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2024 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

47 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,727 Film Degrees Awarded
$23,608 Avg Early-Career Salary
Film, Video & Photographic Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #62 most popular degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 47 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,727 degrees in film, video & photographic arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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 the Great Lakes Region Your choice of film, video & photographic arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for film, video & photographic arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each 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 the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

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

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the film degree levels they offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Film

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
7.1% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a degree in film, video & photographic arts. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 14 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Film Degrees Awarded
12.6% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in film, video & photographic arts needs to take a look at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges 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. Film, Video & Photographic Arts degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get an earnings boost of around $6,216 above the average income of film, video & photographic arts majors.

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

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Film Degrees Awarded
34.1% Growth in Graduates

Ohio State University - Main Campus is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were about 41 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, film degree recipients typically earn an average of $25,292 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
234 Film Degrees Awarded
$24,201 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in film, video & photographic arts needs to look into Columbia College Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 16th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 234 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, film degree recipients typically earn an average of $24,201 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Columbia College Chicago

5
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

Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were about 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

6
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
224 Film Degrees Awarded
12.9% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were roughly 224 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the film program state that they receive average early career income of $24,266.

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

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Film Degrees Awarded
12.9% Growth in Graduates

Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were approximately 31 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their degree from Purdue University - Main Campus make $8,761 more than the average film student.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Purdue University - Main Campus

8
Huntington crest
Huntington University
Huntington, IN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$27,365 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Huntington is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Huntington. This university ranks 29th out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 13 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Huntington in the most recent year we have data available. Film, Video & Photographic Arts degree recipients from Huntington University earn a boost of around $3,757 above the average income of film, video & photographic arts majors.

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

9
DePauw crest
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IN
71.4% Growth in Graduates

DePauw is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Greencastle. A Best Colleges rank of #167 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePauw is a great university overall.

There were approximately 7 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at DePauw in the most recent year we have data available.

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

10
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In OH
28.6% Growth in Graduates

UC is a very large public university located in the city of Cincinnati. A Best Colleges rank of #166 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 14 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best film, video & photographic arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 414
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 & Video Production 770
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 557
Photography 249
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 133
Documentary Production 18

View All Film Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 5,375
Fine & Studio Arts 4,583
Music 4,060
Drama & Theater Arts 2,364
Arts & Media Management 602
General Visual & Performing Arts 413
Dance 358
Other Visual Art 108
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 32

View All Film Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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