Photography

Types of Degrees Photography Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many photography graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,159
Associate Degree	374
Basic Certificate	255
Master’s Degree	215
Undergraduate Certificate	103

What Photography Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to photography and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Photography Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in photography should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Photography Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to photography:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Photography Majors

Photography majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Photography Major?

People with a photography degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Photography?

The major attracts more women than men. About 69% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of photography majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	65
Black or African American	76
Hispanic or Latino	184
White	596
International Students	119
Other Races/Ethnicities	119

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Photography, too. About 10.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Photography

Some careers associated with photography require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to photography have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.4%
Some College Courses	5.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	14.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.5%
Master’s Degree	33.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.1%
Doctoral Degree	21.0%

Online Photography Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	31	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	1
Associate’s Degree	86	4
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	27	2
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Photography

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to photography.

Major	Number of Grads
Film & Video Production	8,984
Film/Cinema/Media Studies	5,858
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts	1,496
Documentary Production	87

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.