cheers for the input guys, its much appreciated

I get what you mean acid44, thanks
option 1 'may' give me some team based experience if it is animation based whereas option 4 will help hone my skills but it wont be 'professional' based experience. I'd like to think 4 as I've saved up and can go for a year fine (more without paying for a masters course) but that might be bad on the CV if nothing comes of it. Its a hard cookie to crumble.
The course was cancelled due to lack of numbers but there was a problem with communicating that to the potential students for some reason...

cheers pbman, its not corny at all, it can just depend on the situation. I do believe in a job you enjoy, not in one that may give you lots of money but you hate/are bored with or feel unfulfilled with.

Lots more consideration to do....
Si