2025 AMC STUFF Rankings Announced: Beijing Film Academy’s Animation Program Climbs to 13th Globally, Remains the Top-Ranked in China
In July 2025, Animation Career Review (ACR), an international animation authority, released the “Top 50 International Animation Schools and Colleges - 2025” ranking (excluding the United States). With its outstanding academic influence, continuously innovative teaching results and international strategic layout, the Animation School of Beijing Film Academy has achieved six consecutive increases from 21st to 13th in the world since 2020, fully demonstrating its core position and strong development momentum in the world animation education landscape, achieving a steady rise for six consecutive years and continuing to be the “No. 1 Animation School in China”.
The most influential and authoritative ranking in the field of global animation education reflects the educational level, talent cultivation, industry influence and international cooperation of animation disciplines around the world. The continuous rise of the Animation School of Beijing Film Academy not only indicates the steady improvement of the voice of Chinese animation education in the world pattern, but also demonstrates the far-reaching effectiveness of the development strategy centered on “national backbone + global vision”.
In July 2025, Animation Career Review (ACR)—a globally recognized authority in evaluating animation education—released its annual Top 50 International Animation Schools and Colleges ranking (excluding institutions based in the United States).
The Beijing Film Academy’s School of Animation climbed to 13th place globally, marking its sixth consecutive year of advancement since ranking 21st in 2020. This steady rise underscores the school’s growing prominence in the global landscape of animation education, driven by its outstanding academic reputation, continued innovation in teaching and research, and a robust internationalization strategy. The program continues to hold the distinction of being the highest-ranked animation school in China.
Widely regarded as the most influential global benchmark in animation education, the ACR rankings reflect international standards in academic quality, talent development, industry impact, and cross-border collaboration.
Beijing Film Academy’s consistent upward trajectory not only signifies China’s rising voice in global animation discourse, but also demonstrates the lasting success of its development strategy—one rooted in cultural identity and guided by a global perspective.
Original link:
https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-50-internationalanimation-schools-and-colleges-2025-college-rankings
Source:
Top 50 International Animation Schools and Colleges – 2025 College Rankings, Animation Career Review
https://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-50-international-animation-schools-and-colleges-2025-college-rankings
Building Global Connectivity: Advancing International Collaboration as a Core Strategy
From 2024 to 2025, the School of Animation of Beijing Film Academy will focus on building a deep connection between global animation education and industry, and comprehensively upgrade the “International Cooperation Strategic System”. The school has successively carried out joint teaching, research programs and talent training projects with world-class animation institutions such as Weta FX in New Zealand, the National Animation Center in the UK, the Habsburg Institute in France, Sheridan College in Canada, and Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan, and continued to expand the boundaries of the “World Classroom”.
In particular, substantial breakthroughs have been made in the development of joint Chinese and foreign courses, two-way exchanges between teachers and students, and the implementation of joint creative projects, promoting the deep integration of Chinese animation education with international high-end resources in terms of concepts, platforms, and mechanisms, and creating a new pattern of dual-circulation international cooperation of “going out and inviting in”.
From 2024 to 2025, the Beijing Film Academy’s School of Animation has intensified its efforts to forge deeper connections across the global animation education and industry landscape, significantly upgrading its international collaboration strategy.
The school has launched a series of joint teaching, research, and talent development initiatives in partnership with top-tier global institutions such as Weta FX (New Zealand), the UK National Center for Animation, Gobelins, l’École de l’Image (France), Sheridan College (Canada), and the Tokyo University of the Arts (Japan). These initiatives continue to expand the boundaries of what the school calls its “global classroom.”
Notably, substantial progress has been made in the co-development of international curricula, two-way student and faculty exchanges, and cross-border co-productions. These advances are driving the deep integration of Chinese animation education with global best practices in vision, infrastructure, and institutional mechanisms, and laying the foundation for a dual-track international cooperation model—one that equally emphasizes “going global” and “bringing in”.
