2025 Best Colleges for Photography

Academic Highlights: RISD offers an exceptionally intimate learning environment with an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio and average class size of just 15 students, ensuring deep mentorship from working artist-educators. The global student body represents 57 countries across 44 degree programs. All first-years engage in the innovative Experimental and Foundation Studies (EFS) curriculum—a full-day weekly studio experience that builds creative fundamentals through rigorous faculty collaboration. For those seeking an international perspective, the First Year in Florence Program extends this transformative foundational experience to Italy, maintaining RISD’s signature hands-on approach.

Professional Outcomes: RISD’s career outcomes are extraordinary: 95% of the Class of 2023 achieved success, with 74% securing positions directly aligned to their studies. The entrepreneurial spirit thrives—53% of alumni own or plan to start businesses. Graduates shape industries at major employers like Nike, Google, and Netflix, while the school’s creative impact is further evidenced by 114 Fulbright scholars and 11 MacArthur “Genius” Fellows. Early career financial success is strong, with 44% earning above $40,000—a notable achievement in creative fields, demonstrating RISD’s ability to launch sustainable artistic careers.

Academic Highlights: Pratt Institute delivers an exceptionally personalized arts education through its 26 majors and 48 academic programs, all supported by 1,200 dedicated faculty members. The institute maintains an intimate 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, creating an environment where mentorship and individualized attention thrive. This focused approach allows students to develop their creative practice while engaging deeply with faculty who are working professionals in their fields.

Professional Outcomes: Pratt’s career outcomes speak volumes, with 91% of recent graduates employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation. Alumni are highly sought after by industry leaders across creative sectors, including Apple, Google, Meta, and cultural institutions like The Met. The institute’s strong industry connections yield excellent financial returns, with graduates earning median salaries of $67,000 early in their careers, nearly doubling to $130,600 by mid-career. These results demonstrate Pratt’s unparalleled ability to launch sustainable, successful careers.

Academic Highlights: There are eleven undergraduate colleges and schools at RIT, and the co-op program is the fourth oldest in the country; most students complete a one- or two-semester paid learning experience. RIT’s 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio and a genuine commitment to undergraduate teaching lead to a respectable 46% of sections enrolling fewer than 20 students, and only 5% of courses contain more than 50 students. Additionally, RIT provides an array of undergraduate research opportunities including the the 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduates program, and the Undergraduate Research Symposium that sees 150+ students give presentations in a given academic year. 600+ opportunities exist to study, work, or research abroad, and RIT has four campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 93% of grads had found employment or a full-time graduate program. Major companies presently employing more than 500 RIT alums include Microsoft and Paychex. Between 200 and 500 employees of Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, and Intel were educated at RIT. The average starting salary was $75,600, which is $12,ooo more than the national average. Class of 2023 grads pursued further education at universities including Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) stands as America’s most comprehensive arts university, offering over 40 programs across 11 specialized schools—more degree options than any peer institution. While maintaining an accessible 20:1 student-to-faculty ratio, SCAD ensures quality through its accomplished faculty (76% holding terminal degrees) and intimate class sizes (56% under 20 students). This global creative community brings together students from all 50 states and 120+ countries, united under SCAD’s mission as “The University for Creative Careers.”

Professional Outcomes: SCAD’s career outcomes are nothing short of extraordinary: 98% of graduates secure employment or continue education within ten months, with 90% working in their field of study. Alumni lead creative innovation at industry giants like Disney Imagineering, Epic Games, and Microsoft, while entrepreneurial graduates build successful independent practices. The financial returns validate SCAD’s professional outcomes—early median earnings of $61,000 launch careers and grow to $103,400 at mid-career, proving that creative careers can yield both professional fulfillment and financial success.

