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2024 Best Film & Video Production Schools in California

21 Colleges in California
1,951 Cinematography Degrees Awarded
Film & Video Production is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #117 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 21 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of film & video production. Combined, these schools handed out 1,951 degrees in film & video production to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Film & Video Production School

Best Film & Video Production Schools in California Your choice of film & video production school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Film & Video Production School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Film & Video Production Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Cinematography
Bachelor's Degrees in Cinematography
Master's Degrees in Cinematography

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 & Video Production Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Film & Video Production in California

The schools below may not offer all types of cinematography 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 Cinematography

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
216 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

University of Southern California is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in film & video production. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 216 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film & video production from University of Southern California

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
166 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

Chapman University is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in film & video production. Located in the city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Chapman is a great university overall.

There were approximately 166 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film & video production from Chapman University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
99 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

Loyola Marymount University is a good option for students pursuing a degree in film & video production. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Marymount is a great university overall.

There were approximately 99 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film & video production from Loyola Marymount University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
91 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

University of California - Riverside is a great decision for students interested in a degree in film & video production. UCR is a very large public university located in the large city of Riverside. A Best Colleges rank of #213 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCR is a great university overall.

There were about 91 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film & video production from University of California - Riverside

5
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
79 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

Academy of Art University is a medium-sized private for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 37th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 79 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at Academy of Art University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film & video production from Academy of Art University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In CA
4.8% Growth in Graduates

MSMU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 52nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 21 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at MSMU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film & video production from Mount Saint Mary’s University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
105 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Tarzana, Columbia College Hollywood is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were about 105 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at Columbia College Hollywood in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film & video production from Columbia College Hollywood

8
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
36th Most Popular In CA
33.3% Growth in Graduates

National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 3 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film & video production from National University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
53 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

Sac State is a very large public university located in the large city of Sacramento. This university ranks 39th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 53 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film & video production from California State University - Sacramento

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In CA
36 Cinematography Degrees Awarded

CalArts is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Valencia.

There were approximately 36 film & video production students who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film & video production from California Institute of the Arts

Best Film & Video Production Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Film & Video Production Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 48
Oregon 587 29
Nevada 354 3

View All Rankings >

Film & Video Production is one of 4 different types of Film, Video & Photographic Arts programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Cinematography

Related Major Annual Graduates
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 1,623
Photography 360
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 303
Documentary Production 21

View All Cinematography Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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