---
title: Is a Film/Video and Photographic Arts degree worth the debt?
cip: 5006
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Film/Video and Photographic Arts degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **146** colleges (146 of 146 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $23,518 ($25,619 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $24,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.99× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $21,072–$26,780 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $18,868 | $8,676 | 0.44× | 8 | 8/8 |
| Associate's | $16,375 | $19,057 | 0.89× | 11 | 11/11 |
| Bachelor's | $23,518 | $24,000 | 0.99× | 146 | 146/146 |
| Master's | $29,896 | $94,094 | 3.15× | 22 | 22/22 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Brandeis University (MA) | $44,352 | — |
| Lafayette College (PA) | $38,673 | — |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | $37,647 | — |
| Emory University (GA) | $36,708 | — |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $35,793 | $19,500 |
| Florida State University (FL) | $35,623 | $20,538 |
| Chapman University (CA) | $33,357 | $18,500 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $32,369 | $17,369 |
| Brigham Young University (UT) | $32,016 | $11,894 |
| Seattle University (WA) | $31,929 | $23,800 |
| Academy of Art University (CA) | $31,710 | $33,812 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $31,313 | $15,000 |
| New York University (NY) | $30,874 | $20,500 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $29,824 | $19,024 |
| Northern Arizona University (AZ) | $29,563 | $19,819 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/film-video-and-photographic-arts.jsonld` · `/education/fields/film-video-and-photographic-arts.json`