30 Best Colleges for Film – 2024
April 17, 2024
Spielberg, Tarantino, and Wes Anderson all had to start somewhere. That somewhere is an undergraduate film program where you will hone your skills as a future writer, director, producer, editor, cameraman, and lighting technician. Yet it is important to note that film schools vary greatly in the quality of instructors, possession of high-end equipment, and connections to the industry that can be essential when graduates begin networking in order to land their first jobs. The usual suspects (or Usual Suspects since we’re talking about film), like USC and NYU grace our list of the Best Colleges for Film, but so do many schools far from the entertainment hubs of New York and L.A. All of these institutions produce graduates that are prepared to chase their filmmaking dreams.
Methodology
Click here to read our methodology for the Best Colleges for Film.
Salary Information
Want to know how much money graduates of the best environmental engineering colleges make when they begin their careers? For each college listed (and hundreds of additional schools), you can view the starting salaries for film majors.
Best Colleges for Film Design
Here’s a quick preview of the first ten film institutions that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) New York University
2) University of Southern California
3) Yale University
4) Wesleyan University
5) Emerson College
6) Chapman University
7) University of California-Los Angeles
8) University of North Carolina School of the Arts
9) University of California-Santa Barbara
10) Loyola Marymount University
All of the schools profiled below have superb reputations in the area of film and commit substantial resources to undergraduate education. For each of the best colleges for film, College Transitions will provide you with—when available—each school’s:
We will also include a longer write-up of each college’s:
- Academic Highlights – Includes facts like student-to-faculty ratio, average class size, number of majors offered, and most popular majors.
- Professional Outcomes – Includes info on the rate of positive outcomes, companies employing alumni, and graduate school acceptances.
New York University
- New York, NY
Academic Highlights: NYU is divided into a number of smaller (but still quite large) colleges organized by discipline; in sum, there are 230 areas of undergraduate study across nine schools and colleges. For its size, a commendable 58% of classes have an enrollment under 20 students. While all schools within NYU have solid reputations, Stern holds the distinction as one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country. For those entering film, dance, drama, or other performing arts, Tisch is as prestigious a place as you can find to study.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of exiting, 94% of Class of 2022 grads had landed at their next destination, with 78% employed and 21% in graduate school. The top industries for employment were healthcare (11%), internet and software (9%), finance (8%), and entertainment (8%). Large numbers of alumni can be found at Google, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Citi, and Amazon. The mean starting salary is $75,336. In 2022, business, arts and sciences, and law school were the most popular grad school destinations.
- Enrollment: 29,401 (undergraduate); 29,711 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $90,222-$96,172
- Median SAT: 1520
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 87%
University of Southern California
- Los Angeles, CA
Academic Highlights: There are 140 undergraduate majors and minors within the Dornsife College of Arts & Sciences alone, the university’s oldest and largest school. The Marshall School of Business, Viterbi School of Engineering, and programs in communication, the cinematic arts, and the performing arts are highly acclaimed. Popular areas of study are business (22%), social sciences (11%), visual and performing arts (11%), communications/journalism (9%), and engineering (8%). Most courses enroll 10-19 students, and USC does an excellent job facilitating undergraduate research opportunities.
Professional Outcomes: 96% of undergrads experience positive postgraduation outcomes within six months of earning their degree. The top five industries entered were finance, consulting, advertising, software development, and engineering; the median salary across all majors is an astounding $79k. Presently, between 300 and 1,500 alumni are employed at each of Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, and Meta. Graduate/professional schools enrolling the greatest number of 2022 USC grads include NYU, Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford, Pepperdine, and UCLA.
- Enrollment: 20,699 (undergraduate); 28,246 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $90,921
- Median SAT: 1510
- Median ACT: 34
- Acceptance Rate: 12%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Yale University
- New Haven, CT
Academic Highlights: Yale offers 80 majors, most of which require a one- to two-semester senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research is a staple, and over 70% of classes—of which there are over 2,000 to choose from—have an enrollment of fewer than 20 students, making Yale a perfect environment for teaching and learning. Among the top departments are biology, economics, global affairs, engineering, history, and computer science. The social sciences (26%), biology (11%), mathematics (8%), and computer science (8%) are the most popular areas of concentration.
Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduating, 73% of the Yale Class of 2022 had entered the world of employment and 18% matriculated into graduate programs. Hundreds of Yale alums can be found at each of the world’s top companies including Google, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, and Microsoft. The most common industries entered by the newly hired were finance (20%), research/education (16%), technology (14%), and consulting (12%). The mean starting salary for last year’s grads was $81,769 ($120k for CS majors). Nearly one-fifth of students immediately pursue graduate school.
- Enrollment: 6,590 (undergraduate); 5,344 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $87,705
- Median SAT: 1540
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 5%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 98%
Wesleyan University
- Middletown, CT
Academic Highlights: With 45 majors and 32 minors, Wes truly has something for everyone. The academic requirements are relatively minimal, giving undergrads a high degree of intellectual freedom. Under 75% of class sections have fewer than twenty students; students rave about the accessible faculty. Research opportunities with professors are plentiful. Offerings in economics, English, film studies, and neuroscience typically receive the most praise from employers/grad schools; accordingly, the social sciences (24%), psychology (17%), and the visual and performing arts (12%) are the most popular.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 66% of 2022 grads had entered employment, with tech/engineering/sciences, education, and arts/entertainment being the three top sectors. The companies employing the highest numbers of recent Wesleyan grads included Google, Epic, Analysis Group, Boston Medical Center, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture, and Apple. Graduate school was the next stop for 18% of new alums; enrolling institutions included MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, Temple, and UMass.
- Enrollment: 3,069 (undergraduate); 184 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $89,094
- Median SAT: 1430
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 14%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Emerson College
- Boston, MA
Academic Highlights: All 26 majors offered by the school have some element of performance or artistry and include highly unique academic concentrations such as comedic arts, sports communication, and musical theater. Emerson has a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio and 69% of courses seat fewer than 20 students. The Journalism and Communications Studies programs rank among the top in the country. By sheer popularity, the top majors are film/video production, journalism, marketing, theater arts, and creative writing.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of leaving Emerson, 61% of recent grads were employed, 4% were enrolled in graduate school, and 35% were still seeking their next landing spot. Top employers include the Walt Disney Company, Warner Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and CNN. The average full-time salary for employed grads is $40,255. Of those entering a master’s program, the bulk stay put, pursuing a master’s at Emerson in an area like writing for film and television, creative writing, or journalism.
- Enrollment: 4,149
- Cost of Attendance: $73,000
- Median SAT: 1360
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 43%
- Retention Rate: 86%
- Graduation Rate: 77%
Chapman University
- Orange, CA
Academic Highlights: Chapman offers 50 majors in STEM, humanities, communication, the arts, and business. Overall, 46% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students and the student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1. One-third of all degrees earned are in the area of business; the next most pursued are the visual and performing arts (21%), journalism (9%), and psychology (6%). In addition to the famed film program, the school gets acclaim for its innovation and the quality of undergraduate teaching.
Professional Outcomes: The Walt Disney Company, Amazon, Deloitte, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Google, and NBCUniversal are the most common employers of Chapman graduates. Students in the Argyros College of Business and Economics earned an average starting salary of $77,164 in 2023. 62% of that cohort had already secured employment by graduation day. Most graduates remain in the state of California, with Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Irvine attracting particularly high numbers of alumni.
- Enrollment: 7,869
- Cost of Attendance: $90,370
- Median SAT: 1300
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 73%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 84%
University of California, Los Angeles
- Los Angeles, CA
Academic Highlights: UCLA offers 125 majors in 100+ academic departments, and more than 60 majors require a capstone experience that results in the creation of a tangible product under the mentorship of faculty members. The most commonly conferred degrees are in the social sciences (25%), biology (16%), psychology (11%), mathematics (8%), and engineering (7%). Departmental rankings are high across the board, especially in computer science, engineering, film, fine and performing arts, mathematics, and political science.
