Diploma in Animation at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Canada is a diploma in Film & Animation programme. The programme runs for 6 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 19,359 per year (CAD 4,995 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Film & Animation
Duration: 6 semesters
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 4,995 / year
International tuition: CAD 19,359 / year
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Step-up your animation skills: Specialize in 2D or 3D animation Fully immerse yourself in the world of animation. During your first two years, you’ll develop your drawing and storytelling skills through the 12 principles of animation. With regular access to industry-standard software and hardware, you’ll apply traditional techniques to 2D and 3D animation and gain a basic understanding of the animation process. In your third year, you’ll take advanced courses in life drawing, character design, and story and choose an area of concentration: 2D or 3D. The 2D stream focuses on Toon Boom Harmony rigging, layout, and 2D animation. If you choose the 3D stream, you’ll specialize in 3D rigging, modeling, and animating with Autodesk Maya. In your final semester, you’ll complete a capstone project that you can add to your portfolio. When you graduate, you’ll jumpstart your career as an animation artist with a professional portfolio and demo reel, ready to work in television, games, film, advertising, and more.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: DOMESTIC ENTRY. Ontario Secondary School Diploma (30 credits) or an equivalent, or mature student status - 19 or older before classes begin and without an OSSD, assessed individually, with pre-testing for readiness possible. Required subjects: any grade 12 English at the (C) or (U) level; and a submitted portfolio. Grade 11 or 12 credits in visual arts or media arts at the (M) or (O) level are recommended but not required.
PORTFOLIO - required for admission. Submit on 8.5 by 11 inch paper (no original artwork), containing four parts. Life studies: two drawings from life, of either a human model or an animal, showing structure and anatomy, proportion, perspective, mass and volume, visual appeal and rhythm, and balance; plus one drawing of your own hand and forearm showing the same understanding, which may be loose. Character study: a character of your own design drawn in at least five poses, each carrying a different emotion, judged on solid three-dimensional construction, perspective, mass and volume, appeal, and whether the same character is recognisable across every pose. Perspective study: one clean line drawing of a room in your home, showing perspective, depth and three-dimensional space, proportion and visual appeal. Personal work: six to ten pieces in your own style, which may be drawings, paintings or a mix of classical and digital art. Portfolios may be mailed to the program's faculty contact at Cambrian College, 1400 Barry Downe Road, Sudbury, Ontario P3A 3V8, or sent digitally to the email address on the program page.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Cambrian's international English table sets its minimums by credential level and prints three rows only - Diploma / Certificate, Grad Certificate and Degrees. The diploma and certificate line is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band below 5.5; TOEFL 550 on the paper-based test or 80 on the internet-based test; PTE (Pearson) 58; Duolingo 105 to 115. The table prints no separate line for an Ontario College Advanced Diploma, which is what this credential is, so confirm with Admissions which line governs before booking a test. International applicants, and domestic applicants presenting transcripts earned outside Canada, must send official notarised documents with a certified translation where they are not in English, have them assessed by a certified credential evaluator, and include a copy of a valid passport. Cambrian's international application checklist also names a portfolio as a normal requirement for creative art and design programs.
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes Cambrian lists for this program on its own page, read 6 September 2026: September 2026 (Schedule A fall term: Day 1 orientation 8 September 2026, classes from 9 September 2026, term ends 18 December 2026). Term dates come from Cambrian's published 2026-27 Academic Schedule A, which most programs follow and which is built from 14-week blocks with September, January and May starts. Not every program admits in every term, and the intakes above are the ones this program's page lists for the 2026-27 year; check the program page before applying, because an intake already under way may be closed.
Application Deadline:DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). Cambrian publishes no deadline that belongs to this program alone; what follows is the college-wide Ontario colleges cycle plus Cambrian's own term cut-offs, and it applies to every full-time program. Apply at ontariocolleges.ca. Applications received there by 1 February are given equal consideration - they are assessed together, and Ontario residents are preferred where a program is oversubscribed. After 1 February applications are handled first-come, first-served for as long as seats remain, and your file is judged on what has reached the Admissions Office by the transcript submission deadline. For entry in Fall 2027 the provincial cycle runs as follows: the ontariocolleges.ca application opened on 26 September 2026, colleges may issue offers from 1 November 2026, the equal consideration date is 1 February 2027, an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027, and tuition deposits fall in June 2027 on each college's own date.
COLLEGE-WIDE LAST DAY TO APPLY. Separately from the equal consideration date, Cambrian's 2026-27 Academic Schedule A sets a hard last day to apply for admission on Day 3 of each term - for this program's intakes that is 10 September 2026 for the fall 2026 start. To begin, all transcripts and documents must already be with the College and you must be ready to pay the deposit and start classes by Day 5 (14 September 2026, 15 January 2027 or 14 May 2027). The schedule prints this as an all-programs date and does not distinguish domestic from international applicants. The non-refundable deposit is due 15 June 2026 for the september start.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Do not use the domestic ontariocolleges.ca form: apply on the OCAS international service (Cambrian's college code is CAMB, up to three program choices), or have an authorised agent file for you in Cambrian's own application portal. The 1 February equal consideration date is part of the domestic Ontario colleges cycle and Cambrian publishes no closing date of its own for international applicants; files are assessed individually as they arrive. Cambrian does say that some programs fill faster than others and advises acting early, and that the letter of acceptance carries an expiry date past which no student may enrol. Once the offer is accepted and fees are paid you need an Ontario Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) before you can apply for a study permit, so leave time for that step.
