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Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

18 Colleges
$31,957 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,500 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts School for You

Film, Video & Photographic Arts is the #34 most popular major in California with 773 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 18 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for film students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for film majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best value school in California for film, video and photographic arts students. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California list.

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#2

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA
$7,988 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sonoma State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California list. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park.

SSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,988 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#3

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA
$45,388 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 18 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

MSMU undergraduate students pay an average of $45,388 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Mount Saint Mary’s University Report

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best film, video and photographic arts schools in California. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

UCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $13,258 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California list.

Full Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Los Angeles Report

$14,417 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Santa Barbara is a great value for film, video and photographic arts students. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

UCSB undergraduate students pay an average of $14,417 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCSB excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California list.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Santa Barbara

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

San Francisco State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for film, video and photographic arts students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#7

National University

La Jolla, CA
$13,320 Average Tuition & Fees

National University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in California list. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at National University are $13,320 per year.

Full Film, Video & Photographic Arts at National University Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

San Diego State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value film, video and photographic arts programs. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.

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$14,070 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on this year’s best value schools for film, video and photographic arts students. Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public college with a large student population.

UC Santa Cruz undergraduate students pay an average of $14,070 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Santa Cruz Report

#10

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA
$53,051 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for film, video and photographic arts students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Loyola Marymount are $53,051 per year.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Loyola Marymount University

Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 6
Oregon 6
Nevada 3

Film, Video & Photographic Arts is one of 9 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 7,675
Fine & Studio Arts 3,224
Design & Applied Arts 1,979
Drama & Theater Arts 1,699
Arts & Media Management 1,184

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 18 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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