Professional Outcomes: UCLA grads flow most heavily into the research, finance, computer science, and engineering sectors. High numbers of recent grads can be found at Disney, Google, EY, Teach for America, Amazon, and Oracle. Hundreds also can be found at Bloomberg, Deloitte, Mattel, Oracle, and SpaceX. The average starting salary exceeds $55,000. 16% of recent grads enrolled directly in a graduate/professional school, with other CA-based institutions like Stanford, Pepperdine, USC, Berkeley, and Loyola Marymount being the most popular.
- Enrollment: 33,040 (undergraduate); 15,010 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $38,517 (in-state); $71,091 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 9%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
- Winston-Salem, NC
Academic Highlights: Undergrads in the Design and Production, Dance, Film, and Drama schools complete BFA degrees; musicians earn a Bachelor of Music degree. All students also take a core of liberal arts courses. The largest number of students elect to major in Cinematography and film/video production, followed by theatre/theatre design and technology, dance, drama, and musical performance.
Professional Outcomes: Limited professional outcomes data is made available by UNCSA. However, we do know that many graduates are self-employed while others work for the likes of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, the Actors’ Equity Association, Google, and the Western Piedmont Symphony. Many stay in North Carolina, but pockets of alumni can be found in New York City, Los Angeles, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C.
- Enrollment: 938
- Cost of Attendance: $22,290 (In-State); $39,524
- Median SAT: N/A
- Median ACT: N/A
- Acceptance Rate: 30%
- Retention Rate: 93%
- Graduation Rate: 82%
University of California, Santa Barbara
- Santa Barbara, CA
Academic Highlights: There are 90 undergraduate majors across three schools: the College of Letters and Science, the College of Engineering, and the College of Creative Studies. The social sciences are the most popular area of study, accounting for 27% of the total degrees conferred. Biology (10%), math (9%), and psychology (9%) are next in popularity. The school has highly regarded programs in communication, computer science, engineering, physics, environmental science, and the performing arts. More than half of sections contain fewer than 20 students, and 72% enroll 29 or fewer.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of earning their diplomas, 84% of grads had found employment. The most popular industries were science/research (16%), engineering/computer programming (14%), business (13%), finance/accounting (11%), and sales (10%). Top employers of recent grads include Google, EY, KPMG, Oracle, Amazon, IBM, and Adobe. Many alumni also can be found at Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce. Two years after graduating, UCSB alumni make an average salary of $55k; more than half make $100k by mid-career.
- Enrollment: 23,460 (undergraduate); 2,961 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $41,289 (in-state); $73,863 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: Test Blind
- Median ACT: Test Blind
- Acceptance Rate: 28%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 86%
Loyola Marymount University
- Los Angeles, CA
Academic Highlights: LMU’s 55 majors and 58 minors are taught by faculty heralded for their warmth and accessibility, a sentiment backed by an 11:1 faculty-to-student ratio. Fifty-seven percent of courses enroll 19 or fewer students, and 99% enroll fewer than 39 individuals. The greatest number of degrees conferred in 2022 were in the area of business/marketing (25%), followed by the visual and performing arts (15%), the social sciences (14%), journalism (9%), and psychology (9%).
Professional Outcomes: Just 2% of LMU graduates in 2022 were still looking for work six months after completing their degrees. Seventy-four percent had procured employment, 23% were in graduate school, and 2% were engaged in some type of service program. Companies employing graduates include Northrop Grumman, Google, Netflix, Amazon, NBCUniversal Media, Apple, PwC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, EY, and Salesforce. Recent alumni have gone on to further their education in a range of disciplines at Brown University, Stanford University, NYU, and Georgetown University.
- Enrollment: 7,299
- Cost of Attendance: $84,208
- Median SAT: 1350
- Median ACT: 30
- Acceptance Rate: 41%
- Retention Rate: 88%
- Graduation Rate: 82%
The University of Texas at Austin
- Austin, TX
Academic Highlights: UT Austin offers over 150 majors, including those at the Cockrell School of Engineering, one of the most heralded undergraduate engineering schools around, and The McCombs School of Business, which dominates in the specialty areas of accounting and marketing. The computer science department is also top-ranked. In terms of degrees conferred, engineering is tied with biology (12%) followed by communication (11%), business (11%), and the social sciences (8%). The elite Plan II Honors Program is one of the best in the country.
Professional Outcomes: Within the College of Liberal Arts, six months after graduating, 68% of Longhorns are employed and 24% have entered graduate school. The for-profit sector attracts 65% of those employed while 19% enter public sector employment and 16% pursue jobs at a nonprofit. Major corporations that employ more than 500 UT Austin grads include Google, Meta, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, and Apple. Engineering majors took home a median income of $79k and business majors took home $70k.
- Enrollment: 41,309 (undergraduate); 11,075 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $30,752-$34,174 (in-state); $61,180-$69,310 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: 1430
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 31%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
University of Colorado Boulder
- Boulder, CO
Academic Highlights: CU Boulder offers 90 bachelor’s degree programs across seven different schools and colleges; the College of Engineering & Applied Science and the Leeds School of Business both possess excellent national reputations. Business/marketing is the discipline where the greatest number of degrees (15%) were conferred in 2022. Engineering (13%), biology (12%), social sciences (12%), and journalism (10%) are next in popularity. 41% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and only 19% of courses enroll 50 or more students.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of leaving CU Boulder, 91% of recent grads were working or in graduate school. Those employed earned an estimated median salary of $54k, with the greatest number working at Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Deloitte, Qualcomm, Northrop Grumman, KPMG, Charles Schwab, and Boeing. More than 100 alumni can also be found at Google, Oracle, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. 20% of new grads immediately jumped into an advanced degree program, and 80% were accepted into their first-choice school.
- Enrollment: 31,103 (undergraduate); 7,110 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $31,744 (in-state); $60,118 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: 1280
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 79%
- Retention Rate: 88%
- Graduation Rate: 75%
DePaul University
- Chicago, IL
Academic Highlights: There are more than 300 undergraduate majors and graduate programs at the nation’s largest Catholic research university. The student-to-faculty ratio is 17:1 and 42% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students. A hefty 32% of all degrees awarded in 2022 were in the discipline of business/marketing. The next most popular areas of study were the visual and performing arts (13%), journalism (11%), and computer science (10%). The University rates well in the areas of overall value and facilitating social mobility.
Professional Outcomes: 92% of 2022 graduates found their next positive step in life within six months of being awarded their diploma. 81% were employed earning a modest median salary of $45,000. Sample employers included Epic. Xerox Business Solutions, UBS, KPMG, and a number of nonprofit entities. Less than 10% of DePaul graduates directly enter graduate or professional school right after completing their undergraduate education.
- Enrollment: 14,134
- Cost of Attendance: $66,798
- Median SAT: 1190
- Median ACT: 27
- Acceptance Rate: 70%
- Retention Rate: 84%
- Graduation Rate: 69%
Emory University
- Atlanta, GA
Academic Highlights: This midsize university offers a diverse array of majors (80+) and minors (60+), and 30% of Emory students pursue more than one area of study. Over half of Emory’s student body works directly with a faculty member on academic research and 58% of courses have class sizes of under twenty students. Ultimately, the greatest number of students go on to earn degrees in the social sciences (15%), biology (14%), business (14%), health professions (12%), and mathematics (9%).
Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduation, 66% of 2022 grads were already employed, and 96% had arrived at their next destination. The top employers of recent Emory grads include Deloitte, Epic, ScribeAmerica, Meta, Morgan Stanley, and Cloudmed. Graduates of the Goizueta Business School found strong starting salaries with an average of $81k. In the last few years, multiple Emory grads/alums received acceptance letters from the following top law schools like Columbia, Berkeley, and Georgetown. Med school acceptances included Duke, Johns Hopkins, and Vanderbilt.
- Enrollment: 7,101
- Cost of Attendance: $83,702
- Median SAT: 1500
- Median ACT: 33
- Acceptance Rate: 11%
- Retention Rate: 95%
- Graduation Rate: 90%
Syracuse University
- Syracuse, NY
Academic Highlights: In total, 200+ majors and 100+ minors are spread across ten undergraduate schools/colleges. The School of Architecture, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and the Newhouse School of Public Communication are all revered names that carry a good deal of weight in their respective fields. The most popular majors include communication/journalism (15%), the social sciences (14%), and business (12%). Despite Syracuse’s size, class sizes are kept reasonably low; 63% contain 20 students or fewer.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after exiting the Carrier Dome for the final time in 2022, 59% of Orangemen and women found employment (92% related to their career goals) and 21% continued to graduate school. The companies employing the most ‘Cuse grads include major media/entertainment management companies like Conde Nast, Bloomberg, and Creative Artists Agency as well as big-name corporations like GE, KPMG, EY, Lockheed Martin, and Morgan Stanley. The average starting salary for 2022 grads was a solid $63k.
