University of Pittsburgh Film and Photography (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Film/Video and Photographic Arts
- Public university
- Pittsburgh, PA
- About 30 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Pittsburgh film and photography graduates earn more than graduates of most film and photography programs nationally, $28,634 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $22,313 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. One other Pennsylvania program reports higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Pennsylvania and national columns are the medians across all film and photography bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania film and photography program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Pennsylvania medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $237 a month, or 9.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
67% of graduates (16 of 24) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the Pittsburgh area are about 5% below the national average, so a $28,634 salary here buys what about $30,246 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
$75,460Median pay in Pennsylvania. 4,200 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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.
Photographers
$40,520Median pay in Pennsylvania. 1,870 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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.
Film and Video Editors
$75,420Median pay nationwide. 850 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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.
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
$51,760Median pay in Pennsylvania. 670 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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.
About University of Pittsburgh
Film and Photography ranks 46th of 53 bachelor's programs at University of Pittsburgh by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($78,075), Computer Science ($77,599), and Electrical Engineering ($76,853).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $28,634 one year after graduating. The median across film and photography bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $24,345.
The median federal loan balance is $22,313, which ranks the lowest of 5 film and photography bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $237 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 78% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 98%.
Most do. 67% (16 of 24) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating.
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 Pennsylvania 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