by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Documentary Production Schools” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 78 people earned their degree in documentary production, making the major the 1106th most popular in the United States.
This year’s “Best Value Documentary Production Schools” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in documentary production. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent documentary production programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the documentary production program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
The documentary production school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Documentary Production Schools”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Documentary Production Schools.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Documentary Production Schools. Columbia is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 5 ’s documentary production degrees in 2020-2021.
Columbia also took the #5 spot in our “Best Documentary Production Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia College Chicago is $26,258 for Documentary Production students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chapman University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Documentary Production Schools. Chapman is a private not-for-profit institution located in Orange, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Chapman also took the #2 spot in our “Best Documentary Production Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Chapman University is $44,198 for Documentary Production students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Documentary Production at Chapman University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend High Point University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Documentary Production Schools. Located in High Point, North Carolina, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified ’s documentary production students in 2020-2021.
High Point also took the #6 spot in our “Best Documentary Production Schools” ranking. It costs about $39,475 for Documentary Production students per year to attend High Point University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Documentary Production Schools that were part of this year’s ranking, Ithaca College landed the #4 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Ithaca, New York, and it awarded 9 ’s documentary production degrees in 2020-2021.
Ithaca not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Documentary Production Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Ithaca College is $34,554 for documentary production students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New York Film Academy. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Documentary Production Schools list. New York Film Academy is a small school located in Burbank, California that handed out 17 ’s documentary production degrees in 2020-2021.
New York Film Academy did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Documentary Production Schools” list. It costs about $44,350 for Documentary Production students per year to attend New York Film Academy.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Documentary Production at New York Film Academy
Emerson College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Documentary Production Schools ranking. Emerson is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 ’s documentary production degrees to qualified students.
Emerson not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Documentary Production Schools” list. It costs about $45,171 for Documentary Production students per year to attend Emerson College.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Northwestern University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Documentary Production Schools list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Documentary Production Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $23,279 for documentary production students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Documentary Production at Northwestern University
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
