2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major
18
Ranked Colleges
46
Degrees Awarded
$35,600
Avg Cost*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 16,778 people earned their degree in film, video and photographic arts, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, film, video and 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.
At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 46 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in film, video and photographic arts. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in film, video and photographic arts.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major
The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree film students.
Top 18 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University at Buffalo. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Located in Buffalo, New York, this large public school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s film students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, 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 87%.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University at Buffalo
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s film degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full UChicago Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 5 degrees to qualified doctorate’s film students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Northwestern
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s film students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at USC
Out of the 18 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #5 spot on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 2 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%.
Full University of California - Santa Cruz Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report
Harvard University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. This large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Harvard
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Pitt is a large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 3 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Pitt
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #8. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s film degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #9. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Full UC Berkeley Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report
University of Iowa landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s film degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Iowa Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report
University of Kansas did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #11. KU is a public institution located in Lawrence, Kansas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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 KU
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s film degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of California - Santa Barbara Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Brigham Young University - Provo came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. This large school is located in Provo, Utah, and it awarded 53 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. 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 more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Brigham Young University - Provo
Yale University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. Yale University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in New Haven, Connecticut. It awarded 30 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Yale University
New York University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. New York University is a large school located in New York, New York that handed out 426 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full NYU Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report
University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 38 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 Washington - Seattle Campus
With a ranking of #14, Temple University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 190 doctorate’s film degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Temple
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Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students
Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k)
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students with family income less than $30k
Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $48-$75k)
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students with family income $48-$75k
Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income Over $110k)
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students with family income exceeding $110k
Most Focused Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students
Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (With Aid)
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students getting aid
Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $30-$48k)
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students with family income $30-$48k
Best Value Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $75-$110k)
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students with family income $75-$110k
Highest Paid Doctor's Degree Film, Video & Photographic Arts Graduates
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students
Most Popular Doctor's Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts
Film, Video & Photographic Arts students
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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.
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