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2023 Most Focused Colleges for Film/Cinema/Media Studies in California

44 Ranked Colleges
$38,900 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2021-2022, 5,479 people earned their degree in film/cinema/media studies, making the major the 142nd most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 1,678 film/cinema/media studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California” ranking looked at 44 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their film/cinema/media studies program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California”.

Top 25 Most Focused Colleges for Film/Cinema/Media Studies in California

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American Film Institute Conservatory. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 82 degrees to qualified ’s film studies students in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at American Film Institute

2
Columbia College Hollywood crest
Columbia College Hollywood
Tarzana, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia College Hollywood. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California. This small school is located in Tarzana, California, and it awarded 49 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

Full Columbia College Hollywood Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

3
Oxy crest
Occidental College
Los Angeles, California

Out of the 44 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Occidental College landed the #3 spot on the list. Oxy is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 22 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at Oxy

4
SFSU crest
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

Out of the 44 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 251 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at San Francisco State University

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 166 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UCSB Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

6

California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 197 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at CSULB

7

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking, coming in at #7. UCR is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 98 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - Riverside Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

8

University of California - Irvine ranked #8 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California list. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 175 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at University of California - Irvine

9

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. UCLA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 121 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at UCLA

10

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Davis, California, this large public school handed out 69 diplomas to qualified ’s film studies students in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at University of California - Davis

11

California State University - Dominguez Hills ranked #11 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California list. California State University - Dominguez Hills is located in Carson, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 38 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full CSUDH Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

12
Chapman crest
Chapman University
Orange, California

Chapman University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Chapman University is a fairly large school located in Orange, California that handed out 10 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Chapman Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

13
Cal Baptist crest
California Baptist University
Riverside, California

California Baptist University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Riverside, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified ’s film studies students in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Baptist Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

14

With a ranking of #14, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California list. University of California - Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 88 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at UC Berkeley

15
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s film studies degrees to 106 students in 2021-2022.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at USC

16
SMC crest
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica College landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Santa Monica, California, and it awarded 34 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at SMC

17
Cosumnes River crest
Cosumnes River College
Sacramento, California

Cosumnes River College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Cosumnes River is located in Sacramento, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 11 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Cosumnes River Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

18
Pepperdine crest
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Pepperdine University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Malibu, California. It awarded 8 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at Pepperdine

19
National University crest
National University
San Diego, California

National University ranked #19 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California list. San Diego, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s film studies degrees to 5 students in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full National University Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

20
City College of San Francisco crest
City College of San Francisco
San Francisco, California

City College of San Francisco came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. City College of San Francisco is located in San Francisco, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 14 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at City College of San Francisco

21
CSM crest
College of San Mateo
San Mateo, California

With a ranking of #21, College of San Mateo did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California list. CSM is a medium-sized school located in San Mateo, California that handed out 4 ’s film studies degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Film/Cinema/Media Studies at College of San Mateo

22
Loyola Marymount crest
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

Loyola Marymount University landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 15 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at Loyola Marymount University

23
Long Beach City College crest
Long Beach City College
Long Beach, California

Long Beach City College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Long Beach City College is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 9 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

Full Long Beach City College Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

24
West Valley College crest
West Valley College
Saratoga, California

West Valley College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. West Valley College is located in Saratoga, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 3 ’s film studies degrees to qualified students.

Full West Valley College Film/Cinema/Media Studies Report

25
Palomar College crest
Palomar College
San Marcos, California

Palomar College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Film Studies Major in California ranking. Located in San Marcos, California, this fairly large public school handed out 12 diplomas to qualified ’s film studies students in 2021-2022.

Read more about Film/Cinema/Media Studies at Palomar College

Notes and References

References

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