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University College Ghent - KASK

Programme information

Established in 1995, the University College Ghent is the result of two successful mergers involving sixteen higher education institutions. Many had been leaders in higher education for decades or more (our Academy of Fine Arts celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2001) and every single one of them brought first-class expertise. Our goal is to link, mix and interconnect this formidable range of assets to create plus value in the fields of education, applied research, services and the development of the arts.
We are proud to be the largest ‘hogeschool’ in the country in terms of budget, staff and student population because this critical mass allows us to offer additional services and opportunities such as professional units for communication, culture and internationalisation. 
KASK animation is a section of the department Academie at the University College Ghent. The Ghent animated film school gears its programme to creative talents. This course - the first in Europe - was conceived and developed by Raoul Servais in 1966 in response to direct professional demand.
The profile is twofold but concentrates on the artistic film rather than technical wizardry.
Faced with the tight relationship of form and content, the student has to deal with all aspects related to the medium: quality in motion, styling, narrative structure and musicality. Research in this area enables a timeless translation towards both classic cartoon and contemporary media applications.
However fast technology evolves, the Ghent school places emphasis on the fact that it is the final product that matters: a completed animated short. Graduates are artists with a broad scope and professional skills, ready to direct artistic films or work in a stimulating studio environment. 

Degree category / length of studies
Academic Bachelor Audiovisual Arts: three years
Academic Master Audiovisual Arts: one year

Number of teachers
10 teachers

Number of students
70 students

Number of foreign students
3 foreign students

Entry requirements
Entrance examination based on artistic skills and general knowledge.
A portfolio is required.

Programme description 
The first year of the Bachelor degree is largely devoted to graphic design in animated film and elementary frame-by-frame exercises.
The second year concentrates on the classic animated cartoon and other techniques in 2D and Stop Motion.
The third year is intended to be a creative laboratory, and experiment will be encouraged. Film editing and sound recording will prove to be very useful assets in the production process of an animated short.
The course culminates in a Master’s degree with a project in audio-visual arts

Philosophy

Straight to the point:
Our Film Animation department was founded by Raoul Servais – well known internationally. During the last 30 years, the «tools» have changed, as well as the general «image» - or «2006-look» - for this medium. However, the vision of Raoul Servais himself has been respected in every way: filmmaker education that respects the self fulfilling and creative/technical method of working which should result in an artistic work, free from any compromise.
Also therefore, we are very pleased (but not entirely surprised) that our 4th year students are already working on the (inter-) national circuits.