Pictured: 2024 International Film and Television Creation and Cultural Exchange Forum
Pictured is Beijing Film Academy Party Committee Secretary Zhou Zhijun discussing multilateral education and teaching cooperation with international universities
The picture shows the joint teaching between the Animation School of Beijing Film Academy and Weta FX of New Zealand
Driving Innovation: Emerging Technologies Empower the Future of Animation Education
The college continues to strengthen its technical layout in the direction of “future imaging”. Starting from 2024, AIGC and large model technology will be officially introduced into the undergraduate and master’s teaching system, and an AI animation creation chain integrating script generation, picture style migration, and intelligent storyboard design will be built. It will be the first in domestic universities to open a “Future Imaging” course group to promote the transformation of animation education to “smart manufacturing”.
At the same time, the college participated in the formulation of national 8K animation production standards, and completed the creation and international screening of multiple 8K standard ink-and-watercolor animation short films through the experimental teaching platform, laying the foundation for a new paradigm of Chinese animation that integrates “technology + art + standards”.
The Beijing Film Academy’s School of Animation continues to strengthen its technological foundation in the field of “future visual media.” Starting in 2024, the school formally integrated AIGC (AI-Generated Content) and large language model technologies into both undergraduate and graduate-level curricula, establishing a comprehensive AI-powered animation pipeline that spans script generation, visual style transfer, and intelligent storyboard design. It is among the first institutions in China to launch a dedicated course cluster titled “Future Visual Media Studies,” marking a major step toward the transformation of animation education into a new era of intelligent content creation.
In parallel, the school has taken an active role in formulating national production standards for 8K animation, and has produced several 8K ink-painting-style animated short films through its experimental teaching platform. These works have been showcased internationally, contributing to the formation of a new model in Chinese animation—one that integrates cutting-edge technology, artistic tradition, and standard-setting in a cohesive and forward-looking framework.
Strengthening Cultural Expression: Introducing the “Chinese School” to the Global Narrative
Reshaping the Chinese animation school in the global cultural context, Beijing Film Academy has always insisted on promoting cultural output with originality. The course “History of Chinese Animation” has been rated as a national “first-class online and offline hybrid course”. The English version is distributed globally by Routledge Publishing House and is listed as a core textbook by many international universities in the United States, Japan, South Korea, etc., systematically spreading “the historical logic and aesthetic spirit of Chinese animation” worldwide.
As a “Chinese solution” for cultivating top Chinese animation talents, the “Ada Experimental Class” has achieved breakthrough results in many international mainstream film festivals in recent years. Students’ works have been shortlisted for high-level competitions such as the Student Oscars and the Stuttgart International Animation Festival, becoming a vivid example of young Chinese creators participating in the construction of global animation discourse.
In the evolving global cultural landscape, the Beijing Film Academy remains to advancing Chinese animation through original creativity and meaningful cultural export. Its signature course, The History of Chinese Animation, was recognized as a national first-class hybrid (online-offline) curriculum and has been published in English by Routledge, one of the world’s leading academic publishers. The textbook is now adopted as core teaching material by numerous universities across the United States, Japan, South Korea, and beyond—serving as a systematic introduction to the historical logic and aesthetic spirit of Chinese animation on a global scale.
The “ADA Experimental Class”—a pioneering model for cultivating top-tier
The picture shows some of the works published by teachers of animation major of Beijing Film Academy
Extending Global Influence: Elevating a Chinese Award to an Internationally Recognized Brand
The Beijing Film Academy Animation Academy Award has completed its strategic transformation from a “national award” to an “international high ground”. The judging team includes Oscar winners, winners of the Anna West Animation Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, experts from authoritative institutions such as Tokyo University of the Arts, California Institute of the Arts, and the Geneva Academy of Arts in Switzerland. More than a dozen top animation schools around the world have actively participated in the exhibition, with a total of more than a thousand works, screenings covering five continents, and a total media exposure of over 10 million.
Top international schools such as the Haute-Brand School in France pay close attention to the award, and their official website continues to track and report related activities. The Animation Academy Award has become a benchmark for young animation creators around the world, and an important international window for telling Chinese stories and showcasing Eastern imagination.
The Beijing Film Academy Animation Awards have undergone a strategic transformation—from a prestigious national prize to a prominent platform on the global stage. The judging panel now includes Oscar winners, recipients of lifetime achievement awards from the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and renowned experts from institutions such as the Tokyo University of the Arts, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and the Geneva School of Art and Design. More than a thousand submissions from over a dozen leading animation schools worldwide were received, with screenings and activities reaching audiences across five continents. Total media exposure exceeded 10 million views.
