Home › Majors › Film & Photography

Film & Photography Degree

140 schools compared · Average earnings $25,921/yr

Students study cinematography, video production, photography, editing, screenwriting, and the artistic and technical skills needed to create visual stories for screen and print. Graduates typically pursue careers as filmmakers, videographers, photographers, editors, content creators, and visual effects artists for production companies, studios, and media organizations. The explosive growth of streaming content and social media video has expanded opportunities for visual storytelling professionals.

What Film & Photography Graduates Do

Your career in film and video won’t begin on a red carpet. More likely, you’ll start in an editing suite, sifting through hours of raw footage to assemble a coherent story. As a producer or director, your day is a balancing act of wrangling budgets, coordinating crew, and making critical creative decisions. If you pursue photography, expect to spend as much time editing photos and marketing your business as you do behind the lens. Paths for producers and editors are growing faster than those for photographers or camera operators, which face stiffer competition.

You'll likely begin in an assistant role, building a portfolio and network to land lead positions. AI will also change your day-to-day work. It will automate significant chunks of routine tasks like syncing audio, making rough cuts, or culling photos. These jobs aren't disappearing, but your focus will shift from technical execution to higher-level creative strategy and storytelling. Success will depend on your adaptability and your ability to use new tools to realize a unique vision.

Schools Offering

140

Avg Grad Earnings

$25,921/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

22/100

AI Automation Risk

High

47% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Film & Photography graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 43,700 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Producers and directors	$83,480 $60K$131K	12,800	+4.9%	42%
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary	$80,190 $61K$122K	9,000	+1.7%	44%
Communications teachers, postsecondary	$77,800 $60K$103K	2,700	+2.1%	43%
Film and video editors	$70,980 $50K$102K	3,600	+4.0%	53%
Camera operators, television, video, and film	$68,810 $48K$102K	2,900	+1.2%	42%
Photographers	$42,520 $35K$62K	12,700	+1.8%	39%

Producers and directors

$83,480

$60K $131K

12,800 openings/yr +4.9% growth 42% AI risk

Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary

$80,190

$61K $122K

9,000 openings/yr +1.7% growth 44% AI risk

Communications teachers, postsecondary

$77,800

$60K $103K

2,700 openings/yr +2.1% growth 43% AI risk

Film and video editors

$70,980

$50K $102K

3,600 openings/yr +4.0% growth 53% AI risk

Camera operators, television, video, and film

$68,810

$48K $102K

2,900 openings/yr +1.2% growth 42% AI risk

Photographers

$42,520

$35K $62K

12,700 openings/yr +1.8% growth 39% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Film & Photography

