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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

8 Ranked Colleges
108 Degrees Awarded
$25,600 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Film Schools for a Master's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,506 people earned their degree in film, video and photographic arts, making the major the 64th most popular in the United States. 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 Great Lakes region, there were 1,853 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,124 and $29,674 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 108 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the film, video and photographic arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 12 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567.

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

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 1 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree film students whose families make $0-$30k list, Ohio State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio State University - Main Campus are $37,141, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Ohio State Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UIC

#4

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, Michigan
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Central Michigan University is a public institution located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Central Michigan, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Central Michigan are $19,359, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Central Michigan University Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 masters’s film degrees to qualified students.

UWM also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee are $25,295, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#5 in overall quality

Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. OHIO Athens is a large public school situated in Athens, Ohio. It awarded 14 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

OHIO Athens also took the #5 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio University - Athens Campus are $17,712.

Full OHIO Athens Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#7

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Columbia College Chicago landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s film degrees to 24 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Columbia, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia College Chicago are $2,350.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Columbia College Chicago

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Film Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 39 masters’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DePaul University Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

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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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