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2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

48 Ranked Colleges
3,147 Degrees Awarded
$10,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts is the 64th most popular major in the country with 17,506 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, film, video and photographic arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $22,714 and had an average of $31,549 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 5,094 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $22,973 and $38,643 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 3,147 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 48 colleges that offered a degree in film, video and photographic arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great film, video and photographic arts programs and cost less that 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 film, video and photographic arts program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools

The film 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 Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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 Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Stanford is $-1,387 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k. The negative number means the student will receive more financial aid on average than it costs to attend the school.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, 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 86%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Stanford University

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 33 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UW Seattle also took the #8 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $7,850 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UW Seattle

Out of the 48 schools in the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school awarded 125 degrees to qualified bachelors’s film students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $9,558 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Irvine.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Irvine

Out of the 48 schools in the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #4 spot on the list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s film degrees to 82 students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $8,392 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 96%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Berkeley

#5

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 48 schools in the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCLA has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $8,553 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UCLA.

The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UCLA Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#11 in overall quality

California State University - Long Beach came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Long Beach is a public institution located in Long Beach, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 184 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $6,364 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%.

Full CSULB Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

University of California - Riverside landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 185 bachelors’s film degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCR, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $8,366 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Riverside

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 159 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s film students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSB, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $10,316 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low 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%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UCSB

California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. CSUDH is a fairly large school located in Carson, California that handed out 20 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $2,455 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

University of California - Davis ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 60 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Davis has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $9,842 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Davis

California State University - Sacramento came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s film degrees to 83 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Sac State is $6,819 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film 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%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Sac State

#12

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #12. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 224 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $14,668 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend USC.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Southern California Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#13

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 218 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Francisco State University is $11,123 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at SFSU

#14

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 211 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also took the #16 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $10,872 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, 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 students.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of California - Santa Cruz

#15

Occidental College

Los Angeles, California
#6 in overall quality

Occidental College landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Oxy is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 24 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k list, Oxy has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $13,146 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Occidental College.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Occidental College

With a ranking of #16, University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Nevada - Las Vegas is a public institution located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school has a large population, and it awarded 54 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for University of Nevada - Las Vegas is $9,378 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UNLV

#17

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Fairbanks, Alaska

University of Alaska Fairbanks ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Fairbanks, Alaska, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $7,133 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UAF.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UAF

#18

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington

Central Washington University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Central Washington University is a fairly large school located in Ellensburg, Washington that handed out 38 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Central Washington University is $9,875 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Central Washington University

#19

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington

With a ranking of #19, Eastern Washington University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cheney, Washington is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s film degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $8,473 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Eastern Washington University.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Eastern Washington University

#20

Portland State University

Portland, Oregon

Portland State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #20. Portland State University is a large school located in Portland, Oregon that handed out 74 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $11,198 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Portland State University.

Full Portland State University Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#21

University of Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

With a ranking of #21, University of Oregon did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Eugene, Oregon, and it awarded 77 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $12,690 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Oregon.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UO

#22

Whitman College

Walla Walla, Washington

Whitman College ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Walla Walla, Washington, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 14 degrees to qualified bachelors’s film students in 2019-2020.

Whitman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Whitman College is $22,616 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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, Video & Photographic Arts at Whitman

#23

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California

Humboldt State University landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Arcata, California, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $11,263 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Humboldt State University

#24

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, California
#15 in overall quality

Westmont College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #24. Westmont is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s film degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Westmont, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Westmont College is $23,381 for far western us region bachelor’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Westmont Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#25

National University

La Jolla, California

National University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. La Jolla, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s film degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at National University

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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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