Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduates from California Institute of the Arts earn $56,207 median salary, above the national average for this program. Median debt: $96,000.
Film/Video and Photographic Arts at California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, California • Master's
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Film/Video and Photographic Arts at California Institute of the Arts
This page combines two federal data products: IPEDS institutional characteristics for California Institute of the Arts 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 31 completers in the most recent cohort for this program at California Institute of the Arts, the denominator behind the median earnings figure.
Median graduate earnings of $56,207 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 above the national average for this program. Across all programs at California Institute of the Arts, the mean median-earnings figure is $37,988, 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 California Institute of the Arts is $96,000, which translates to roughly $800 per month on a standard 10-year repayment plan. The descriptive debt-to-earnings ratio is 1.71: 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 (this school) | $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 California Institute of the Arts
| Program | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $57,920 | $109,180 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts (current) | $56,207 | $96,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $41,192 | $27,000 |
| Music | $40,294 | $19,500 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | $34,026 | $61,000 |
| Music | $29,494 | $44,150 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | $29,426 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | $28,617 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | $24,720 | - |
| Dance | - | - |
Other Schools with Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Quick picks offering the same program – compare side by side
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.