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2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

8 Ranked Colleges
174 Degrees Awarded
$30,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Photography is the 291st most popular major in the country with 2,438 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 461 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 174 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in photography. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality photography programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the photography program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Photography Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Photography (Income $0-$30k) in California

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Sacramento. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Sacramento, California, this large public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.

Sac State also made our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $6,819 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Sacramento.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Sac State Photography Report

#2

Pacific Union College

Angwin, California
#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pacific Union College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. PUC is located in Angwin, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.

PUC also took the #7 spot in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Pacific Union College is $15,901 for California Bachelor’s Degree Photography students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Photography at PUC

#3

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California College of the Arts. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. California College of the Arts is a small school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 10 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

California College of the Arts also made our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for California College of the Arts is $28,555 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Photography at California College of the Arts

#4

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Academy of Art University landed the #4 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,390 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Academy of Art University.

Read full report on Photography at Academy of Art University

#5

Art Center College of Design

Pasadena, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Art Center College of Design. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 30 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Art Center College of Design did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Art Center College of Design is $42,297 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Art Center College of Design Photography Report

#6

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California
#3 in overall quality

California Institute of the Arts did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. CalArts is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Valencia, California. It awarded 14 bachelors’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

CalArts also made our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend California Institute of the Arts is $43,576 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Photography at California Institute of the Arts

#7

San Francisco Art Institute

San Francisco, California
#6 in overall quality

San Francisco Art Institute landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in San Francisco, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 13 degrees to qualified bachelors’s photography students in 2019-2020.

SFAI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Francisco Art Institute is $35,029 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full San Francisco Art Institute Photography Report

#8

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California
#8 in overall quality

New York Film Academy did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. New York Film Academy is located in Burbank, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 bachelors’s photography degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k list, New York Film Academy has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Photography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $40,748 for california bachelor’s degree photography students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend New York Film Academy.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Photography at New York Film Academy

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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