett