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Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

16 Colleges
$31,014 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,916 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 16 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree 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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools

#1

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

Our analysis found Sonoma State University to be the best value school for film, video and photographic arts students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. SSU is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SSU are $9,422 per year.

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#2

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Mount Saint Mary’s University is a great value for film, video and photographic arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at MSMU are $13,099 a year.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Mount Saint Mary’s University

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value film, video and photographic arts schools in California. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.

UCLA did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Los Angeles

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

SFSU graduate students pay an average of $8,738 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#5

National University

La Jolla, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend National University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at National University are $15,480 per year.

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

#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree film, video and photographic arts programs. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SDSU are $9,570 a year.

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

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UCSB is a very large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.

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#8

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for film, video and photographic arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Loyola Marymount graduate students pay an average of $19,922 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Loyola Marymount also is in the top 10% of our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

Full Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Loyola Marymount University Report

#9

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

With a ranking of #9, Academy of Art University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for film, video and photographic arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Academy of Art University are $28,496 a year.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Academy of Art University

American Film Institute Conservatory ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, American Film Institute is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at American Film Institute are $63,575 per year.

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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 16 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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