Academic Highlights: NYU is divided into a number of smaller (but still quite large) colleges organized by discipline; in sum, there are 270 areas of undergraduate study across nine schools and colleges. For its size, a commendable 59% of classes have an enrollment under 20 students. The school puts a great deal of money into undergraduate research, and it has been running an Undergraduate Research Conference for over forty years. Summer research opportunities are plentiful, including through the School of Engineering’s ten-week summer research program for rising juniors and seniors. With more than 4,000 students studying in foreign countries each year, NYU sends more undergrads abroad than any other US university.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of exiting, 94% of Class of 2023 grads had landed at their next destination, with 71% employed and 26% in graduate school. Large numbers of alumni can be found at Google, Amazon, JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Meta, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs. The mean starting salary is $76,011. New York is (by more than ten times) the most popular destination over number two choice California. New Jersey, Texas, and Massachusetts were next in attracting the highest numbers of recent alumni.

Academic Highlights: All students must complete a minimum of twenty-nine credits in General Studies courses.  They must also meet requirements in three “awareness areas”: Cultural Diversity in the United States, Global Awareness, and Historical Awareness. There are plenty of opportunities for experiential learning as close to half of undergrads engage in research, land an internship, or have a practicum experience as part of their academic program.

Professional Outcomes: A healthy 89% percent of ASU graduates looking for work are employed within six months of earning their degrees. The median salary for an ASU grad is roughly $55,000. Among the school’s top fifty employers are Starbucks, the U.S. Air Force, Amazon, and the Intel Corporation. Most graduates settle in the Greater Phoenix area, with Tempe, Phoenix, and Los Angeles rounding out the list of the top three cities where recent alumni can be found.

Academic Highlights: CalArts offers an intensely personalized arts education with an exceptional 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, ensuring every student receives individual mentorship and guidance. The curriculum across its six schools combines rigorous studio practice with critical theory, fostering both technical mastery and conceptual depth. This unique environment encourages experimental art-making where students develop distinctive creative voices under the guidance of working artist faculty.

Professional Outcomes: CalArts graduates shape global arts and entertainment, with alumni leading at Apple, Netflix, Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks. While many artists pursue successful freelance careers, the institute’s industry connections place graduates at the heart of creative innovation. The financial returns are impressive—early median earnings of $71,600 grow to $113,200 at mid-career, demonstrating that artistic excellence translates to sustainable success.

Academic Highlights: There are over 100 undergraduate majors to choose from at Drexel.  The university offers a reasonable 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio with commensurately reasonable class sizes. Fifty-one percent of sections contain 19 or fewer students, and just 9% of sections contain 50 or more. Drexel students are encouraged to begin seeking undergraduate research opportunities “as early as the freshman year.” An array of research-oriented co-ops exist at local hospitals, museums, and pharmaceutical companies as well. With the emphasis on co-op education, it can be difficult to carve out time to study abroad while at Drexel. In a typical year, roughly 900 students manage to study internationally at one of 60 locations. Co-ops in foreign countries are another way to access the benefits of this type of experience.

Professional Outcomes: One year after graduating, 97% of Dragons have arrived at their next destination; 94% of full-time graduates were satisfied with their position and 87% were working in professions related to their field of study. The largest employers of Drexel alumni are Children’s Hospital of Philadephia, Penn Medicine, Comcast, Lockheed Martin, and Vanguard. The average salary for Drexel grads with a full-time job was $68,650.

Academic Highlights: WashU admits students into four schools, many of which offer nationally recognized programs.The university has a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and 66% of classes have fewer than 20 students; over one-quarter have single-digit enrollments. The Office of Undergraduate Research helps students land opportunities to research alongside faculty, primarily in the summers. A solid 60% of undergraduates report participating in a research endeavor and one-third study abroad.

