Animation Career Review named LSU's animation program the 14th best public university or college animation program in the nation!LSU was also ranked as the ninth best animation program in the South, across all Southern public and private institutions.Animation Career Review is the source for aspiring animation, design, and gaming professionals seeking information on training programs, schools, and colleges.

"We have created an environment that fosters collaboration with students, researchers, and industry," said Derick Ostrenko, assistant professor of digital art at LSU."Educating our own visual artists is vital to continue growing the digital media industry in Louisiana."

LSU is home to several programs for aspiring animators.The LSU School of Art offers a BFA and MFA in studio art with a concentration indigital art.The program fosters creative insight and theoretical grounding in addition to practical expertise.Students refine their skills in classes that provide an integrated understanding of animation, visual effects, 3D modeling, and interactive systems.LSU pulls instructors from the wide range of Louisiana digital media companies.These companies also offer internship opportunities for LSU students, keeping students and faculty current in trends, practices, and professional workflows.

For example, senior digital art student Madeline Kornman interned at Incendii VFX, LLC, in New Orleans, where she had the opportunity to shadow her boss on such projects adNCIS: New OrleansandTransformers: Age of Extinction.She also got to work on the Academy Award winning filmSelmaand a music video for German musician Curse entitled, "Tatooine." Madeline said her internship allowed her to meet other professionals in the field who gave her advice about her work.She said she wouldn't have landed a new job at 3rd Dimension Media in Baton Rouge, which she'll begin after she graduates this May, without the experience she gained working at Incendii.

The new Master inDigital Media Arts & Engineeringat LSU will play an important role in the digital ecosystem at LSU and within the Baton Rouge community.An interdisciplinary program of the College of Art & Design and the College of Engineering, DMAE is an intensive, two-year master's degree that employs a practice-driven approach to produce polished outcomes designed to meet industry needs.The courses explore cutting-edge developments in video games, interactive design, visual effects, and animation.

The DMAE program is housed within the LSU Center for Computation & Technology located on LSU's campus in the new Digital Media Center, a state-of-the-art, $29.3 million facility that is shared with Electronic Art's North American Test Center.Students work with a diverse group of digital artists, programmers, musicians, and researchers who help them develop their ideas into the future of media.Visitdmae.lsu.edufor more information about the program.

LSU's Arts, Visualization, Advanced Technologies and Research (AVATAR) hiring initiative established a university-wide faculty focus on the intersections among art, technology, and computation, creating new research areas in virtual environments, digital art, electroacoustic music, animation, video game design, scientific visualization, and more.Many digital art students at LSU pursue a minor in digital media, which allows them to take classes in video game design, electronic music, and interactive graphics.

Students interested in expanding their studies beyond digital art and animation may consider LSU's BA in theater with a film and television concentration, as well.LSU students also benefit from a strong film and media arts program, which offers courses in screenwriting, film theory, and video production.

Also of note, LSU was chosen to host NIME15, the New Interfaces for Musical Expression Conference, May 31—June 3, 2015, following the Red Stick International Festival.NIME is the premier conference in designing human-computer interfaces and interactions for musical performance.NIME gathers researchers and practitioners from around the world to lecture, exhibit, create installations, perform concerts, and lead workshops.Installations will be on view in exhibits at LSU School of Art galleries May 31 – June 28, 2015.Stay up to date on NIME workshops, lectures, and events atnime2015.lsu.edu.

Visitanimationcareerreview.comfor more information and to view a complete list of rankings.