How much debt do The New School film and photography graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,829, which ranks 10th lowest of 16 film and photography bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $274 a month over 10 years.

Is a film and photography degree from The New School worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 120% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 98%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.

The New School Film and Photography (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: Do The New School film and photography graduates stay in New York?

Most do. 57% (37 of 65) were working in New York one year after graduating.

Bachelor's in Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Private nonprofit school
New York, NY
About 84 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The New School film and photography graduates earn less than graduates of most film and photography programs nationally, $21,523 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,829 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$21,52321st percentile of 145 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$53,471148% more than year one

Median federal debt$25,82910th lowest of 16 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings120%New York median 104%, national 98%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all film and photography bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	The New School	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$21,523	$23,826	$25,256
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$53,471	$47,856	$42,042
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,829	$25,798	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	120%	104%	98%
Programs compared		18	145

Five years out, The New School graduates earn more than the national figure and about $5,615 more than the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York film and photography program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.

The New SchoolOther New York programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 148% between the first and fifth year.

The New School grads, year 1$21,523

The New School grads, year 5$53,471

All New York film and photography grads, year 5$47,856

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $6,255 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$16,660Median debt $26,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$22,915Median debt $25,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $274 a month, or 15.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (83 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 29 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $82,315.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

57% of graduates (37 of 65) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $21,523 salary here buys what about $19,121 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to film and photography, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Producers and Directors

$107,550

Median pay in New York. 27,990 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $61,960Top 10%: $222,580

Photographers

$60,050

Median pay in New York. 3,650 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $37,890Top 10%: $109,470

Film and Video Editors

$103,440

Median pay in New York. 3,710 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $55,990Top 10%: $172,280

Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film

$93,410

Median pay in New York. 2,930 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $56,710Top 10%: $133,410

About The New School

Tuition and fees	$58,694 / year
Average net price after aid	$58,741 / year
Admission rate	63%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	69%
Undergraduate students	6,563

Film and Photography ranks 10th of 13 bachelor's programs at The New School by first-year earnings. The top three are Arts Management ($37,743), Psychology ($34,033), and Radio, TV, and Digital Media ($32,169).

Other film and photography bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
The New SchoolNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$21,523	$25,829
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$23,869	$22,250
School of Visual ArtsNew York, NY · private for-profit	Under 1 mi	$20,312	$27,000
Pace UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	2 mi	$20,775	$25,238
Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	3 mi	$24,869	$7,134
Marymount Manhattan CollegeNew York, NY · private nonprofit	3 mi	$25,014	$27,000
Pratt InstituteBrooklyn, NY · private nonprofit	4 mi	$16,710	$27,000
Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	8 mi	$20,476	$13,622
Fordham UniversityBronx, NY · private nonprofit	10 mi	$36,704	$25,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $21,523 one year after graduating and $53,471 five years after. The median across film and photography bachelor's programs in New York is $23,826.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the film and photography program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Film and Photography bachelor's programs in New York, ranked18 programs by pay and debt Film and Photography bachelor's programs in the US, ranked145 programs by pay and debt All The New School programs, ranked15 programs by pay and debt