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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

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

Finding the Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree School for You

With 3,916 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, film, video and photographic arts is the #33 most popular major in California.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for film students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

#1

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Sonoma State University the best value school in California for film, video and photographic arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SSU are $9,422 a year.

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#2

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value film, video and photographic arts schools in California. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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

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Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

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

UCLA not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at San Francisco State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value film, video and photographic arts schools in California. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

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

Full Film, Video & Photographic Arts at San Francisco State University Report

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#5

National University

La Jolla, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at National University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value film, video and photographic arts schools in California. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.

National University graduate students pay an average of $15,480 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

San Diego State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

SDSU graduate students pay an average of $9,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSB are $13,581 a year.

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#8

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

Loyola Marymount University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Loyola Marymount are $19,922 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Loyola Marymount also did well on our Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#9

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

Academy of Art University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Academy of Art University is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Academy of Art University are $28,496 per year.

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American Film Institute Conservatory 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 #10 on the list. American Film Institute is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at American Film Institute are $63,575 a 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 132
Oregon 167
Nevada 77

One of 10 majors within the area of study, film, video and photographic arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Drama & Theater Arts 17,341
General Visual & Performing Arts 6,355

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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