France, queen of animation film

Students, Institutions

What if France was the promised land for the pros of animation and animated films? In any case, this is what the ranking published by Animation Career Review implies. This website ranks every year specialised schools from all over the world, and it distinguished France in particular, with eight French institutions in the Top 50, including five in the Top 20. France even leads the ranking, since GOBELINS Paris school is ranked first among all 199 schools.

To make these rankings, the Animation Career Review website uses since 2012 various criteria, such as academic excellence, the profile and number of teachers, but also the admittance conditions of the school, registration fees student charges, and professional inclusion after studies.

Five French schools in the Top 20

In total, eight French schools are included in the Top 50 of the ranking, with five in the Top 20.

They are:

GOBELINS Paris, leader of the ranking. The public school of arts was created in 1963 in Paris (with now an additional campus in Annecy). It focuses in animated films, but also photography, video, motion design, graphic and interactive design, and videogames;
Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques (ESMA), in 8th position, is an applied arts school with a presence in various French cities (Montpellier, Toulouse, Nantes, Lyon). It has over 20 years’ experience and offers courses in 3D animation, graphic design and digital strategy;
RUBIKA, in 9th position, is a digital design college specialising in video games, animated films and industrial design, with five campuses (Valenciennes in Hauts-de-France, Montbéliard in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) and international locations (Canada, India and Kenya);
ARTFX, in 11th position, with locations in Montpellier, Lille and Paris, is an independent private higher education institution with an international vocation, specialising in 2D and 3D animation, special effects and video games;
MoPA School of Animation, in 19th position, is an internationally recognised school for excellence in 3D animation, based in Arles (Occitanie region).

France, 3rd best represented country

In addition to these five schools in the Top 20, three others feature in the Top 50:

Ecole Emile Cohl (38th), a private French art school based in Lyon that specialises in teaching drawing and illustration, animated film, video games, multimedia computer graphics, comics and press illustration;
ISART Digital (39th), a private higher education institution founded in Paris in 2001, with a presence in France and Canada, offering courses in video games, 3D animation and sound and music design;
Ecole Georges Méliès (49th), founded in 1999 in the Paris region, offers study courses in animation film, digital special effects and video games.

Worldwide, France is the third best-represented country, almost on a par with Australia and the UK, and ahead of Canada, China, Japan and India.