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2025 Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

83 Colleges in the United States
4,687 Bachelor's Degrees
Ranked #93 in popularity, film/cinema/media studies is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 83 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,687 bachelor's degrees in film/cinema/media studies during the <nil> academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Film/Cinema/Media Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of film/cinema/media studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality film studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for film/cinema/media studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Film Studies Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Film/Cinema/Media Studies in the United States

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for film/cinema/media studies students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

16 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Film Studies

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
82 Annual Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of Southern California

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
21 Annual Graduates

Chapman University is a good decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Chapman University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
96 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
13 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Washington University in St Louis if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Washington University in St Louis

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
174 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

7
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
44 Annual Graduates

The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from American University

8
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
23 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of Pennsylvania

9
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
13 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Vanderbilt University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
195 Annual Graduates

SFSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Francisco.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from San Francisco State University

11
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
46 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Emory University

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
22 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Los Angeles

13
83 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Riverside

14
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Annual Graduates

Iowa is a very large public university located in the city of Iowa City.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of Iowa

15
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
44 Annual Graduates

Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Medford.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Tufts University

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Annual Graduates

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Berkeley

Rest of the Top Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Film/Cinema/Media Studies students that almost earned our Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
17 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
18 The New School New York, NY
19 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
20 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
21 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
22 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
23 Barnard College New York, NY
24 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
25 Purchase College Purchase, NY
26 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
27 University of Oregon Eugene, OR

Film/Cinema/Media Studies by Region

View the Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 4 majors within the Film, Video & Photographic Arts area of study, Film/Cinema/Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Film & Video Production 5,517
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 1,267
Photography 1,159
Documentary Production 34

Notes and References

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