by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 15 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for film/cinema/media studies students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,363 bachelor's degrees in film/cinema/media studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
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.
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 colleges for film/cinema/media studies students working on their bachelor's degree.
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 in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies.
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 very 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
Chapman University is a great decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. Chapman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Orange.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Chapman University
University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. 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
San Francisco State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in film/cinema/media studies. SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from San Francisco State University
Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA 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 - Los Angeles
Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR 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 - Riverside
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Berkeley
Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from Loyola Marymount University
UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from University of California - Irvine
CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the city of Long Beach.More information about a bachelor’s in film/cinema/media studies from California State University - Long Beach
Explore all the Best Film/Cinema/Media Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 521 | 77 |
| Oregon | 343 | 126 |
| Nevada | 201 | 71 |
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 | 955 |
| Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts | 286 |
| Photography | 118 |