Top 20 of 140 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	50 43–51	$51,772/yr	21.4x
2	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	45 38–45	$31,689/yr	24.8x
3	Utah Valley University Orem, UT	44 36–45	$41,833/yr	15.7x
4	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	39 32–39	$29,696/yr	11.1x
5	Tufts University Medford, MA	36 29–37	$56,418/yr	1.1x
6	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	35 31–35	$24,618/yr	16.5x
7	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	34 26–34	$38,508/yr	4.8x
8	CUNY City College New York, NY	34 29–34	$26,918/yr	15.3x
9	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	33 26–34	$38,508/yr	4.6x
10	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	32 27–33	$28,138/yr	12.0x
11	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	32 28–32	$25,506/yr	16.3x
12	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	32 28–33	$24,869/yr	15.3x
13	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	31 24–32	$33,610/yr	8.8x
14	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	31 25–32	$31,148/yr	9.1x
15	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	31 26–31	$26,630/yr	10.8x
16	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA	31 27–31	$25,090/yr	13.4x
17	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	30 24–31	$29,608/yr	11.8x
18	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	30 26–31	$26,054/yr	9.2x
19	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	30 27–31	$22,843/yr	11.9x
20	Miami Dade College Miami, FL	30 27–31	$20,611/yr	17.2x
21	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH	29 22–30	$33,578/yr	4.1x
22	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	29 23–30	$31,172/yr	6.7x
23	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	29 24–30	$28,608/yr	7.8x
24	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	29 27–30	$18,654/yr	15.3x
25	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA	28 21–29	$31,886/yr	4.2x
26	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	28 21–28	$31,148/yr	—
27	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	28 23–29	$27,290/yr	12.5x
28	Fordham University Bronx, NY	27 20–28	$36,704/yr	0.5x
29	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	27 20–28	$32,126/yr	8.3x
30	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	27 22–28	$28,474/yr	7.4x
31	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	27 21–27	$28,202/yr	6.4x
32	Chapman University Orange, CA	26 19–27	$35,795/yr	1.6x
33	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	26 19–26	$29,958/yr	5.8x
34	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	26 19–26	$29,634/yr	5.9x
35	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	26 20–27	$29,613/yr	4.2x
36	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ	26 20–26	$29,094/yr	5.8x
37	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	26 20–26	$28,561/yr	4.6x
38	Portland State University Portland, OR	26 21–27	$27,028/yr	8.9x
39	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	26 21–26	$26,147/yr	9.1x
40	University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston Salem, NC	26 22–26	$24,053/yr	10.5x
41	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	26 22–26	$23,676/yr	13.3x
42	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY	26 23–27	$22,682/yr	11.6x
43	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	26 22–26	$22,588/yr	11.6x
44	Keene State College Keene, NH	25 20–25	$27,261/yr	6.8x
45	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	25 21–26	$23,989/yr	8.0x
46	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	24 20–25	$25,565/yr	6.3x
47	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	24 19–24	$25,344/yr	9.9x
48	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	24 20–24	$24,840/yr	7.4x
49	The University of Montana Missoula, MT	24 20–24	$24,679/yr	10.2x
50	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI	24 20–24	$23,840/yr	9.4x
51	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA	24 21–25	$23,126/yr	10.3x
52	Seattle Film Institute Seattle, WA	23 17–24	$30,789/yr	1.3x
53	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	23 17–23	$29,011/yr	5.4x
54	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	23 17–24	$28,634/yr	2.3x
55	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	23 17–23	$28,289/yr	6.8x
56	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI	23 18–23	$27,348/yr	5.9x
57	American University Washington, DC	23 18–23	$26,767/yr	2.1x
58	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH	23 19–23	$24,617/yr	4.5x
59	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	23 20–24	$23,418/yr	8.0x
60	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	23 20–23	$22,315/yr	11.1x
61	Woodbury University Burbank, CA	22 15–22	$32,477/yr	1.9x
62	Lesley University Cambridge, MA	22 15–22	$31,846/yr	2.4x
63	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	22 16–23	$30,526/yr	0.2x
64	Belmont University Nashville, TN	22 16–23	$30,188/yr	0.8x
65	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI	22 17–23	$26,502/yr	5.9x
66	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN	22 17–22	$26,332/yr	7.4x
67	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	22 18–22	$23,614/yr	6.8x
68	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	22 19–23	$23,519/yr	-0.1x
69	Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, CA	22 18–22	$22,596/yr	—
70	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV	22 20–23	$21,491/yr	9.9x
71	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	22 20–23	$20,476/yr	11.0x
72	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	22 20–23	$19,258/yr	7.3x
73	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	21 14–22	$35,485/yr	0.5x
74	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	21 14–21	$34,187/yr	1.0x
75	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT	21 15–22	$29,253/yr	0.4x
76	Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Norton, MA	21 15–21	$28,498/yr	0.1x
77	Huntington University Huntington, IN	21 15–21	$27,455/yr	1.3x
78	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI	21 17–22	$25,256/yr	6.1x
79	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	21 17–21	$23,686/yr	6.9x
80	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	21 18–21	$21,397/yr	6.8x
81	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA	21 18–21	$19,107/yr	5.0x
82	Clayton State University Morrow, GA	21 19–21	$15,952/yr	6.9x
83	California Institute of the Arts Valencia, CA	20 15–21	$28,247/yr	0.2x
84	John Paul the Great Catholic University Escondido, CA	20 15–21	$27,221/yr	1.3x
85	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	20 17–21	$23,109/yr	5.7x
86	Massachusetts College of Art and Design Boston, MA	20 17–20	$22,764/yr	6.1x
87	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	20 17–20	$22,601/yr	5.7x
88	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	20 18–21	$19,758/yr	-0.2x
89	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY	20 18–20	$18,128/yr	9.4x
90	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	19 13–19	$28,028/yr	1.4x
91	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR	19 14–19	$26,939/yr	3.9x
92	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	19 14–19	$26,331/yr	0.0x
93	Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles, CA	19 14–19	$25,835/yr	0.3x
94	Oral Roberts University Tulsa, OK	19 14–19	$25,696/yr	0.9x
95	Stevenson University Owings Mills, MD	19 14–19	$25,690/yr	0.6x
96	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	19 15–19	$24,345/yr	3.8x
97	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH	19 16–20	$22,263/yr	6.6x
98	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH	19 17–20	$19,803/yr	6.7x
99	Rhode Island College Providence, RI	19 17–19	$18,685/yr	3.3x
100	California Baptist University Riverside, CA	18 14–19	$25,031/yr	0.6x
101	Marymount Manhattan College New York, NY	18 14–19	$25,014/yr	0.6x
102	Seattle University Seattle, WA	17 10–17	$30,256/yr	0.3x
103	George Fox University Newberg, OR	17 11–18	$29,745/yr	1.2x
104	Columbus College of Art & Design Columbus, OH	17 11–18	$28,994/yr	1.5x
105	Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, NY	17 11–18	$28,858/yr	1.3x
106	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ	17 13–17	$22,311/yr	0.6x
107	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus Madison, NJ	17 13–17	$22,311/yr	0.6x
108	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	17 15–18	$21,322/yr	5.6x
109	Emerson College Boston, MA	16 11–17	$27,032/yr	1.4x
110	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL	16 12–17	$26,641/yr	2.0x
111	DePaul University Chicago, IL	16 12–17	$26,164/yr	1.8x
112	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI	16 13–16	$22,011/yr	3.7x
113	Champlain College Burlington, VT	16 13–16	$21,092/yr	0.2x
114	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA	16 14–17	$20,512/yr	1.4x
115	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	16 14–17	$20,041/yr	4.7x
116	Full Sail University Winter Park, FL	15 11–15	$24,078/yr	2.2x
117	Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA	15 12–16	$23,354/yr	2.5x
118	Minneapolis College of Art and Design Minneapolis, MN	14 9–14	$26,156/yr	0.8x
119	Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA	14 10–15	$23,976/yr	1.7x
120	Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL	14 10–14	$23,905/yr	1.8x
121	New York University New York, NY	14 11–15	$23,869/yr	1.3x
122	DeSales University Center Valley, PA	14 11–14	$22,651/yr	1.7x
123	California College of ASU Los Angeles, CA	14 11–14	$20,483/yr	2.6x
124	New York Film Academy Burbank, CA	14 12–15	$16,415/yr	0.1x
125	Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI	14 12–15	$15,906/yr	0.0x
126	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	13 9–14	$24,561/yr	0.9x
127	College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI	13 9–13	$24,350/yr	1.0x
128	Ithaca College Ithaca, NY	13 9–13	$23,782/yr	1.2x
129	Kansas City Art Institute Kansas City, MO	13 10–13	$22,619/yr	1.5x
130	The New School New York, NY	13 10–13	$21,523/yr	1.4x
131	Pace University New York, NY	13 11–14	$20,775/yr	1.6x
132	Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA	12 8–12	$22,988/yr	0.6x
133	School of Visual Arts New York, NY	11 8–11	$20,312/yr	0.8x
134	Webster University Saint Louis, MO	11 9–12	$19,071/yr	1.7x
135	Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI	11 9–11	$17,701/yr	1.2x
136	Ringling College of Art and Design Sarasota, FL	10 8–10	$18,551/yr	0.3x
137	University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA	10 8–10	$17,674/yr	0.6x
138	University of Hartford West Hartford, CT	10 8–10	$17,521/yr	0.5x
139	Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore, MD	10 8–10	$17,500/yr	0.8x
140	Pratt Institute-Main Brooklyn, NY	9 7–10	$16,710/yr	0.4x

