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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Film/Cinema/Media Studies

11 Ranked Colleges
30 Degrees Awarded
$38,400 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate

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 Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 5,210 people earned their degree in film / cinema / media studies, making the major the 145th most popular in the United States.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 30 film / cinema / media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in film / cinema / media studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great film / cinema / media studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the film / cinema / media studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree film studies students.

Top 11 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Film/Cinema/Media Studies

#1

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas
#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Kansas. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. Lawrence, Kansas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s film studies degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

KU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at KU are $25,007, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at KU

#2

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, New York
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University at Buffalo. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. University at Buffalo is a large public school situated in Buffalo, New York. It awarded 1 doctorate’s film studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University at Buffalo, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University at Buffalo are $26,028.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at University at Buffalo

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa
#10 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #3 spot on the list. Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 2 doctorate’s film studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Iowa are $27,613, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Iowa Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s film studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

#5

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified doctorate’s film studies students in 2019-2020.

UCSB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at UCSB

#7 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate ranking. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at UC Berkeley

#5 in overall quality

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s film studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Pitt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Pitt are $40,836.

Full Pitt Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate ranking. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor are $49,548.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#9

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. University of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715.

Full USC Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Northwestern University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #10. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree film studies students list, Northwestern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at Northwestern University

#11

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

University of Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Studies Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified doctorate’s film studies students in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UChicago Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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