2025 Best Photography Schools in California
6
Colleges in California
326
Photography Degrees Awarded
If you plan on majoring in
photography, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #310 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for photography students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 326 degrees in photography to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Photography School
Your choice of photography school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Photography School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Photography Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Photography Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Photography in California
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the photography degree levels they offer.
Top California Schools in Photography
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In CA
69
Photography Degrees Awarded
Any student pursuing a degree in photography needs to look into Academy of Art University. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.
There were approximately 69 photography students who graduated with this degree at Academy of Art University in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in photography from Academy of Art University
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
4th
Most Popular In CA
Art Center College of Design is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in photography. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
There were approximately 19 photography students who graduated with this degree at Art Center College of Design in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in photography from Art Center College of Design
Associates
Degree Type
AA in Digital Photography
Program Name
Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in AA in Digital Photography from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In CA
California Institute of the Arts is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in photography. Located in the large suburb of Valencia, CalArts is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 22 photography students who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in photography from California Institute of the Arts
California College of the Arts is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in photography. California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of San Francisco.
There were about 16 photography students who graduated with this degree at California College of the Arts in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in photography from California College of the Arts
Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population.
There were approximately 28 photography students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in photography from California State University - Sacramento