Highest Earning Film & Photography Programs

Schools where Film & Photography graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Tufts University	$56,418/yr	36
Kennesaw State University	$51,772/yr	50
Utah Valley University	$41,833/yr	44
Rutgers University-Newark	$38,508/yr	34
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	$38,508/yr	33
Fordham University	$36,704/yr	27
Chapman University	$35,795/yr	26
University of Miami	$35,485/yr	21
University of Southern California	$34,187/yr	21
Texas State University	$33,610/yr	31

Best ROI for Film & Photography

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Film & Photography.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Florida State University	24.8x	$31,689/yr	45
Kennesaw State University	21.4x	$51,772/yr	50
Miami Dade College	17.2x	$20,611/yr	30
California State University-Sacramento	16.5x	$24,618/yr	35
Brigham Young University	16.3x	$25,506/yr	32
Utah Valley University	15.7x	$41,833/yr	44
CUNY City College	15.3x	$26,918/yr	34
San Francisco State University	15.3x	$18,654/yr	29
CUNY Hunter College	15.3x	$24,869/yr	32
Eastern Washington University	13.4x	$25,090/yr	31

Want to compare two Film & Photography programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Consider the Trade Route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Film & Photography offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the typical salary after a Film & Photography degree?

First-year earnings for Film & Photography graduates average $25,921 annually, based on data from 140 programs. The range spans $15,906 at the low end to $56,418 at the top.

Will AI affect Film & Photography careers?

AI exposure for Film & Photography is rated "High." With 47% of tasks potentially affected by large language models, some career functions face meaningful automation pressure in the coming decade.

Which school has the best Film & Photography program?

Our data ranks Kennesaw State University first among 140 Film & Photography programs. Its score of 50/100 reflects strong outcomes across earnings ($51,772/yr), return on investment, and career durability.

What's the outlook for a Film & Photography degree?

On average, Film & Photography graduates earn 5.3x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →