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2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

8 Ranked Colleges
174 Degrees Awarded
$35,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor's in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Photography is the 291st most popular major in the country with 2,438 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 461 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 174 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in photography. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great photography 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 photography 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 in California” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree photography students.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Photography in California

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University - Sacramento is a large school located in Sacramento, California that handed out 31 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Sac State is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree photography students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Sac State Photography Report

#2

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Academy of Art University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in San Francisco, California, this medium-sized private for-profit school awarded 47 degrees to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Academy of Art University is $34,145 for California Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.

Read more about Photography at Academy of Art University

#3

Pacific Union College

Angwin, California
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Pacific Union College landed the #3 spot on the list. PUC is a small school located in Angwin, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

PUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $21,835 for California Bachelor’s Degree Photography students per year to attend Pacific Union College.

Read more about Photography at Pacific Union College

#4

Art Center College of Design

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Art Center College of Design landed the #4 spot on the list. Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 30 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Art Center College of Design, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Art Center College of Design is $47,080 for California Bachelor’s Degree Photography students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Photography at Art Center College of Design

#5

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend New York Film Academy. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school situated in Burbank, California. It awarded 18 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

New York Film Academy not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $45,280 for California Bachelor’s Degree Photography students per year to attend New York Film Academy.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Photography at New York Film Academy

#6

San Francisco Art Institute

San Francisco, California
#6 in overall quality

San Francisco Art Institute ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This small school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

SFAI also made our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend San Francisco Art Institute is $41,392 for california bachelor’s degree photography students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Photography at SFAI

#7

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California
#3 in overall quality

California Institute of the Arts did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #7. CalArts is located in Valencia, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.

CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CalArts is $50,412 for california bachelor’s degree photography students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California Institute of the Arts Photography Report

#8

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, California
#4 in overall quality

California College of the Arts came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in San Francisco, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree photography students list, California College of the Arts has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California College of the Arts is $33,876 for california bachelor’s degree photography students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full California College of the Arts Photography 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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