Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduates from American Film Institute Conservatory earn $43,012 median salary, below the national average for this program. Median debt: $164,727.
Film/Video and Photographic Arts at American Film Institute Conservatory
Los Angeles, California • Master's
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Film/Video and Photographic Arts at American Film Institute Conservatory
This page combines two federal data products: IPEDS institutional characteristics for American Film Institute Conservatory and the College Scorecard field-of-study (FOS) file for Film/Video and Photographic Arts at the master's credential level. The FOS file is keyed by CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) code, which means earnings and debt figures here reflect only graduates of this specific program – not the school as a whole. IPEDS reports 77 completers in the most recent cohort for this program at American Film Institute Conservatory, the denominator behind the median earnings figure.
Median graduate earnings of $43,012 represent Treasury-derived wages, deferred compensation, and positive self-employment earnings four years after program completion for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled. Compared to the national mean of $53,663 across all institutions offering Film/Video and Photographic Arts, graduates here earn below the national average for this program. Across all programs at American Film Institute Conservatory, the mean median-earnings figure is $43,012, providing internal context for whether this specific field out-earns other options at the same institution.
Debt signals complete the ROI picture. The median cumulative federal loan debt for Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduates at American Film Institute Conservatory is $164,727, which translates to roughly $1,373 per month on a standard 10-year repayment plan. The descriptive debt-to-earnings ratio is 3.83: cumulative debt exceeds reported annual earnings. This is a PlainCollege comparison, not a federal gainful-employment verdict. Program-level debt and four-year post-completion earnings come from the Department of Education’s College Scorecard field-of-study snapshot retrieved in March 2026.
Earnings Comparison
Program Details
Debt & ROI
Film/Video and Photographic Arts at Other Schools
| School | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|
| Norwich University | $90,973 | $55,000 |
| American University | $76,808 | $66,504 |
| CUNY Brooklyn College | $66,636 | $61,500 |
| Academy of Art University | $58,879 | $113,213 |
| Regent University | $57,017 | $55,672 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | $56,444 | $163,605 |
| California Institute of the Arts | $56,207 | $96,000 |
| Loyola Marymount University | $55,619 | $120,626 |
| Savannah College of Art and Design | $53,996 | $95,380 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | $53,630 | $92,809 |
Other Programs at American Film Institute Conservatory
| Program | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts (current) | $43,012 | $164,727 |
Other Schools with Film/Video and Photographic Arts
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About the Data
Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field of Study file. Earnings are median earnings for graduates after completion, drawn from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid applicants. Institutional characteristics come from IPEDS. Debt figures represent the median cumulative federal loan debt at graduation.
Debt-to-earnings ratio compares cumulative debt to annual earnings. A ratio below 1.0 indicates that annual earnings exceed total debt, generally considered favorable. Estimated monthly payments assume a standard 10-year repayment plan.
PlainCollege's Scorecard snapshots, retrieved March–July 2026, contain 6,243 postsecondary institutions and 70,827 school-and-program earnings records.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.