Cinematography and Film/Video Production Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Cinematography and Film/Video Production maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 6,045 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 61%.
Key Statistics
Cinematography and Film/Video Production: what the data shows
Common questions about cinematography and film/video production degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a cinematography and film/video production degree?
A Cinematography and Film/Video Production program is classified under NCES CIP 50.0602 in the Film/Video and Photographic Arts field family (50.06).
A program that prepares individuals to communicate dramatic information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the making and producing of films and videos. Includes instruction in 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
IPEDS counted 6,045 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of cinematography and film/video production degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 50.06 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Documentary Production (CIP 50.0607)
- Film/Cinema/Media Studies (CIP 50.0601)
How long does it take to get a cinematography and film/video production degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 50.0602 in our file:
- 979 Associate (12.2% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 6,045 Bachelor's (75.2% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 999 Master's (12.4% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 17 Doctorate (0.2% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in cinematography and film/video production?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 50.0602, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a cinematography and film/video production degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Cinematography and Film/Video Production to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a cinematography and film/video production degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Film/Video and Photographic Arts bachelor's program family: median debt $41,106, median earnings $43,765 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.62.
About 8.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $6,088 and median net price is $16,296.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Cinematography and Film/Video Production and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$6,088 Median In-State Public
$42,942 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors are, on average, $6,088 for in-state public colleges, and $42,942 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Cinematography and Film/Video Production programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
6,045 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Cinematography and Film/Video Production from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Cinematography and Film/Video Production.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Cinematography and Film/Video Production programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 3 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 4 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 5 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Cinematography and Film/Video Production programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 2 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 3 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 4 | Southern Regional Technical College | GA | $813 |
| 5 | Southern Regional Technical College | GA | $813 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Cinematography and Film/Video Production programs.
Graduation Rates
60.67% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
60.07% Average Graduation Rate
611 Institutions Reporting
48.08% - 72.71% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Cinematography and Film/Video Production programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Cinematography and Film/Video Production is in CA (1,021 completions). That state represents about 16.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is MT (0.85% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 1,021 | 16.9% | 0.23% |
| NY | 951 | 15.7% | 0.34% |
| MA | 528 | 8.7% | 0.41% |
| IL | 514 | 8.5% | 0.37% |
| FL | 457 | 7.6% | 0.20% |
| GA | 305 | 5.0% | 0.27% |
| PA | 292 | 4.8% | 0.17% |
| TN | 204 | 3.4% | 0.28% |
| NJ | 202 | 3.3% | 0.23% |
| NC | 164 | 2.7% | 0.13% |
| VA | 164 | 2.7% | 0.13% |
| OH | 106 | 1.8% | 0.08% |
| AZ | 97 | 1.6% | 0.07% |
| MT | 96 | 1.6% | 0.85% |
| MO | 90 | 1.5% | 0.13% |
| TX | 70 | 1.2% | 0.02% |
| MI | 68 | 1.1% | 0.06% |
| IN | 65 | 1.1% | 0.06% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 50.06 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Documentary Production CIP 50.0607
- Film/Cinema/Media Studies CIP 50.0601
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 50.0602 in the survey year used in our extract (8,040 total across levels below).
- 979 Associate (12.2% of IPEDS total)
- 6,045 Bachelor's (75.2% of IPEDS total)
- 999 Master's (12.4% of IPEDS total)
- 17 Doctorate (0.2% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Cinematography and Film/Video Production graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Film/Video and Photographic Arts CIP family (54 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Cinematography and Film/Video Production graduate.
- $41,106 median federal loan debt among completers
- $43,765 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.62 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 8.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Cinematography and Film/Video Production graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Cinematography and Film/Video Production by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Cinematography and Film/Video Production in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Cinematography and Film/Video Production.
Age distribution for Cinematography and Film/Video Production degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
6,045 Total Degrees Awarded
3,277 Male (54.21%)
2,768 Female (45.79%)
Gender distribution of Cinematography and Film/Video Production degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
3,167 White (52.39%)
1,079 Hispanic or Latino (17.85%)
505 Black or African American (8.35%)
337 Asian (5.57%)
286 Two or More Races (4.73%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Cinematography and Film/Video Production degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Cinematography and Film/Video Production are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Cinematography and Film/Video Production.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Cinematography and Film/Video Production field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to communicate dramatic information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the making and producing of films and videos. Includes instruction in 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
In 2023, 6,045 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Cinematography and Film/Video Production.
CIP Code
50.0602 - Cinematography and Film/Video Production
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $41,106 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $43,765, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.62. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Cinematography and Film/Video Production graduate.
About 8.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $6,088 in-state at public colleges and $42,942 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.