Vancouver Institute of Media Arts
Vancouver Institute of Media Arts
This post-secondary educational institution is also known as VanArts. It’s located in the city of Vancouver, in the province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1995 on West Broadway, but two years later, the Vancouver Institute of Arts moved to its another campus, located in the downtown, and expanded the number of academic programs offered. During the whole operation period, the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts established partnerships with many universities, not only in Canada but in other countries as well. That’s why students have the opportunity to do an exchange program at the Deakin University in Melbourne and the Griffith University in Queensland in Australis; in the University of Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand in the Media Design School. Inside Canada, students can do a pathway program to British Columbia Institute of Technology; the Emily Carr University of Art and Design; the University of the Fraser Valley; and the Fairleigh Dickinson University; The Vancouver Institute of Arts welcomes not only local students but offers people from all around the world to study one its academic programs.
Programs
The Vancouver Institute of Arts provides international students with the opportunity to study on the part-time and full-time basis, as well as take one of the summer courses. The last ones are intensive courses that usually last for a week but help students wrap their heads around their future studies at the Vancouver Institute of Arts and understand if this institution is what they actually need. The summer courses offer a short introduction to the full-time programs available here, and they include: 3D Character Animation; Acting for Film and Television; Web Development and Digital Design; Visual Effects for Film and TV; and others. Most of the participants reaffirm their eagerness to study at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts after completing a summer course and apply for a full-time program right away. One of the most popular programs at the Vancouver Institute of Arts is 2D/3D Character Animation, which was ranked second best in the whole world according to rankings from 2022. Moreover, the field of animation is rapidly evolving and being applied not only for animated films but, basically, in every sphere for advertisement campaigns. Many graduates of the program end up working for Disney and Dreamworks. Students should be ready for a very intensive study period that includes working on many disciplines and comprehending a lot of information in a relatively short time, but it’s all made to tailor an effective academic program, after finishing which students can start working right ahead. During the first term, students at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts learn Visual Language; Photoshop; History of Animation; Physics and Body Mechanics; and the Psychology of lines and shapes, and others. Students at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts spent the last term honing their skills in areas such as body construction and lighting with the help of specialized animation software such as Maya and Harmony. Moreover, at the end of the course, students will need to present their final animation film, and all of the short animated films of graduates are usually published on YouTube. Overall, the program lasts for twelve months, and at the end, students are awarded a diploma. But their education doesn’t have to end here, even though students already have quite an extensive foundation of knowledge and skills. Students can choose one of the academic pathway programs offered by the Vancouver Institute of Arts, and complete at one of the partnering universities a program that leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree in just one year. As a tuition fee at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, international students will need to pay around CAD 33,750. Students should also be ready to spend an additional amount of CAD 350 on supplies they may need during the study period.
Visual Effects for Film and TV is one of the unique programs available at the Vancouver Institute of Media to study. It lasts for just a year and aims to teach students to make visual effects for movies either in the online or in the offline modes. During the first term, students learn 3D Modelling, 2D Image Compositing, the history of visual effects, together with a set of other disciplines. The second term at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts is dedicated to acquiring the skills needed for working with the software for the creation of visual effects and starting to apply their knowledge in practice. After their graduation, students will be able to work as VFX Artists, Lighting and Surfacing Artists, and Digital Matte Painters. The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts requires international students to pay CAD 38,750 for their tuition.
Other full-time diploma programs include Game Art and Design; Web Development and Digital Design; and Acting for Film and Television. Finishing all of them can lead to an advanced diploma or a degree at other post-secondary establishments inside and outside of Canada.
The Vancouver Institute of Media Arts offers international students to take one of the part-time courses. Some of them are: Intro to Acting; Digital Photography; Intro to Maya; Auditions; Video Production; and Acting for Film and TV on several levels.
Accommodation
The campus of the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts is located right in the center of Vancouver, which means that there are a lot of shared accommodation options available for students. For this reason, the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts doesn’t offer on-campus housing, as there are many buildings allocated specifically for student accommodation all around the city. One of the most popular ones is GEC. Its buildings have such locations as to be convenient for students from specific educational establishments. One is located within comfortable proximity of the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. It offers different types of rooms, and students can choose the one they feel is most conducive to their studies at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. They have a choice to live in a private room or share it with a neighbor. There are even whole apartments for families. All the utility and laundry bills are already included in the amount students pay, which is in average CAD 1500. All the buildings have gyms inside, and various events are held there to help students from different educational institutions socialize.
Of course, international students at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts can opt to rent an apartment in the city if they need more independence and know how to handle utility bills and landlords. The price for an unfurnished one-bedroom can reach the number of CAD 2,500 per month, and a two-bedroom costs even a bigger amount.
Some international students of the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts choose to take part in a homestay program, which is highly recommended for these students who have just left their home countries and are not yet used to living alone. Host families allocate a private bedroom for a foreign student who has meals and spends weekends together with all the family members. The price for this type of accommodation is around CAD 1000, but it varies according to the homestay provider. What’s more, the price can be higher if a student has some special food preferences or needs transportation from or to the airport. There is no need to worry about the safety of the families, as all of them are checked before a student’s arrival and instructed on the basic rules of dealing with an international student. That’s why many international students actually become members of these families, as they build strong connections with each other and keep in touch even after a student’s graduation from the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts and their move to the country.
Future Prospects
There are many opportunities for the international graduates of the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. For example, they can continue their studies at other educational establishments in Canada, as well as go to any other country to further their academic life and knowledge. Canada, still, is the country that incentivizes skillfull immigrants by all possible to means to stay for long and facilitate the country’s progress. For this reason, they devised a working visa specifically for those who have finished studies at the post-secondary level in the Canadian educational establishments. If an international graduate fits all the requirements, they can obtain this post-graduation working visa and work in the country for three years.
Having gained some working experience, former international graduates of the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts can even go for Canadian citizenship in the long run if they wish to connect their future with this country. Of course, they can apply all the experience and knowledge gained in any other country in the world, as finishing the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts alone serves as confirmation of highly developed skills.
In case, if you need help with Custodianship and Homestay in Canada, please fill in application below or contact us directly.
