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2025 Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Southwest Region

17 Colleges in the Southwest Region
1,084 Film Degrees Awarded
$25,982 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in film, video & photographic arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #62 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 17 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for film, video & photographic arts students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,084 degrees in film, video & photographic arts annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Film, Video & Photographic Arts School

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Southwest Region The film program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Film, Video & Photographic Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Film, Video & Photographic Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Film, Video & Photographic Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Film
Bachelor's Degrees in Film
Master's Degrees in Film

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Film, Video & Photographic Arts in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of film degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Film

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
166 Film Degrees Awarded
7.2% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in film, video & photographic arts needs to take a look at Arizona State University - Tempe. Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 166 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their degree from Arizona State University - Tempe earn $5,166 more than the typical film student.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Arizona State University - Tempe

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In TX

Every student who is interested in film, video & photographic arts has to look into Southern Methodist University. SMU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas. A Best Colleges rank of #142 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 21 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Southern Methodist University

Sponsored
Associates Degree Type
AA in Digital Photography Program Name

Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in AA in Digital Photography from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
57 Film Degrees Awarded
$26,054 Median Starting Salary

University of Arizona is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. University of Arizona is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Tucson. A Best Colleges rank of #110 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were approximately 57 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the film program earn an average of $26,054 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from University of Arizona

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TX
40 Film Degrees Awarded

Baylor University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in film, video & photographic arts. Located in the medium-sized city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #150 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Baylor is a great university overall.

There were roughly 40 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Baylor University

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NM
99 Film Degrees Awarded

CNM is a large public college located in the city of Albuquerque. This college ranks 2nd out of 24 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Mexico.

There were roughly 99 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at CNM in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Central New Mexico Community College

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In AZ
50 Film Degrees Awarded

Scottsdale Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the rural area of Scottsdale. This college ranks 16th out of 26 colleges for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were approximately 50 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Scottsdale Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Scottsdale Community College

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In AZ

Glendale Community College is a large public college located in the large suburb of Glendale. This college ranks 15th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were about 12 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Glendale Community College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Glendale Community College

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Digital Photography Program Name

Learn to create a striking portfolio and hone the skills you need to succeed in the world of professional photography with this online digital photography degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA in Digital Photography from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Film Degrees Awarded
$31,148 Median Starting Salary

ASU - Skysong is a very large public university located in the city of Scottsdale. This university ranks 8th out of 26 colleges for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were roughly 66 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the film, video & photographic arts degree program at Arizona State University - Skysong get $5,166 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Arizona State University - Skysong

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$32,126 Median Starting Salary

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Norman. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were roughly 15 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent data year. Film, Video & Photographic Arts degree recipients from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus get an earnings boost of around $6,144 over the typical earnings of film, video & photographic arts majors.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Film Degrees Awarded
7.5% Growth in Graduates

Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #144 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Grand Canyon University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 67 film, video & photographic arts students who graduated with this degree at Grand Canyon University in the most recent data year. Those film, video & photographic arts students who get their degree from Grand Canyon University make $3,112 more than the average film grad.

More information about a degree in film, video & photographic arts from Grand Canyon University

Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best film, video & photographic arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 220
Arizona 287 444
Oklahoma 257 63
New Mexico 219 122

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Film, Video & Photographic Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Film Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Film & Video Production 549
Other Film/Video & Photographic Arts 237
Film/Cinema/Media Studies 191
Photography 107

View All Film Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 7,759
Design & Applied Arts 3,281
Music 2,883
Drama & Theater Arts 1,377
General Visual & Performing Arts 1,008
Dance 425
Arts & Media Management 383
Other Visual Art 13

View All Film Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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