Top international institutions, including Gobelins, l’École de l’Image in France, have shown keen interest in the award, with the school’s official website providing continuous coverage of the event. Today, the Beijing Film Academy Animation Awards serve as both a global barometer for emerging animation talent and a powerful international platform for telling Chinese stories and showcasing Eastern imagination.
Upper left: Famous Swiss animator Mr. George Schweitzer gave a lecture at the Beijing Film Academy
Top right: Alexander Petrov, director of the Oscar-winning animation “The Old Man and the Sea”, gave a special lecture at the Beijing Film Academy
Lower left: Professor Steve Brown of California Institute of the Arts gave a lecture at the Beijing Film Academy titled “Disney’s Forgotten Manual of Visual Humor”
Bottom right: Professor Koji Yamamura of Tokyo University of the Arts gave a lecture at the Beijing Film Academy titled “Giving Nature to Invisible Light”
The picture shows the attention and reports on the Beijing Film Academy Animation Academy Award on the official website of the French Gobelins Academy
Amplifying Global Impact, Building a Talent Ecosystem: Advancing Integration of Creation and Research in Animation Education
The School of Animation of Beijing Film Academy adheres to the concept of “teaching + creation + research”, continues to expand the national key teaching materials system, and comprehensively promotes the construction of the original discourse system of Chinese animation disciplines. The school’s main works such as “The Dragon Guardian”, “The Door God”, “Sword Comes”, “Chinese Tales”, “The Sinking Lotus”, “Flight to the Moon”, “New Sanchakou”, “Martin the Variety”, etc. have been continuously shown at major international film festivals such as Berlin, Venice, Zagreb, and Los Angeles, achieving dual leadership in academics and industries in domestic and overseas markets.
The school has held many cross-context academic forums, creative development workshops, and AI experimental courses, continuously gathering animation scholars and young creators from five continents, and promoting the construction of a “community of shared destiny for animation education” led by China. Standing at a new starting point ranked 13th in the world, the School of Animation of Beijing Film Academy will continue to aim at building a “Chinese animation program” with global influence, adhere to the national aesthetic tradition, embrace cutting-edge technological innovation, consolidate educational quality and originality, and serve the national cultural strategy.
The college will continue to promote the standardization, internationalization, and intelligent construction of animation education, cultivate new animation forces that are rooted in the Chinese spirit and have international competitiveness, and provide a steady stream of talents and works to support the “going out” of Chinese culture.
Upholding a holistic approach that integrates teaching, creative production, and academic research, the Beijing Film Academy’s School of Animation continues to expand its system of national-level core textbooks while actively contributing to the development of an original Chinese discourse in animation studies.
A series of faculty-led projects—including The Guardian of Dragons, Door Guardians, Sword Comes, Yao—Chinese Folktales, Aroma, To the Moon, New Crossroads, and Martin the Marvelous—have been featured at major international film festivals such as Berlinale, Venice, Zagreb, and Los Angeles, achieving significant influence across both academic and commercial domains at home and abroad.
Through a wide array of cross-cultural academic forums, creative development labs, and AI-powered experimental courses, the school continues to bring together leading animation scholars and young creators from across the five continents—advancing the vision of a China-led global talent community in animation education.
With its recent rise to 13th place in the global rankings, the Beijing Film Academy’s School of creative Animation is poised to further its mission of shaping a globally influential model for Chinese animation. Anchored in the aesthetics of national tradition and open to the possibilities of technological innovation, the school remains committed to enhancing educational quality, strengthening original capacity, and contributing to the advancement of China’s national cultural strategy.
Moving forward, the school will continue to promote the standardization, internationalization, and intelligent transformation of animation education. It aims to cultivate a new generation of animation talent—rooted in Chinese cultural identity and equipped for global competitiveness—while providing a continuous source of creative work and professional expertise to support the global reach of Chinese culture.
Source: Animation Career Review, Beijing Film Academy Animation School, China Animation Research Institute
Written by: Wang Hao
Review: Sun Lijun, Ma Hua, Chen Zhongguo
Layout: Shi Zixuan and Xie Jiatong
Sources: Animation Career Review, Beijing Film Academy School of Animation, China Institute of Animation Studies
Writer: Wang Hao
Reviewed by: Sun Lijun, Ma Hua, Chen Zhongguo
compose type: Shizixuan, Xiejiatong
