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2024 Best Value Film Schools in Michigan

11 Ranked Colleges
523 Degrees Awarded
$18,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Film Schools in Michigan

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Film Schools in Michigan” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 16,778 people earned their degree in film, video & photographic arts, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, film, video & photographic arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $24,170 and had an average of $25,804 in loans still to pay off.

Across Michigan, there were 523 film, video & photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,884 and $25,724 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Film Schools in Michigan” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in film, video & photographic arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality film, video & photographic arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the film, video & photographic arts 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.

More Ways to Rank Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
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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 Value Film Schools in Michigan” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Film Schools in Michigan

The colleges and universities below are the best for michigan film students.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts in Michigan

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Film Schools in Michigan list. U-M is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 87 ’s film degrees in 2020-2021.

U-M also took the #1 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. It costs about $14,878 for michigan film students per year to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
GVSU crest
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, Michigan

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Michigan that were part of this year’s ranking, Grand Valley State University landed the #2 spot on the list. GVSU is located in Allendale, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 64 ’s film degrees to qualified students.

GVSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” list. The estimated yearly cost for Grand Valley State University is $17,356 for Michigan Film students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Grand Valley State University

3
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Michigan that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the #3 spot on the list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s film degrees to 15 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our michigan film students list, Michigan State has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. It costs about $19,058 for michigan film students per year to attend Michigan State.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Michigan State

4
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, Michigan

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oakland University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Film Schools in Michigan. Oakland University is a fairly large public school situated in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It awarded 23 ’s film degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our michigan film students list, Oakland has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Oakland University is $13,449 for Michigan Film students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Oakland Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

5
WMU crest
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Michigan University. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Film Schools in Michigan list. WMU is a fairly large school located in Kalamazoo, Michigan that handed out 35 ’s film degrees in 2020-2021.

WMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” list. The estimated yearly cost for WMU is $20,371 for Michigan Film students.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Western Michigan University

6
Eastern Michigan crest
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan

With a ranking of #6, Eastern Michigan University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Film Schools in Michigan list. Eastern Michigan is a public institution located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Eastern Michigan also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for Eastern Michigan University is $15,127 for michigan film students.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Eastern Michigan University

7
Northern Michigan University crest
Northern Michigan University
Marquette, Michigan

Northern Michigan University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools in Michigan list. Northern Michigan University is a medium-sized school located in Marquette, Michigan that handed out 9 ’s film degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northern Michigan University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. It costs about $15,214 for michigan film students per year to attend Northern Michigan University.

Full Northern Michigan University Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

8
Wayne State crest
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan

Wayne State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Film Schools in Michigan ranking, coming in at #8. Wayne State is a large public school situated in Detroit, Michigan. It awarded 6 ’s film degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our michigan film students list, Wayne State has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wayne State is $13,962 for Michigan Film students.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Wayne State

9
Ferris crest
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, Michigan

Ferris State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Schools in Michigan ranking. Ferris is a public institution located in Big Rapids, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 7 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our michigan film students list, Ferris has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ferris is $12,213 for Michigan Film students.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Ferris State University

10
Compass College of Cinematic Arts crest
Compass College of Cinematic Arts
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Compass College of Cinematic Arts ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools in Michigan list. Compass College of Cinematic Arts is a small school located in Grand Rapids, Michigan that handed out 21 ’s film degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Compass College of Cinematic Arts, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Compass College of Cinematic Arts is $22,349 for michigan film students.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Compass College of Cinematic Arts

11

With a ranking of #11, College for Creative Studies did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Film Schools in Michigan list. Located in Detroit, Michigan, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 diplomas to qualified ’s film students in 2020-2021.

CCS also took the #7 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for College for Creative Studies is $34,767 for michigan film students.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at College for Creative Studies

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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