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

26 Colleges in California
2,667 Bachelor's Degrees
$24,430 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in film, video & photographic arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #42 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 26 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of film, video & photographic arts. Combined, these schools handed out 2,667 bachelor'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 Bachelor's Degree

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The film 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor'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 consider a college's overall Best Colleges 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.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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 schools for film, video & photographic arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

The film school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

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

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

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Film

1
158 Annual Graduates
$35,793 Median Starting Salary
$21,687 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor'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 fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the film, video & photographic arts program at University of Southern California get $11,363 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

2
111 Annual Graduates
$33,357 Median Starting Salary
$19,123 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat Chapman University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the medium-sized city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Chapman University receive $8,927 more than the standard film student.

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

3
75 Annual Graduates
$31,313 Median Starting Salary
$15,693 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $6,883 more than the average film grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Berkeley

4
182 Annual Graduates
$27,057 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in film, video & photographic arts. UCSB is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Santa Barbara receive an earnings boost of about $2,627 over the average income of film, video & photographic arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Santa Barbara

5
167 Annual Graduates
$28,145 Median Starting Salary
$16,300 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Irvine receive $3,715 more than the average film student.

More information about a bachelor’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Irvine

6
26 Annual Graduates
$25,409 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the film program make around $25,409 in their early career salary.

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

7
177 Annual Graduates
$24,155 Median Starting Salary
$16,439 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the film program state that they receive average early career earnings of $24,155.

More information about a bachelor’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Santa Cruz

8
69 Annual Graduates
$29,075 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

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

Film, Video & Photographic Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Loyola Marymount University get an earnings boost of approximately $4,645 over the average earnings of film, video & photographic arts majors.

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

9
238 Annual Graduates
$24,940 Median Starting Salary
$17,850 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduating, film bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $24,940 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in film, video & photographic arts from San Francisco State University

10
199 Annual Graduates
$21,281 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

UCR is a fairly large public university located in the city of Riverside.

Soon after graduation, film bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $21,281 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in film, video & photographic arts from University of California - Riverside

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 226 126
Oregon 185 150
Nevada 129 74

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One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Film, Video & Photographic Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Film Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 1,255
Film & Video Production 990
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 301
Photography 121

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 3,908
Design & Applied Arts 2,446
Music 1,679
Drama & Theater Arts 1,601
General Visual & Performing Arts 476
Dance 314
Arts & Media Management 223
Other Visual Art 54

Notes and References

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