The campus is very open, with many places to meet people and go for food. The societies offer a large variety. However, it is easy to feel lost if you've just arrived and don't know where anything is

There are many specialist facilities such as a soundstage and a recording booth, which makes recording reference footage and recording sound a lot easier. However, there could be more options for animating; the campus only has one room with Cintiq tablets and ToonBoom Harmony licences, which are needed to create the bulk of the course work. This one room is shared across all 3 years of the course, and it can be hard to find a spot outside of official workshops

There is a lot of care put into getting students with similar interests together, which helps in making friends, especially if you arrive knowing no one at uni. However, it feels a bit disconnected from the rest of campus

All university buildings are located on one campus, which makes it incredibly quick and easy to locate and walk to different buildings. The campus heart is the central hub of the campus, which features the Student Life, Student Union and Library buildings. There are also many cafes serving a variety of foods, so you're never stuck if you need a bite to eat! Development is currently underway for "Digital Life". This building will be the new home for computing, VFX and animation students. This building intends to house industry standard computer labs and an events space which will be used for future events such as our international animation convention Animex.

The animation course at Teesside is one of the best in the world, ranking 4th across the UK and 18th in the world (as of 2023). What I like most about the course is the variety of topics that are taught. across first and second year, I have learned about many roles in the animation pipeline such as modelling, rigging, VFX, pre-production and 2D and 3D animation. I've thoroughly enjoyed all modules on the course, and even though I may not choose to pursue some of these roles in the future, getting to experience it has given me a deeper understanding of the work that goes into animation. A typical year of study is split into 2 semesters each with three modules (this has changed to 2 modules from the 2023-24 academic year onwards, please see the official university course page for more information on the new course layout. I will be speaking on my experience only, which is 3 modules per semester.) Each module focuses on a particular area of specialty e.g. modelling, animation, technical animation etc. Each module has a 1 hour lecture and a 2 hour practical session each week over a 12 week period. Lectures are informative and lecturers are engaging. Lectures are usually recorded and available online in case students are absent or just need a refresher on the content. Studio/practical sessions are when students work on their assessments. Assessment briefs are given at the start of each semester, and students will learn and work on their assessments throughout the 12 weeks of the semester. Studio sessions are a great opportunity to get one-on-one feedback from your tutor and to ask any questions you may have. Tutors are also available on email if you ever need to ask questions outside of class. Overall, from experience, the learning environment is great. We have access to a lot of industry standard software and equipment such as Maya, Zbrush, the Adobe suite and even a motion capture lab and green screen room. I look forward to applying for my placement year, which will take place next academic year and then completing my final year project the year after!

All university accommodations are located on campus, so classes are always handy to get to. For my first year, I stayed in Woodland Halls. This accommodation is made up of 7 buildings split into 6 flats with 6 rooms each. Each flat has its own kitchen, and all rooms have an en-suite. The rooms are on the small side compared to other accommodations available, but there is plenty of storage space in each room that you can fit a surprising amount of stuff inside! For £90pw it was a great choice for my first time moving away from home. The internet was fast and only ever had to go down for scheduled maintenance (this wasn't often, and we were emailed beforehand to let us know). The kitchen space has plenty of cupboards for everyone and everyone has their own shelf space in the fridge and freezer. Laundry and bin facilities are available on site, and cleaners come in every weekday to empty the kitchen bins. I would definitely recommend Woodlands if you're looking for an affordable, well maintained accommodation option!