Program ranking · CIP 50.06 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Film

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Film (CIP 50.06) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$70,963
Highest film earnings: 100
Colleges ranked: $33,579
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $33,579 median earnings for Film bachelor's (CIP 50.06) completers. University of California-Berkeley leads at $70,963.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$70,963
#1 - University of California-Berkeley: $33,579
#100 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 400
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

University of California…

$70,963
Chapman University

$66,494
Rutgers University-New B…

$63,679
Loyola Marymount Univers…

$61,500
Tufts University

$59,960
New York University

$58,720
University of Southern C…

$58,623
University of California…

$57,999
University of Michigan-A…

$57,059
Fordham University

$54,738
Syracuse University

$54,115
Wheaton College (Massach…

$54,106
Brigham Young University

$53,695
Rochester Institute of T…

$52,970
University of California…

$52,699

What this shows Film and video medians mix production, post, and creative-industry roles - debt still matters when arts-market pay varies sharply by metro.

The full top 100

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$70,963	$15,000	82
2	Chapman University	CA	$66,494	$18,500	211
3	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$63,679	$23,250	32
4	Loyola Marymount University	CA	$61,500	$22,625	71
5	Tufts University	MA	$59,960	-	30
6	New York University	NY	$58,720	$20,500	407
7	University of Southern California	CA	$58,623	$19,500	178
8	University of California-Davis	CA	$57,999	$17,500	69
9	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	$57,059	$19,024	86
10	Fordham University	NY	$54,738	$25,000	52
11	Syracuse University	NY	$54,115	$26,875	51
12	Wheaton College (Massachusetts)	MA	$54,106	$24,250	30
13	Brigham Young University	UT	$53,695	$11,894	54
14	Rochester Institute of Technology	NY	$52,970	$27,000	113
15	University of California-Riverside	CA	$52,699	$20,472	206
16	American University	DC	$52,661	$22,000	53
17	Pace University	NY	$52,368	$25,313	69
18	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	$52,105	$17,369	36
19	Quinnipiac University	CT	$52,094	$22,250	43
20	University of Miami	FL	$52,032	$17,500	60
21	University of California-Irvine	CA	$51,423	$16,000	175
22	Rhode Island School of Design	RI	$51,278	$27,000	54
23	Massachusetts College of Art and Design	MA	$51,139	$24,000	68
24	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$50,904	$16,082	27
25	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$50,871	$20,834	118
26	Montclair State University	NJ	$50,790	$27,000	47
27	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$50,565	$20,687	48
28	University of Oregon	OR	$50,499	$24,500	76
29	Taylor University	IN	$50,403	-	29
30	Woodbury University	CA	$50,387	$26,000	44
31	George Mason University	VA	$50,086	$23,205	42
32	Emerson College	MA	$49,951	$23,250	359
33	Art Center College of Design	CA	$49,933	$28,750	47
34	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$49,893	$15,000	164
35	University of Utah	UT	$49,841	$23,000	118
36	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	$49,759	$19,250	164
37	Arizona State University Digital Immersion	AZ	$49,759	$19,250	66
38	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	$49,192	$21,500	32
39	The New School	NY	$48,557	$25,000	107
40	University of Iowa	IA	$47,892	$24,116	52
41	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$47,707	$19,185	32
42	San Francisco State University	CA	$47,149	$17,375	226
43	DePaul University	IL	$46,969	$24,000	176
44	Pratt Institute-Main	NY	$46,874	$26,596	64
45	Academy of Art University	CA	$46,726	$33,812	72
46	CUNY Hunter College	NY	$46,545	-	52
47	Florida State University	FL	$46,180	$20,538	28
48	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus	NJ	$45,958	$25,000	28
49	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	$45,815	$15,692	172
50	Lesley University	MA	$45,508	$26,974	28
51	Keene State College	NH	$45,423	$27,000	28
52	Western Michigan University	MI	$45,391	$27,000	32
53	Montana State University	MT	$45,300	$22,125	57
54	Central Washington University	WA	$45,152	$22,118	33
55	University of Rhode Island	RI	$44,983	$19,500	65
56	Ithaca College	NY	$44,829	$24,899	108
57	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	$44,232	$26,000	83
58	University of Arizona	AZ	$44,145	$20,500	57
59	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	$44,032	$13,500	104
60	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$43,919	$23,250	68
61	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$43,469	$27,068	67
62	University at Buffalo	NY	$43,285	$18,861	65
63	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	$43,265	$25,695	65
64	Liberty University	VA	$43,025	$22,500	50
65	Drexel University	PA	$42,980	$24,239	54
66	Temple University	PA	$42,526	$21,500	152
67	Georgia State University	GA	$42,457	$21,974	217
68	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$42,392	$15,568	72
69	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$42,317	$17,500	71
70	The University of Tampa	FL	$42,090	$20,500	25
71	Belmont University	TN	$42,033	$20,500	47
72	Point Park University	PA	$41,751	$27,000	43
73	Savannah College of Art and Design	GA	$41,651	$25,905	330
74	Portland State University	OR	$41,639	$23,250	68
75	School of Visual Arts	NY	$41,271	$27,000	142
76	University of Central Florida	FL	$41,255	$19,839	192
77	Columbia College Chicago	IL	$41,200	$25,000	176
78	University of Kansas	KS	$41,191	$24,000	50
79	Ringling College of Art and Design	FL	$41,024	$27,000	49
80	University of North Carolina School of the Arts	NC	$41,000	$26,139	74
81	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	$40,962	$22,500	100
82	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$40,592	$18,525	26
83	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$39,720	$19,500	77
84	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	$39,707	$26,000	29
85	Grand Valley State University	MI	$39,082	$24,499	79
86	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	$38,429	$22,500	47
87	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	$37,958	$24,125	87
88	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	$37,880	$16,250	30
89	Cleveland State University	OH	$37,745	$26,000	60
90	University of Central Arkansas	AR	$37,484	$19,500	43
91	Middle Tennessee State University	TN	$37,274	$18,797	66
92	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	$37,066	$22,906	35
93	Clayton State University	GA	$36,510	$19,840	27
94	The University of Montana	MT	$36,169	$25,011	35
95	Webster University	MO	$35,407	$22,475	36
96	Miami Dade College	FL	$35,402	-	74
97	Wayne State University	MI	$35,157	$21,400	28
98	Los Angeles Film School	CA	$35,151	$38,500	211
99	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	$34,184	$20,500	84
100	Full Sail University	FL	$33,579	$25,923	505

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Film (CIP 50.06) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Film (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Film/Video and Photographic Arts (CIP 50.06) bachelor's programs - theatre (CIP 50.05) and journalism (CIP 09.04) are ranked separately.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.