Professional Outcomes: The Class of 2023 sent 65% of grads into the workforce and 23% into graduate and professional schools. Companies employing the highest number of WashU grads feature sought-after employers such as Boeing, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Mastercard, Capital One, and Bayer. Of the employed members of the Class of 2023 who reported their starting salaries, the median salary was $85k. The universities welcoming the largest number of Bears included the prestigious institutions of Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Class sizes at Bard are wonderfully small. A student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1 allows the school to offer close to 85% of classes with an enrollment of fewer than 20 students. A Senior Project that begins in the junior year involves working closely with a panel of faculty members. There are 35 areas of academic concentration across six divisions.

Professional Outcomes: Seventy-five percent of recent grads found a home in the workforce six months after graduating while 17% directly entered graduate school. Popular employers of Bard graduates include many museums, publishing houses, and charitable organizations. Within a decade of leaving Bard, approximately one-third of alumni have completed an advanced degree. Graduate schools attended by recent alums include everything from the Ivies to close-by members of the CUNY and SUNY systems.

Academic Highlights: Close to half of classrooms contain fewer than twenty Bruins, but those taking introductory courses will find themselves in a fair number of lecture halls with a hundred or more students. Professors are given impressively high marks for a research university of UCLA’s size. 93% of College of Letters and Science seniors rate their professors as being intellectually challenging. By the time they graduate, 45% of undergraduates have participated in a research experience. Every year, roughly one-quarter of the undergraduate population elects to study abroad, a sharp increase from only a few years ago. UCLA has 115 partner universities in 40+ countries around the globe.

Professional Outcomes: Thousands of alumni can be found working at Google, Amazon, and Apple. Companies that employ over 100 Bruins each include Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, TikTok, NVIDIA, and LinkedIn. Ultimately, one-third of UCLA grads go on to enroll in graduate/professional school, with many choosing to stay at their alma mater. Otherwise, the most attended grad schools are primarily other excellent California-based institutions including Stanford, USC, and Berkeley. For graduates early in their careers, the median salary is $78,600, with mid-career median earnings reaching over $149k. Many alumni remain in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area after graduating; other popular destinations include the San Francisco Bay area and New York City.

Academic Highlights: UArizona undergrads can choose from over 150 majors. A 19:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to a mix of smaller and larger course sections with 32% of classes having an enrollment of under 20 and 16% possessing 50 or more students. Through the Undergraduate Research & Inquiry Collaborative, students can access dozens of research-related resources and opportunities. Over ninety opportunities to study abroad during the year or in the summer are available, including 14 Arizona Abroad program at locations as varied as Madrid, Tokyo, and Bangkok.

Professional Outcomes: In recent years, some of the top employers hiring Arizona grads have been Raytheon, Banner Health, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, and ADP. An astonishing 92% of employers rate Wildcats as coming to their first job with the skills needed to succeed; One in three students stay in Tuscon post-graduation, with Phoenix and Los Angeles also proving popular with Wildcat alumni.

Academic Highlights: The school’s 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio translates to a mix of small, medium, and large undergraduate sections. Seven percent of courses have single-digit enrollments, 11% have over 50 students, and the majority fall in the 10 to 29 range. In recent years, the university has invested in increasing the number of undergraduate research experiences available to its students through the GW Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. The efforts are paying off as 400 undergrads now present at the GW Research Days, a two-day event held in April. Close to half of Revolutionaries study abroad for one semester in Europe (65%), Asia (10%), Latin America (8%), Africa (7%), or Australia (6%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of leaving GW, 93% of the Class of 2023 had found their way to gainful employment or graduate school while 6% were still job hunting. Of the 64% of grads already in the workplace, 64% were in a for-profit industry, 26% had entered a nonprofit position, and 10% were working in government. A healthy 26% of those earning their diplomas in 2023 immediately turned their attention to earning an advanced degree. Fifty-three percent of grads earned a starting salary in excess of $60k, while an additional 30% earned between $40k and $60k Just under three-quarters of recent grads remained in the Mid-Atlantic region with the West and Mountain regions a distant second.

