2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Photography
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking.
In 2019-2020, 2,438 people earned their degree in photography, making the major the 291st most popular in the United States.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,303 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 87 colleges that offered a degree in photography. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent photography 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 photography program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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More Ways to Rank Photography 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 Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.
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. 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 Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree photography students.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Photography
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brigham Young University - Provo. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s. BYU is a large school located in Provo, Utah that handed out 11 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
BYU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend BYU is $13,322 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 87 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras landed the #2 spot on the list. San Juan, is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s photography degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras is $11,714 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
Read more about Photography at University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Out of the 87 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern New Hampshire University landed the #3 spot on the list. Manchester, New Hampshire is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s photography degrees to 86 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Southern New Hampshire University is $41,095 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Grand Valley State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s. Grand Valley State University is located in Allendale, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at GVSU, the school also landed the #21 spot in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $17,646 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students per year to attend Grand Valley State University.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 87 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Lindenwood University landed the #5 spot on the list. Lindenwood University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Charles, Missouri. It awarded 2 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $17,491 for bachelor’s degree photography students per year to attend Lindenwood University.
The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%.
With a ranking of #6, Youngstown State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.
The estimated yearly cost for Youngstown State University is $11,947 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
Read full report on Photography at Youngstown State University
Ferris State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #7. Ferris is a fairly large public school situated in Big Rapids, Michigan. It awarded 1 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $12,889 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students per year to attend Ferris.
SUNY New Paltz ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. SUNY New Paltz is a medium-sized school located in New Paltz, New York that handed out 5 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
SUNY New Paltz also took the #19 spot in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SUNY New Paltz is $17,171 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Central Florida landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Orlando, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s photography degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree photography students list, UCF has also earned the #25 rank in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Central Florida is $10,274 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Sam Houston State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Huntsville, Texas, this large public school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Sam Houston State University is $14,617 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #11. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, this large public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purdue, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Purdue is $13,986 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%.
Northern Arizona University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. NAU is a large school located in Flagstaff, Arizona that handed out 27 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend NAU is $12,915 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
Read full report on Photography at Northern Arizona University
With a ranking of #13, Texas A&M University - Commerce did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Commerce, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s photography degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Texas A&M University - Commerce is $13,017 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
SUNY Fredonia ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. SUNY Fredonia is a public institution located in Fredonia, New York. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Fredonia is $14,824 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Purchase College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #15. Located in Purchase, New York, this small public school handed out 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Purchase College is $18,326 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
University of Central Missouri landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. UCM is a medium-sized school located in Warrensburg, Missouri that handed out 6 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for UCM is $13,677 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
Read more about Photography at University of Central Missouri
With a ranking of #17, Freed-Hardeman University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. FHU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Henderson, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for FHU is $16,703 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
University of Houston came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. This large school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $12,838 for bachelor’s degree photography students per year to attend UH.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Black Hills State University landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Spearfish, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s photography degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $16,641 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students per year to attend Black Hills State University.
Salem State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #20. Salem State University is a public institution located in Salem, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Salem State is $18,399 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
California State University - Sacramento did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #21. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 31 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Sac State is $9,979 for bachelor’s degree photography students.
The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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%.
With a ranking of #22, Texas State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Located in San Marcos, Texas, this large public school handed out 23 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Texas State is $15,230 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
John Brown University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. This small school is located in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for JBU is $21,963 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Akron Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #24. This fairly large school is located in Akron, Ohio, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for University of Akron Main Campus is $17,792 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
With a ranking of #25, Buffalo State did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Buffalo State is located in Buffalo, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.
The estimated yearly cost for Buffalo State is $12,960 for Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.
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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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