- Enrollment: 15,739 (undergraduate); 7,209 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $85,214
- Median SAT: 1340
- Median ACT: 30
- Acceptance Rate: 43%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 81%
Columbia University
- New York, NY
Academic Highlights: Columbia offers 100+ unique areas of undergraduate study as well as a number of pre-professional and accelerated graduate programs. Class sizes at Columbia are reasonably small and the student-to-faculty ratio is favorable; however, in 2022, it was revealed that the university had been submitting faulty data in this area. It is presently believed that 58% of undergraduate courses enroll 19 or fewer students. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (22%), computer science (15%), engineering (14%), and biology (7%).
Professional Outcomes: Examining the most recent graduates from Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science, 73% had found employment within six months, and 20% had entered graduate school. The median starting salary for graduates of Columbia College/Columbia Engineering is above $80,000. Many graduates get hired by the likes of Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Google, Citi, McKinsey, and Microsoft.
- Enrollment: 8,832
- Cost of Attendance: $89,587
- Median SAT: 1540
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 4%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 95%
Ithaca College
- Ithaca, NY
Academic Highlights: Ithaca has five schools that specialize in business, communications, humanities and sciences, health sciences and human performance, and music. You won’t find yourself in many classes with more than 29 of your fellow undergraduates as 82% of sections fall below that marker. Ithaca students frequently earn degrees in the disciplines of communication/journalism (24%), the visual and performing arts (18%), health professions and related programs (15%), business/marketing (11%), and the social sciences (5%).
Professional Outcomes: Within nine months of graduating, 52% of one recent graduating cohort had already found their first post-college job and 22% were still seeking employment. Media companies like ESPN and NBCUniversal Media are among the largest employers of Ithaca alumni along with corporations like IBM, Morgan Stanley, Google, Salesforce, and Amazon. More than five recent grads enrolled at nearby Cornell University and multiple grads traveled to Columbia University, Syracuse University, Boston University, and Northwestern University.
- Enrollment: 4,619
- Cost of Attendance: $75,013
- Median SAT: 1300
- Median ACT: 30
- Acceptance Rate: 75%
- Retention Rate: 83%
- Graduation Rate: 74%
University of Arizona
- Tucson, AZ
Academic Highlights: UArizona undergrads can choose from over 150 majors, and business/marketing (15%) is the most popular choice with more degrees conferred than any other discipline. Other common pursuits include biology (9%), health professions (9%), and engineering (7%). Majors within business, engineering, and the geosciences all have excellent national reputations. A 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to a mix of class sizes with 33% of classes having an enrollment of under 20 and only 15% possessing 50 or more students.
Professional Outcomes: In recent years, some of the top employers hiring Arizona grads have been Raytheon, Vanguard, PepsiCo, Amazon, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Nordstrom, and Texas Instruments, and an astonishing 92% of employers rate Wildcats as coming to their first job with the skills needed to succeed. Recent College of Management grads enjoy a starting salary in excess of $60k, while College of Engineering grads have an average starting salary of $74,000. Many who go on to pursue advanced degrees ultimately do so at UArizona itself.
- Enrollment: 40,407 (undergraduate); 10,727 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $35,496 (in-state); $62,896 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: 1240
- Median ACT: 25
- Acceptance Rate: 87%
- Retention Rate: 86%
- Graduation Rate: 68%
Florida State University
- Tallahassee, FL
Academic Highlights: A wide range of baccalaureate degrees—103 to be precise—are available at FSU. The student-to-faculty is a 17:1, which translates into somewhat larger class sizes. Ten percent of sections contain more than fifty students, and 4% have more than 100. However, that is balanced by the 66% of sections that contain fewer than twenty students. Twenty-three percent of degrees conferred fall under the business umbrella. The social sciences (15%), psychology (8%), biology (8%), and homeland security (6%) are next in popularity.
