2026 Best Value Documentary Production Schools in California
[Documentary Production](/majors/visual-and-performing-arts/film-video-and-photographic-arts/documentary-production/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong documentary production education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find the best return on investment for documentary production students.
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2026 Best Value Documentary Production Schools in California
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in documentary production, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Documentary Production Schools
University Of California Santa Cruz earned the #1 spot for value among documentary production schools in California. Located in the city of Santa Cruz, University Of California Santa Cruz is a very large public university. In-state tuition and fees average $15,035, while out-of-state students pay about $46,923. Students borrow a median of $16,439 to complete the documentary production program here. Early-career documentary production graduates make about $23,614. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 66% of applicants are accepted.
Mount St Marys College is a great value for students pursuing a degree in documentary production, landing the #2 spot this year. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Mount St Marys College is a mid-sized private not-for-profit university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $49,564. Students borrow a median of $27,000 to complete the documentary production program here. Soon after graduation, documentary production degree recipients from Mount St Marys College generally make around $25,835. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 73%.
A rank of #3 makes New York Film Academy one of the best values for documentary production. Located in the city of Burbank, New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit university. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $37,122. Typical student debt for documentary production graduates is $20,250. Documentary Production graduates of New York Film Academy earn a median of $16,793 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $20,250 median debt.
More Documentary Production Rankings
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
