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Best Schools for Film/Video and Photographic Arts in 2026

140 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Film/Video and Photographic Arts, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduate earns $25,921/yr across 140 schools.

Programs Ranked

140

Avg Earnings

$25,921/yr

Avg DW Score

22/100

AI Risk

High

47% task exposure

All Film/Video and Photographic Arts Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

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

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Film/Video and Photographic Arts?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, Kennesaw State University ranks #1 for Film/Video and Photographic Arts with a score of 50/100 and graduate earnings of $51,772/yr.

How much do Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduates earn?

Across 140 schools, Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduates earn an average of $25,921/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $56,418/yr.

Is Film/Video and Photographic Arts a good major for AI resistance?

Film/Video and Photographic Arts has an average AI task exposure of 47%, rated "High". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.