Professional Outcomes: Eighty-three percent of job-seeking Seminole grads receive at least one offer of employment within three months of graduation. The top five sectors employing 2022 grads are (in order) finance, technology, marketing, health, and engineering. Roughly one-third of 2022 Florida State grads elected to immediately pursue admission into an advanced degree program; 75% of those who apply receive at least one acceptance. A typical graduating class sees over 100 students accepted into medical schools and over 200 accepted into law schools.
- Enrollment: 32,936
- Cost of Attendance: $25,762 (In-State); $39,692 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1300
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 25%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
University of North Carolina Wilmington
- Wilmington, NC
Academic Highlights: Nearly 90 undergraduate programs are available across five different colleges: the Cameron School of Business, the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts, the College of Science and Engineering, and the Watson College of Education. Nursing is the most popular major, accounting for 20% of degrees conferred, followed by business (18%), speech communication and rhetoric (6%), and psychology (6%). The average class size is 22, and 40% of classes enroll under 20 students.
Professional Outcomes: Nursing grads—UNCW’s most popular major—make an average starting salary of $67k. Business majors—the second-most popular discipline—have a post-grad employment rate of 45%. 15% of newly minted business alums immediately pursue a graduate or professional program. During their undergrad years, 58% of business students ultimately complete an internship, and they enjoy an average starting salary of $55k.
- Enrollment: 14,294 (undergraduate); 3,549 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $27,030 (in-state); $42,603 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: 1300
- Median ACT: 26
- Acceptance Rate: 69%
- Retention Rate: 83%
- Graduation Rate: 74%
Vassar College
- Poughkeepsie, NY
Academic Highlights: Vassar students have the choice of 50 majors and only three foundational curricular mandates, which means that there is plenty of room to explore electives and intellectual passions. A 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to an average class size of 17 students, and 23% of all sections have an enrollment of nine or fewer. Professors are extremely available outside the classroom. The most popular majors are in the social sciences, biology, the visual and performing arts, foreign languages, and psychology.
Professional Outcomes: 93% of alums enjoy positive outcomes within six months of graduation, with 20% enrolling directly in a graduate or professional degree program. A solid number land at competitive companies like Google, Meta, EY, Deloitte, Microsoft, Citi, and Amazon. Elite universities such as Harvard, Penn, NYU, and Columbia are also among the top employers of former students, many of whom earn advanced degrees and enter academia. The school is one of the top 15 PhD producers.
- Enrollment: 2,459
- Cost of Attendance: $85,220
- Median SAT: 1480
- Median ACT: 33
- Acceptance Rate: 19%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 92%
Boston University
- Boston, MA
Academic Highlights: In total, the university offers more than 300 programs of study, 100+ of which are distinct undergraduate degrees spread across ten schools/colleges. Many classes at BU are reasonably small—60% contain fewer than twenty students; only 19% contain more than forty. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in social sciences (16%), business/marketing (15%), communications and journalism (15%), biology (11%), engineering (9%), and health professions/related sciences (7%).
Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 90% of BU grads have found their way into the world of employment or full-time graduate study. Across all graduating years, companies employing more than 350 BU alums include Google, Oracle, Accenture, IBM, and Amazon Web Services. Of the one-quarter of grads who move directly into graduate school, many are welcomed onto the campuses of elite graduate programs. For example, engineering students found new academic homes at MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and Columbia.
- Enrollment: 18,459
- Cost of Attendance: $86,363
- Median SAT: 1430
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 14%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 89%
University of Michigan
- Ann Arbor, MI
Academic Highlights: There are 280+ undergraduate degree programs across fourteen schools and colleges, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) enrolls the majority of students. The Ross School of Business offers highly rated programs in entrepreneurship, management, accounting, and finance. The College of Engineering is also one of the best in the country. By degrees conferred, engineering (15%), computer science (14%), and the social sciences (11%) are most popular. A solid 56% of classes have fewer than 20 students.
