US College Programs

Film and Photography (Bachelor's) Programs in Pennsylvania, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Film/Video and Photographic Arts

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Pennsylvania film and photography bachelor's program pays its graduates $24,345 in their first year, $911 less than the national median. Penn State reports the highest first-year pay ($30,697), and University of Pittsburgh the lowest median debt ($22,313).

Median first-year pay$24,345National $25,256
Median pay after 5 years$42,430National $42,042
Median federal debt$25,190National $25,000
Debt-to-earnings103%National 98%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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 the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Penn State$30,697
  2. University of Pittsburgh$28,634
  3. Temple University$24,345
  4. DeSales University$22,651
  5. Drexel University$19,758

Lowest median debt

  1. University of Pittsburgh$22,313
  2. Penn State$23,250
  3. Temple University$25,000
  4. Drexel University$25,379
  5. DeSales University$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Penn State76%
  2. University of Pittsburgh78%
  3. Temple University103%
  4. DeSales University119%
  5. Drexel University128%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$75,460

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $40,700Top 10%: $130,560

Photographers

$40,520

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $29,020Top 10%: $75,100

Film and Video Editors

$75,420

Median 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

$51,760

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $21,580Top 10%: $95,910

Common questions

Penn State in University Park reports the highest median first-year pay, $30,697. Its median federal debt is $23,250.

Related pages

Film and Photography (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked145 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • 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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the film and photography bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

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