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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts

18 Ranked Colleges
48 Degrees Awarded
$35,600 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major” ranking.

In 2021-2022, 17,626 people earned their degree in film, video & photographic arts, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In , film, video & photographic arts graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $24,396 and had an average of $31,569 in loans still to pay off.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 48 film, video & photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,735 and $124,256 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in film, video & photographic arts. That schools that top this list have a program in film, video & photographic arts in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree film students.

Top 18 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts

1
University at Buffalo crest
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University at Buffalo. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Located in Buffalo, New York, this large public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s film students in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 University at Buffalo Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

2
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at University of Chicago

3
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s film degrees to 4 students in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

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

4
USC crest
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Out of the 18 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #4 spot on the list. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s film degrees to qualified students.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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 University of Southern California

5

Out of the 18 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #5 spot on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

6
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s film degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

7

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #7. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a large public school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 3 doctorate’s film degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, 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 93%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Pitt

8

University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #8. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s film degrees to 6 students in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

9

University of California - Berkeley ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 5 doctorate’s film degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full University of California - Berkeley Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

10
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

University of Iowa landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s film degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Iowa

11
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

With a ranking of #11, University of Kansas did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. KU is a public institution located in Lawrence, Kansas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 85%.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at KU

12

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #12. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s film degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UCSB Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

13

With a ranking of #13, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. U-M is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 88 doctorate’s film degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at U-M

14

Brigham Young University - Provo came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. Brigham Young University - Provo is located in Provo, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 56 doctorate’s film degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at BYU

14
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut

With a ranking of #14, Yale University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified doctorate’s film students in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

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

14
NYU crest
New York University
New York, New York

New York University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking, coming in at #14. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s film degrees to 4 students in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at New York University

14

University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major ranking. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school awarded 68 degrees to qualified doctorate’s film students in 2021-2022.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

14
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Temple University ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Film Major list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s film degrees to 1 students in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Temple University Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

Notes and References

References

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Footnotes

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