Professional Outcomes: Within three months of graduating, 89% of LSA grads are employed full-time or in graduate school, with healthcare, education, law, banking, research, nonprofit work, and consulting being the most popular sectors. Within three months, 99% of Ross grads are employed with a median salary of $90k. Top employers include Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, EY, Morgan Stanley, PwC, Deloitte, and Amazon. Within six months, 96% of engineering grads are employed (average salary of $84k) or in grad school. General Motors, Ford, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta employ the greatest number of alumni.
- Enrollment: 32,695 (undergraduate); 18,530 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $35,450 (in-state); $76,294 (out-of-state)
- Median SAT: 1470
- Median ACT: 33
- Acceptance Rate: 18%
- Retention Rate: 97%
- Graduation Rate: 93%
Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rochester, NY
Academic Highlights: There are nine undergraduate colleges at RIT, including the top-ranked Gleason College of Engineering and the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. The co-op program is the fourth oldest in the country; most students complete a one- or two-semester paid learning experience. The most popular majors are engineering & engineering technologies (34%), computer and information sciences (20%), visual and performing arts (10%), and business (9%). RIT’s game design program is the best on the East Coast, and programs in film, art, and design are also quite strong.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 95% of recent grads had found employment or a full-time graduate program. Major companies presently employing more than 500 RIT alums include Xerox and Paychex, both with offices in Rochester. Between 200 and 450 employees of IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Amazon, Google, and Cisco were educated at RIT. Starting salary figures vary greatly by major with College of Business grads landing a median starting salary of $63k and computer science majors of $102k right out of school.
- Enrollment: 13,940 (undergraduate); 2,675 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $75,390
- Median SAT: 1350
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 67%
- Retention Rate: 85%
- Graduation Rate: 74%
University of Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, PA
Academic Highlights: 90 distinct degrees are available across four schools: the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Applied Science and Engineering, the College of Nursing, and the world-renowned Wharton School. The greatest number of students pursue degrees in business (19%), social sciences (14%), biology (11%), health sciences (9%), engineering (9%), and computer science (9%). The university boasts an exceptional 26% of courses with an enrollment under ten and 59% with an enrollment under twenty as well as multiple ways for undergrads to conduct research.
Professional Outcomes: 75% of Class of 2022 grads were employed within six months of graduating, and 18% were in graduate school. Finance attracted the highest percentage of grads (30%) followed by consulting (20%), technology (15%), and healthcare (10%). Employers hiring the greatest number of 2022 grads included JPMorgan, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Bain & Company, Meta, and Goldman Sachs. The median starting salary for all graduates is $80,000. For those continuing their educational journeys, the most popular move is to remain at Penn, followed by Columbia and Harvard.
- Enrollment: 9,760 (undergraduate); 13,614 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $89,028
- Median SAT: 1540
- Median ACT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 7%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
Hofstra University
- Hempstead, NY
Academic Highlights: There are 165 programs for undergraduates spread across the various colleges housing liberal arts, engineering, business, communications, and nursing/health professions. The average undergraduate class size is 21, and the student-faculty ratio is a favorable 13-to-1. The great bulk of courses enroll between 10 and 29 students; 12% are single-digit enrollment courses, and only 2% of sections contain more than 50 students. 14% of the total degrees conferred are in communication/journalism. Health professions (13%), social sciences (9%), and engineering (8%) are next.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of exiting with their diplomas, 92% of recent grads had found employment or a graduate school destination; 80% were employed. companies employing more than one hundred alums include JPMorgan Chase, Citi, PwC, Morgan Stanley, EY, Deloitte, and NBC Universal. The median starting salary was $62,000. Recent grads have matriculated into a wide array of graduate and professional schools including every SUNY/CUNY institution as well as many elite universities like Columbia, Yale, NYU, Berkeley, and Brown.
- Enrollment: 6,110
- Cost of Attendance: $73,202
- Median SAT: 1280
- Median ACT: 28
- Acceptance Rate: 69%
- Retention Rate: 83%
- Graduation Rate: 68%
University of Miami
- Coral Gables, FL
Academic Highlights: Over 100 undergrad programs are offered across nine schools, with the greatest number of degrees conferred in business/marketing (21%), health professions (13%), biology (11%), the social sciences (9%), communication (9%), and engineering (8%). The Miami Business School and the College of Engineering enjoy solid national reputations, and programs in music, marine science, communications, and architecture are also highly ranked. 52% of all course sections contain fewer than 20 students.
