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2024 Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools in California

15 Colleges in California
1,623 Film Studies Degrees Awarded
Film/Cinema/Media Studies is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #142 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 15 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,623 degrees in film/cinema/media studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Film/Cinema/Media Studies School

Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools in California Your choice of film/cinema/media studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for film/cinema/media studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Film/Cinema/Media Studies Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Film Studies
Bachelor's Degrees in Film Studies
Master's Degrees in Film Studies
Doctor's Degrees in Film Studies

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 Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Film/Cinema/Media Studies in California

The schools below may not offer all types of film studies degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Film Studies

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
94 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in film/cinema/media studies needs to check out University of Southern California. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 94 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from University of Southern California

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
16th Most Popular In CA
20.0% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Chapman University if you wish to pursue a degree in film/cinema/media studies. Chapman is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Orange. This university ranks 32nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 20 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from Chapman University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
79 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

University of California - Berkeley is a good option for students pursuing a degree in film/cinema/media studies. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 79 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Berkeley

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
127 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in film/cinema/media studies. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 127 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Los Angeles

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
184 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 184 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
167 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were about 167 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Irvine

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
22nd Most Popular In CA

Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 20th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 5 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from Loyola Marymount University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
242 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco. This university ranks 35th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 242 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from San Francisco State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
82 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

American Film Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

There were roughly 82 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at American Film Institute in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from American Film Institute Conservatory

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
108 Film Studies Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 108 film/cinema/media studies students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Riverside

Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 77
Oregon 587 126
Nevada 354 74

View All Rankings >

Film/Cinema/Media Studies is one of 4 different types of Film, Video & Photographic Arts programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Film & Video Production 1,951
Photography 360
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 303
Documentary Production 21

View All Film Studies Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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