Best colleges for Film/Video and Photographic Arts in California
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the California programs in the federal field-of-study file, University of California-Berkeley leads: its Film/Video and Photographic Arts graduates earn a median $70,963 four years after finishing, against the field's $43,765 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Berkeley | $70,963 | +$27,198 |
| 2 | Chapman University | $66,494 | +$22,729 |
| 3 | Loyola Marymount University | $61,500 | +$17,735 |
| 4 | University of Southern California | $58,623 | +$14,858 |
| 5 | University of California-Davis | $57,999 | +$14,234 |
How big is the earnings gap between California Film/Video programs?
$12,964 separates the top and bottom of this list — $70,963 at University of California-Berkeley against $57,999 at University of California-Davis, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do California Film/Video graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $27,198 above the $43,765 national median for the field. Program-level medians come from federal tax records of graduates who received aid, so they track actual pay rather than advertised salaries.