Academic Highlights: 180+ undergraduate majors are offered across twelve colleges/schools. Twenty-six percent of sections contain 50 or more students compared to 29% of sections that contain fewer than 20. Still, there are opportunities for personal connections with professors as evidenced by the fact that 80% of graduates complete research during their four years at UW. The study abroad rate of participation has climbed steadily since the turn of the millennium; 3,000 students each year spend a semester in a foreign locale.

Professional Outcomes: Within months of graduation, 62% of Class of 2023 grads were employed and 24% were continuing their education. The most popular employers of the Class of 2023 included Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Seattle Children’s, and Deloitte. Across all living alumni, 6,000+ work for Microsoft, and 4000+ work for each of Boeing and Amazon. Of those headed to graduate/professional school, most remain at UW itself. Large numbers of 2023 grads also headed to Columbia, UPenn, USC, and Johns Hopkins.

Academic Highlights: Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) holds distinction as America’s first degree-granting art college, offering 17 undergraduate majors and 23 minors within an intensely focused creative environment. With an exceptional 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio and students hailing from 45 states and 56 countries, MICA cultivates a dynamic global community of artists and designers. This intimate learning model ensures personalized mentorship from working creative professionals while exposing students to diverse artistic perspectives.

Professional Outcomes: MICA graduates shape visual culture across industries, with many contributing to Baltimore’s creative ecosystem through positions at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore County Public Schools, and MICA itself. Others excel at global innovators like Google and Deloitte, while a significant number build successful independent practices. Strong alumni networks thrive in the Washington-Baltimore corridor and New York City, demonstrating MICA’s dual impact as both a regional arts anchor and pipeline to international creative careers.

Academic Highlights: Penn State offers 275 majors and a number of top-ranked programs in a host of disciplines. Unlike some public research universities that can have student-to-faculty ratios greater than 20:1, PSU boasts a solid 15:1 ratio. That level of support allows 61% of classes to have an enrollment below thirty students.  Even at such a large institution, it is possible to get involved in undergraduate research. Eberly College of Science professors are running upwards of 3,000 research projects per year, and the school has a well-maintained and up-to-date database of undergraduate research positions. All told, 16% of graduates report having engaged in undergraduate research. 22% of a recent graduating class availed themselves of study abroad opportunities in one of 300+ programs in 50+ countries each year.

Professional Outcomes: By graduation, 79% of Nittany Lions have found their next employment or graduate school home. Over a hundred alumni work at Tesla; Deloitte, Amazon, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Accenture each employ over 500 alumni. Three-quarters of recent graduates employed full-time earned starting salaries of greater than $50k. Penn State graduates mostly settle in the Greater Philadelphia area, with New York City and the Washington DC-Baltimore area also proving popular with alumni.

Academic Highlights: Despite a high number of graduate students also studying at SU, class sizes are kept reasonably low; 61% contain 20 students or fewer. The Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Engagement (The SOURCE) supports student participation in faculty-guided research via a number of short- and long-term opportunities, many of which are funded. As a result, 250 students engaged in research last summer alone. The university’s office of study abroad programs arranges for 46% of undergrads to spend a semester in a foreign land.

Professional Outcomes: Six months after exiting the Carrier Dome for the final time in 2023, 63% of Orangemen and women found employment (93% related to their career goals) and 26% continued to graduate school. The companies employing the most ‘Cuse grads include major companies like ESPN, Bloomberg, and Creative Artists Agency as well as big-name corporations like GE, KPMG, EY, Lockheed Martin, and Morgan Stanley. The average starting salary for 2023 grads was a solid $63k.

