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2024 Best Photography Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

5 Colleges in California
121 Bachelor's Degrees
Photography is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #225 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Photography Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 121 bachelor's degrees in photography during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Photography School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Photography Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The photography bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for photography students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Photography Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Photography Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Photography in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in photography.

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Photography

1
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Academy of Art University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in photography. Academy of Art University is a medium-sized private for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a bachelor’s in photography from Academy of Art University

2
10 Annual Graduates

California College of the Arts is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in photography. Located in the city of San Francisco, California College of the Arts is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in photography from California College of the Arts

3
20 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat California State University - Sacramento if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in photography. Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Sacramento.More information about a bachelor’s in photography from California State University - Sacramento

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
14 Annual Graduates

California Institute of the Arts is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in photography. CalArts is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Valencia.More information about a bachelor’s in photography from California Institute of the Arts

5
19 Annual Graduates

Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Pasadena.More information about a bachelor’s in photography from Art Center College of Design

6

Best Photography Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Photography Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 521 1
Oregon 343 6

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One of 4 majors within the Film, Video & Photographic Arts area of study, Photography has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Photography

Related Major Annual Graduates
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 1,255
Film & Video Production 990
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 301

Notes and References

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