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2024 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools

72 Colleges in the United States
1,610 Master's Degrees
$31,916 Avg Early-Career Salary
Film, Video & Photographic Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #84 most popular master'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.

College Factual reviewed 72 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of film, video & photographic arts. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,610 master's degrees in film, video & photographic arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Film, Video & Photographic Arts School for Your Master's Degree

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools Your choice of film, video & photographic arts for getting your master's degree school matters. 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 master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for film, video & photographic arts students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Film, Video & Photographic Arts in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools for a Master's in Film

1

University of Southern California is a good decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the film program report average early career wages of $28,279.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of Southern California

2

Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts master's degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York receive an earnings boost of around $2,814 above the typical income of film, video & photographic arts majors.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from Columbia University in the City of New York

3

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts needs to look into University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.

Soon after graduating, film master's recipients typically make an average of $29,252 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
14 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Yale University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New Haven.More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from Yale University

5
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.

After graduation, film master's recipients generally earn an average of $27,998 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from New York University

6
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA

Emory is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from Emory University

7
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts master's degree recipients from American University earn a boost of around $10,985 above the average income of film, video & photographic arts majors.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from American University

8
9 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from Northwestern University

9

Located in the city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, film master's recipients typically earn about $25,829 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from Chapman University

10

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the film program make around $30,539 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from Loyola Marymount University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Film, Video & Photographic Arts students that almost earned our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA
12 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
13 Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles, CA
14 American Film Institute Conservatory Los Angeles, CA
15 Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA
16 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
17 Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore, MD
18 Massachusetts College of Art and Design Boston, MA

Film, Video & Photographic Arts by Region

View the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Film, Video & Photographic Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Film Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Film & Video Production 854
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 491
Photography 217
Documentary Production 24
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 24

Majors Similar to Film

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 5,778
Fine & Studio Arts 2,984
Design & Applied Arts 1,931
Drama & Theater Arts 1,611
Arts & Media Management 1,115
General Visual & Performing Arts 343
Dance 245
Other Visual Art 215
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 13

Notes and References

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