Academic Highlights: Yale offers 80+ majors, most of which require a one- to two-semester senior capstone experience. Undergraduate research is a staple, and over 70% of classes—of which there are over 2,000 to choose from—have an enrollment of fewer than 20 students, making Yale a perfect environment for teaching and learning. Undergraduate research is a staple of the Yale academic experience; university-wide, undergraduate research fellowships are awarded to over 100 freshmen each year. The number of Bulldogs electing to study abroad is typically around 70%.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after graduating, 58% of the Yale Class of 2023 had entered the world of employment and 19% matriculated into graduate programs. Hundreds of Yale alums can be found at each of the world’s top companies including Google, McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, Meta, and Microsoft. The mean starting salary for last year’s grads was $89,622 ($141k for CS majors). The University of Oxford, Yale, and Stanford were the top three graduate school destinations for the Class of 2023.

Academic Highlights: The New School delivers an exceptionally personalized education through its 45 undergraduate majors across five distinguished colleges, all supported by an outstanding 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio. This intimate learning environment fosters close mentorship and intellectual collaboration, amplified by 34 specialized research centers that connect academia with real-world challenges. The university’s academic excellence is further demonstrated by an impressive 30-year streak of Fulbright Awards, showcasing its commitment to producing globally engaged scholars and creative thinkers.

Professional Outcomes: New School graduates achieve remarkable career momentum, with 81% securing employment or entering graduate programs within their first post-graduation year. While many leverage their education into successful freelance careers, others launch at premier organizations, including the United Nations, NBC Universal, and JP Morgan Chase. The university’s emphasis on critical thinking and innovation yields strong financial returns – alumni earn median salaries of $70,400 early in their careers, nearly doubling to $134,500 at mid-career. These outcomes reflect The New School’s unique ability to prepare graduates for leadership across creative industries, global organizations, and the knowledge economy.

Academic Highlights: Purdue offers over 200 majors at ten discipline-specific colleges, and 37% of course sections have an enrollment of 19 or fewer. Undergraduates conduct more than 2,000 research projects per year; they can connect with professors during the academic year or apply to participate in a Summer Research Fellowship. Discipline-specific research programs, a research pitch competition, research conferences & symposiums, and publishing opportunities abound. 1,300 students per year elect to study abroad at one of 400 programs in 50 countries.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after receiving their diplomas, 65% of 2023 grads headed to the world of employment while 25% headed to graduate/professional school. Companies employing the greatest number of recent alumni were Eli Lilly & Company, Amazon, Deloitte, JP Morgan Chase, PepsiCo, and Cummins, Inc. The average starting salary was $71k across all degree programs. The majority of alumni remain in Indiana with Illinois, California, Texas, New York, and Wisconsin rounding out the five next most common destinations.

Academic Highlights: Eight of UIUC’s fifteen schools cater to undergraduate students. Illinois’ student-to-faculty ratio of 20:1 is high even for a public institution, but the school still manages to keep 39% of sections capped at 19 students. Further, 40% of undergraduates participate in research; over 800 students each year present at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Unique opportunities for experiential learning abound at Research Park, an on-campus technology hub and business incubator that hosts more than 120 major corporations and 800 student interns.

Professional Outcomes: 91% of recent UIUC grads landed at their next destination within six months of graduation, with 35% matriculating directly into an advanced degree program. 56% were employed full-time. Corporations landing the most recent Illinois grads were Amazon, Deloitte, Epic, KPMG, and PwC. The average salary across all majors was an extremely solid $76,000. Two-thirds of graduates remained in the Land of Lincoln; California and New York commandeer the next greatest percentages of migrating alumni.

Academic Highlights: Temple offers 160+ undergraduate programs. Forty-four percent of classes have an enrollment of 19 or fewer students, and 72% of courses contain no more than 29 undergraduates. Undergraduate research positions are available across all 12 undergraduate schools and colleges, including a seven-month-long funded research experience called the Diamond Research Scholars program. The school offers plenty of study abroad opportunities, including its own programs in Spain, Japan, and Italy. A touch over 10% of undergrads take a semester in a foreign country.

