College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan

11 Colleges in Michigan
523 Film Degrees Awarded
$23,884 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in film, video & photographic arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #62 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 11 schools in Michigan to determine which ones were the best for film, video & photographic arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 523 degrees in film, video & photographic arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Film, Video & Photographic Arts School

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan Your choice of film, video & photographic arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Film, Video & Photographic Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Film, Video & Photographic Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Film
Bachelor's Degrees in Film
Master's Degrees in Film
Doctor's Degrees in Film

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Michigan ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Film, Video & Photographic Arts in Michigan

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the film degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Michigan Schools in Film

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Film Degrees Awarded
12.6% Growth in Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 87 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the film, video & photographic arts program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $5,940 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MI
20.0% Growth in Graduates

Michigan State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 15 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Michigan State University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
64 Film Degrees Awarded
$23,424 Median Starting Salary

Grand Valley State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. GVSU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Allendale. This university ranks 9th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 64 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the film program earn around $23,424 for their early career.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Grand Valley State University

4
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$21,061 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Oakland University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. Oakland is a large public university located in the suburb of Rochester Hills. This university ranks 11th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 23 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Oakland in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, film degree recipients usually earn around $21,061 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Oakland University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$25,007 Median Starting Salary
$33,000 Median Student Debt

Wayne State is a very large public university located in the city of Detroit. A Best Colleges rank of #381 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Wayne State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 6 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Wayne State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the film program report average early career earnings of $25,007.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Wayne State University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
35 Film Degrees Awarded
2.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #335 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.

There were about 35 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, film degree recipients generally earn around $24,760 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Western Michigan University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$25,891 Median Starting Salary
$28,313 Median Student Debt

Eastern Michigan is a large public university located in the large suburb of Ypsilanti. This university ranks 20th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 23 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the film, video & photographic arts major at Eastern Michigan University get $2,007 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Eastern Michigan University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$23,065 Median Starting Salary
$27,125 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Detroit, CCS is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 9 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at CCS in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, film degree recipients usually make about $23,065 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from College for Creative Studies

9
Ferris crest
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In MI
85.7% Growth in Graduates

Ferris is a large public university located in the distant town of Big Rapids. This university ranks 16th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 7 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Ferris in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Ferris State University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,932 Median Starting Salary

Located in the remote town of Marquette, Northern Michigan University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 34th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 9 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Northern Michigan University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the film program report average early career wages of $22,932.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Northern Michigan University

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 314 297
Illinois 304 535
Indiana 294 78
Wisconsin 273 166

View All Rankings >

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

Film Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 227
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 122
Film & Video Production 90
Photography 80
Documentary Production 4

View All Film Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Film

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 1,055
Music 744
Fine & Studio Arts 734
Drama & Theater Arts 364
Dance 99
Arts & Media Management 52
Other Visual Art 13
General Visual & Performing Arts 11
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 11

View All Film Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options