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

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Master’s in California” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 2,438 people earned their degree in photography, making the major the 291st most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 461 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 73 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in photography. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality photography programs that also have a lower cost than 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Master’s in California

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

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography in California

#1

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

#1 in overall quality

$27,688 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Academy of Art University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California list. This medium-sized school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 56 masters’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Academy of Art University are $27,688, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Photography at Academy of Art University

#2

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California

#3 in overall quality

$35,457 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New York Film Academy. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California list. New York Film Academy is a small school located in Burbank, California that handed out 7 masters’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at New York Film Academy, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at New York Film Academy are $35,457, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full New York Film Academy Photography Report

#3

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California

#2 in overall quality

$53,466 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Institute of the Arts. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in Valencia, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified masters’s photography students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CalArts, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Institute of the Arts are $53,466, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full CalArts Photography Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography

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.

Featured Photography / Film Studies Schools

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