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 98% of the Class of 2022 had positive outcomes, with 64% employed full-time and 34% in graduate school. Companies employing 2022 grads included Deloitte, Citrix, NBCUniversal, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, and Morgan Stanley. Across all majors, the median starting salary was an impressive $63k. 100+ Canes also can be found in the offices of Google, IBM, PwC, Apple, and Microsoft. The most frequently attended graduate school is typically Miami itself.
- Enrollment: 12,883 (undergraduate); 6,710 (graduate)
- Cost of Attendance: $93,146
- Median SAT: 1410
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 19%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 84%
American University
- Washington, D.C.
Academic Highlights: There are 60+ undergraduate degrees for students to choose from at AU across six colleges. A low 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio allows 58% of offered courses to be capped at nineteen students; the average undergraduate class size is 23. American’s School of International Service (SIS) is one of the top-ranked programs in the country—its Public Affairs program also receives universally high marks. In terms of sheer popularity, the most commonly conferred degrees are in the social sciences (35%), 17% (business), and journalism (11%).
Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 90% of AU grads have found employment, are enrolled in grad school, or both. Across all graduating years, more than 100 alumni presently work for the US House of Representatives, the US Department of State, Booz Allen Hamilton, Google, EY, IBM, PwC, and Accenture. Many of the most popular grad school destinations are only a Metro stop away. George Washington, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and American itself head the list.
- Enrollment: 7,917
- Cost of Attendance: $76,176
- Median SAT: 1360
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 41%
- Retention Rate: 87%
- Graduation Rate: 79%
Occidental College
- Los Angeles, CA
Academic Highlights: 45 majors, minors, and programs are on tap, but all students must first make their way through the Oxy Core Program. 95% of classes enroll fewer than thirty, and the average class size is 16. The most popular degree programs, all of which carry strong reputations with employers and graduate schools, are economics, biology, sociology, psychology, diplomacy and world affairs, mathematics, and urban and environmental policy. Over 30% of all degrees conferred are in the social sciences, 11% are in biology, and 10% are in the visual and performing arts.
Professional Outcomes: One year after graduation, 95% of Occidental alumni are employed, pursuing graduate studies, or engaged in both simultaneously. The largest numbers of grads enter community service/education (25%), STEM (23%), and business (20%). Among the largest employers are the Los Angeles Unified School District, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Google, Morgan Stanley, and Amazon. Starting salaries for recent grads were $52k. Close to 75% of Oxy alumni eventually earn one or more advanced degrees.
- Enrollment: 1,942
- Cost of Attendance: $81,730
- Median SAT: 1440
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 39%
- Retention Rate: 89%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
Fordham University
- Bronx, NY
Academic Highlights: The university offers more than seventy majors, minors, and pre-professional programs. Fordham’s 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to an average class size of 23 students. Some classes will be on the smaller side as 52% of sections contain nineteen or fewer students. Gabelli is a top-rated business program with standout programs in international business and finance and serves as a pipeline to many large firms. Other popular areas of study include communications (10%), visual and performing arts (7%), psychology (6%), and biology (5%).
Professional Outcomes: Class of 2022 graduates found employment, graduate school, or other meaningful activities at a 96% clip within six months of receiving their degrees. Nearly two-thirds of this group landed employment and enjoyed an average salary of $70,000. Significant numbers of 2022 grads found homes at major companies including PwC (36), Ernst & Young (29), KMPG (24), Morgan Stanley (22), and Deloitte (21). The greatest number of recent graduates pursuing an advanced degree landed at Fordham, NYU, and Columbia.
- Enrollment: 10,098
- Cost of Attendance: $85,067
- Median SAT: 1400
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 54%
- Retention Rate: 88%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
We hope you have found our list of the Best Colleges for Film to be useful and informative as you continue your college search process. We also invite you to check out some of our other resources and tools including:
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