2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography in California (With Aid)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 2,438 people earned their degree in photography, making the major the 291st most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 461 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 73 photography graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in photography. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality photography programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the photography program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The photography school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid”.

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. 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 Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography in California (With Aid)

#1

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

$12,612 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Mount Saint Mary’s University is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 masters’s photography degrees to qualified students.

MSMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at MSMU are $12,612, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Photography at Mount Saint Mary’s University

#2

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

#1 in overall quality

$27,688 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Academy of Art University landed the #2 spot on the list. Academy of Art University is a medium-sized school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 56 masters’s photography degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Academy of Art University are $27,688, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Academy of Art University Photography Report

#3

California Institute of the Arts

Valencia, California

#2 in overall quality

$53,466 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of the Arts landed the #3 spot on the list. California Institute of the Arts is a private not-for-profit institution located in Valencia, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CalArts, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CalArts are $53,466.

Read more about Photography at CalArts

#4

New York Film Academy

Burbank, California

#3 in overall quality

$35,457 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New York Film Academy. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Photography Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Burbank, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out masters’s photography degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

New York Film Academy also took the #3 spot in our “Best Photography Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at New York Film Academy are $35,457, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Photography at New York Film Academy

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Photography (With Aid)

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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