Professional Outcomes: Fifty-one percent of recent grads quickly secured employment and another 18% were enrolled in graduate school. Top employers included the School District of Philadelphia, Vanguard, SEI, Amazon, and Lockheed Martin. Hundreds of Owl alumni can be found at Merck, Comcast, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and Bristol Myers Squibb. The highest percentage of grads reside in Philadelphia, with New York City and Washington, DC, next in popularity.

Academic Highlights: Virginia Commonwealth University combines the resources of a major public research institution (200+ academic programs) with surprising accessibility, maintaining a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio that allows 35% of classes to cap at just 19 students. This balance of scale and personal attention serves a remarkably diverse community representing 46 states and 138 countries, creating dynamic learning environments where global perspectives thrive.

Professional Outcomes: VCU graduates find strong career success, with 41% securing employment and 22% entering graduate programs immediately after commencement. An impressive 87% express satisfaction with their outcomes, and 78% choose to build their careers within Virginia—including 34% in Richmond itself. The university serves as a vital talent pipeline for the state’s leading institutions, with alumni making significant contributions to VCU Health, Capital One, Sentara Health, and Dominion Energy, earning median salaries of $50,000. These outcomes demonstrate VCU’s dual impact as both an economic engine for Virginia and a launchpad for professional achievement.

Academic Highlights: All undergrads are exposed to a recently adopted core curriculum that focuses on enhancing students’ metacognitive abilities. Requirements include more than thirty credits of study in courses such as Complex Problems, Quantitative Literacy, Ethical Reasoning, Creative-Aesthetic Inquiry, and Written Communication Undergraduate research opportunities are taken advantage of by nearly half of all AU students.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 91% of AU grads have found employment, are enrolled in grad school, or both. Employers include the U.S. House of Representatives, City Teaching Alliance, the U.S. Department of State, and the District of Columbia Public Schools, with graduates earning an average salary of $65,909 within six months. Many of the most popular grad school destinations are only a Metro stop away. George Washington, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and American itself head the list.

Academic Highlights: The School of Visual Arts offers 11 intensive BFA programs in art and design, each taught by working creative professionals who bring real-world expertise into the classroom. With an exceptional 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio, students benefit from personalized mentorship and critique in studio-based learning environments. The curriculum emphasizes professional preparation while encouraging artistic experimentation, with global perspectives enhanced through study abroad partnerships at 19 international institutions. This focused approach to arts education combines rigorous technical training with exposure to contemporary creative practices.

Professional Outcomes: Alumni go on to work in a range of creative fields and at many major companies, which include Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, Adobe, Nike, and Verizon. SVA’s post-graduate community is incredibly strong; its faculty and 43,000 alumni—some of whom are Academy Award-winners, Emmy winners, Grammy winners, MacArthur Fellows, and Guggenheim Fellows—give undergrads the opportunity to make essential professional connections that lead to internships and employment.

Academic Highlights: Northeastern offers 130 majors and 199 combined majors within nine colleges and programs. Nearly two-thirds of Husky classrooms contain nineteen or fewer students, and 13% have single-digit enrollments. Large lecture hall courses crammed with undergrads are rare at this school—only 7% of sections sport a student enrollment of fifty or more. Since 2006, Northeastern has added an incredible 650+ tenured and tenure-track faculty members. Undergraduate research opportunities exist in all departments, and experiential learning of some type is had by virtually all graduates, thanks to the school’s illustrious and robust co-op program. In a given year, 3,700+ students have a global experience in one of 65+ countries, and 250+ students participate in a co-op program overseas.

Professional Outcomes: Nine months after leaving Northeastern, 97% of students have landed at their next employment or graduate school destination. Huskies entering the job market are quickly rounded up by the likes of Amazon, Fidelity Investments, Google, Microsoft, and Apple, all of whom employ 500+ Northeastern alums. Between 200 and 500 employees at Meta, CVS Health, Goldman Sachs, and Tesla have an NU lineage. Starting salaries are above average (70% make more than $70k), in part due to the stellar co-op program.