Animation is all about the moving image, and you can make this image so many ways, from lego to play doh to photos. Oh yeah, pencil and pen too.
Animation is used in most movies and just about all games. It is a key part of the visual effects industry. In addition to classical animation using pencil and paper, students, if they are interested can also look at learning animation and modeling in 3D packages such as Maya in more senior years.
Animation is a great course to take if you're interested in careers in visual art or show business. If you imagine yourself making films, writing scripts, making advertisements, telling your story through cartoons and videos then Animation is for you.
Animation isn't just about drawing pictures and making video either. It's about the decisions you make as a film director. What visual effects will you add? what camera angles will you use? what story you're going to tell? How are you going to organize your animation from a set of ideas into a major production?
Cut! That's a wrap!