Visual and Performing Arts
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Colleges award this field under 5 named programs, from Film/Cinema/Media Studies to Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Other.
Inside the major
Programs within this field
Colleges may offer this field under 5 more specific program names. The program you choose affects the courses you take.
- Film/Cinema/Media Studies
- The visual arts that focuses on the study of the history, development, theory, and criticism of the film/media arts, as well as the basic principles of filmmaking and film production.
- Cinematography and Film/Video Production
- Prepares you to communicate dramatic information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the making and producing of films and videos. Covers theory of film, film technology and equipment operation, film production, film directing, film editing, cinematographic art, film audio, techniques for making specific types of films and/or videos, media technologies, computer image making, multi-media production, and the planning and management of film/video operations.
- Photography
- Focuses on the principles and techniques of communicating information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the creation of images on photographic film, plates, and digital images and that may prepare individuals to be professional photographic artists. Covers camera and equipment operation and maintenance, film and plate developing, light and composition, films and printing media, color and special effects, photographic art, photographic history, use of computer applications to record or enhance images and applications to the photography of various subjects.
- Documentary Production
- Prepares you to produce nonfiction film and video. Covers film and video writing, directing, and production; film studies; history of the documentary; research techniques; videography; editing; and business aspects of film production.
- Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Other
- Film/video and photographic arts not listed above.
Also called Video Studies
Also called Cinema Production
Where it can lead
Careers this field can lead to
Explore related careers, starting with the closest connections and the occupations hiring the most people.
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $78,620
- Hiring change through 2035
- 2.2%
- Job openings a year
- 8,000
To get hiredMaster's degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyProducers and Directors
- Median pay
- $90,360
- Hiring change through 2035
- 4.0%
- Job openings a year
- 12,100
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career ShrinkingPhotographers
- Median pay
- $44,660
- Hiring change through 2035
- −0.7%
- Job openings a year
- 10,700
To get hiredHigh school diploma or equivalent
Explore this career Growing with the economyFilm and Video Editors
- Median pay
- $75,420
- Hiring change through 2035
- 3.7%
- Job openings a year
- 3,100
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing slowlyCamera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
- Median pay
- $74,990
- Hiring change through 2035
- 1.3%
- Job openings a year
- 2,500
To get hiredBachelor's degree
Explore this career Growing with the economyCommunications Teachers, Postsecondary
- Median pay
- $78,580
- Hiring change through 2035
- 2.1%
- Job openings a year
- 2,400
To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree
Explore this careerAll work is projected to grow 3.5% between 2025 and 2035; read every hiring-change figure against it. The figures beside each career are the pay of that work, across everyone doing it. Graduates of this field earn $23,822 one year after completing the program, which is the start of a career rather than the shape of one.
Working style
How and where the work happens
Related careers can feel very different from one another. Compare the specific occupations to understand the work each one involves.
Few of the careers connected to this field are measured as substantially in-person or active work. Compare the specific occupations to see how much time each one involves with people, equipment, and movement.
College options
Where to study it
Ordered by how many degrees each college awards in this field. Sort by any numbered column.
| College | Degrees a year | Earnings, first year out | Admit rate | Average annual cost after aid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York University NY | 446 | $30,874 | 9% | $17,000 |
| Savannah College of Art and Design GA | 361 | $23,085 | 84% | $49,000 |
| Emerson College MA | 298 | $28,409 | 47% | $42,000 |
| Georgia State University GA | 266 | $22,068 | 62% | $17,000 |
| DePaul University IL | 239 | $24,417 | 74% | $29,000 |
| California State University-Long Beach CA | 220 | — | 47% | $10,000 |
| San Francisco State University CA | 195 | $24,940 | 96% | $12,000 |
| University of California-Riverside CA | 190 | $21,281 | 63% | $13,000 |
| University of Central Florida FL | 187 | $20,746 | 40% | $10,000 |
| Chapman University CA | 180 | $33,357 | 56% | $34,000 |
| University of Southern California CA | 178 | $35,793 | 10% | $20,000 |
| University of California-Irvine CA | 175 | $28,145 | 26% | $12,000 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara CA | 174 | $27,057 | 28% | $13,000 |
| University of California-Santa Cruz CA | 173 | $24,155 | 63% | $14,000 |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ | 165 | $27,343 | 90% | $17,000 |
| Columbia College Chicago IL | 162 | $21,616 | 91% | $26,000 |
| University of Utah UT | 137 | $29,147 | 87% | $14,000 |
| Temple University PA | 133 | $23,947 | 83% | $27,000 |
| Southern New Hampshire University NH | 130 | — | 96% | $37,000 |
| Loyola Marymount University CA | 117 | $29,075 | 40% | $34,000 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology NY | 116 | $28,611 | 71% | $29,000 |
| University of California-Berkeley CA | 112 | $31,313 | 12% | $10,000 |
| Ithaca College NY | 112 | $24,093 | 70% | $29,000 |
| CUNY Brooklyn College NY | 106 | $26,829 | 54% | $6,000 |
| Middle Tennessee State University TN | 105 | — | 68% | $13,000 |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WI | 101 | $20,759 | 88% | $12,000 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI | 96 | $29,824 | 18% | $5,000 |
| Montclair State University NJ | 96 | $16,935 | 87% | $16,000 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University VA | 91 | $19,660 | 93% | $21,000 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington NC | 89 | $20,754 | 74% | $17,000 |
| California State University-Sacramento CA | 88 | $23,831 | 94% | $9,000 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia SC | 88 | $23,440 | 61% | $20,000 |
| University of Oregon OR | 85 | $21,873 | 85% | $18,000 |
| The New School NY | 84 | $23,129 | 63% | $56,000 |
| Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA | 82 | $23,725 | 54% | $26,000 |
| Pace University NY | 77 | $24,098 | 77% | $28,000 |
| University of California-Davis CA | 76 | $20,210 | 42% | $12,000 |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas NV | 75 | $21,455 | 96% | $11,000 |
| University of New Mexico-Main Campus NM | 75 | $22,860 | 95% | $16,000 |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ | 73 | $27,343 | 64% | — |