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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.

$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.

Top 15 film programs by median completer earnings

Film bachelor's (CIP 50.06) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

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.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
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.