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

15 Colleges in California
744 Master's Degrees
$30,262 Avg Early-Career Salary
a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #84 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 15 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 744 master's degrees in film, video & photographic arts to qualified students.

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 in California 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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 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

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 Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

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

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for film, video & photographic arts students seeking a a master's degree.

10 Top California Schools for a Master's in Film

1

It is hard to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC 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 an average of $28,279 in the first couple years of their career.

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

2

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.

Students who graduate with their master's from the film program state that they receive average early career earnings of $29,252.

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

3

Chapman University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the midsize city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the film program state that they receive average early career income of $25,829.

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

4

Loyola Marymount University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

After graduation, film master's recipients typically make about $30,539 at the beginning of their careers.

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

5
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA

Academy of Art University is a medium-sized private for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco.

Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their master's degree from Academy of Art University receive $11,521 more than the average film grad.

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

6

MSMU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts master's degree recipients from Mount Saint Mary's University receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,535 above the typical income of film, video & photographic arts graduates.

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

7

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, American Film Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts master's degree recipients from American Film Institute Conservatory get an earnings boost of around $4,436 above the average income of film, video & photographic arts graduates.

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

8
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
16 Annual Graduates

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

9

Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Santa Cruz

10

CalArts is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Valencia.

After graduating, film master's recipients generally earn an average of $26,425 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in film, video & photographic arts from California Institute of the Arts

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 183 6
Nevada 105 3

View All Rankings >

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 448
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 223
Photography 67
Documentary Production 6

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 498
Fine & Studio Arts 367
Drama & Theater Arts 336
Design & Applied Arts 193
General Visual & Performing Arts 60
Dance 56
Arts & Media Management 51
Other Visual Art 12

Notes and References

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