A couple of questions for you to think about as you progress in your college search:
Are you looking for film programs that are a combination of film studies and practical work, or just the latter?
Depending on how much emphasis you want on practical work, what size of department/program do you want? The larger the program, the more electives there are likely to be and that kind of environment can build its own energy and excitement being surrounded by people with similar interests. in addition to having a large alumni network. On the other hand, competition for resources (faculty attention, access to production technology, alumni attention/networking) also increases correspondingly. @tsbna44 has talked about attending a very well-respected school for journalism, but that someone who ended up transferring to a smaller program ended up getting lots more practice because of less competition.
Additionally, I would look to see what the requirements are for the majors. Can anyone do the major or is it based on a portfolio or similar for acceptance into the university, or is it dependent on a secondary admission process sometime after you get in the college? How do you feel about each of those options? I didn’t look at all the schools, but as others have said, if you’re interested in double majoring, you will want to avoid BFAs. But at schools that offer a BFA and a BA, you will want to talk with students and the school about what limitations students with a BA face in getting access to the related film resources. Ditto if a school is offering graduate degrees in the field.
Additionally, just take a look at the resources of each school/department. A wealthier school might have a smaller department, but more funding for student films whereas at less well-funded departments, it may be incumbent upon the students themselves to raise the funding.
Below is a not-small list of schools you may want to consider, some of which have already been mentioned. As you look at different programs and realize some of your preferences (you like certain things about a school or don’t like others), keep track of those preferences as it can be helpful to others on the thread as they give you advice, as they may have more experience with more particular programs/schools. I will also try and list out the number of majors who graduated in a film major in the most recent year of IPEDS data, but as universities may not have classified a major by a different name in the same way, take this as rough data. But one might multiply the number of majors times four (4) to estimate the size of the program.
I have sorted the schools based on my very fallible sense of what your chances for admission might be, based solely on overall admission. If a program has additional requirements for entry into a film major, my guesses are not taking that into account. As admission to California publics is so specialized, I will defer to others on your chances at the schools I included.
Extremely Likely
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California Lutheran: About 2600 undergrads, 12 Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors.
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Chapman (CA): About 7700 undergrads. 9 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors and 201 Cinemaography and Film/Video Production majors and 91 Master’s.
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DePaul (IL): About 14k undergrads. 176 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production and 22 Master’s.
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Drexel (PA ): About 14k undergrads and is a very co-op focused school. 9 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors and 34 Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors.
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Ithaca (NY): About 4800 undergrads. 72 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production, 1 in Film/Cinema/Media Studies, and 29 in Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Other.
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Montclair State (NJ): About 16k undergrads with a BA in Film & Television (among lots of other possibly relevant options) and a BS in Sustainability Science and in Earth and Environmental Science. 47 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production.
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Portland State (OR): About 18k undergrads which offers both a BA and BS in Film as well as popular majors in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies. 68 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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Seattle U. (WA): About 4200 undergrads and offers a BA in Film Studies as well as Environmental Science and Environmental Studies. 13 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies
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SUNY Purchase (NY): About 3400 undergrads. Its BFA programs are well-known, but there are also BA programs in Cinema & Television Studies, Media Studies, and New Media that might be of interest, in addition to its major in Environmental Studies. If you end up not doing a BFA, I would certainly inquire about the access to facilities and coursework that may be geared toward BFA students. 21 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production and 15 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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Temple (PA ): It offers a BFA and a BA in Film and Media Arts and a BA in Media Studies and Production, either of which might fit your interests. 142 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production, 9 Master’s, 1 PhD, and 14 undergraduate certificates.
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U. of Arizona: About 37k undergrads and in addition to a BFA, offers a BA in Film and Television. 53 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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U. of Cincinnati (OH): About 29k undergrads and this is another co-op focused school. Though there’s on MFA in Media Production, there’s a BA in Film and Media Studies as well as a BA in Digital Media Collaboration that might be of interest. 11 majors, 1 undergraduate certificate, and 10 postgraduate certificates in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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U. of Denver (CO): About 5900 undergrads and offers a BA in Film Studies and Production as well as BA in Emergent Digital Practices, which might also be of interest. 14 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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U. of North Carolina – Wilmington: About 14k undergrads and offers a BA in Film Studies, but this is another school where you’re not admitted to the major until after you complete a given course. But this school. 79 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production and 9 Master’s in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
Likely
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American University (D.C.): About 8500 undergrads, likely only if you show lots of demonstrated interest. If they don’t think you’re really interested in them, a waitlist or denial could be headed your way. 48 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors, 20 Master’s, and 24 Cinematography and Film/Video Production Master’s.
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Clark (MA): About 2300 undergrads. Offers B.A.s in Screen Studies and in Media, Culture, and the Arts and a BA in Environmental Science, so a double major should be feasible. 6 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors.
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Fordham (NY): About 9900 undergrads; 45 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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Syracuse (NY): Most of its programs of interest would probably be a BFA, which would be extremely difficult to do a double major with, but its major in Television, Radio, and Film is a BS degree, but I’m unsure if there’s as much practical application as you might want. If you don’t show sufficient interest in them, you may receive a waitlist or denial. 38 majors in Cinematography and Film/Video Production and 8 Master’s.
Toss-Up
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Connecticut College: About 1800 undergrads with majors in Film Studies and Environmental Studies. 9 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors.
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Loyola Marymount (CA): About 7100 undergrads with 13 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors and 56 Cinematography and Film/Video Production majors and 53 Master’s.
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Occidental (CA): About 2k undergrads with a concentration in Media Production in its Media Arts & Culture major and various ways to incorporate a concentration in Environmental Science. 20 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
Lower Probability
- U. or Rochester (NY): About 6600 undergrads and offers a BA in Film and Media Studies with a theory track and a production track. 5 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors.
Low Probability
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Tufts (MA): About 6700 undergrads with 20 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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Vassar (NY): About 2500 undergrads and offers a BA in Film which combines theory and practice. 16 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors.
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Wesleyan (CT): About 3400 undergrads and its Film Studies major also combines theory and practice. 34 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies
California Publics (@Gumbymom or @Ucbalumnus or someone else will need to give more chancing info)
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Cal State – Long Beach: About 34k undergrads; 196 Film/Cinema/Media Studies majors. 196 majors in Film/Cinema/Media Studies.
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UC-Santa Barbara: About 23k undergrads. Unlike UCLA, I did not read anything about students doing a BA in Film not being permitted to do a double major. But the department says that even if one is admitted to the pre-major, it doesn’t guarantee admission to the BA Film and Media Studies major, regardless of the number and outcome of upper division Film & Media Studies units taken, which, to me would be a definite red flag. And though your family has the budget to pay for it, there are many who have qualms paying the UC out-of-state prices while still needing to deal with the bureaucracy and issues that are prevalent in large, public universities. 136 majors, 1 Master’s, 1 PhD
As always, I recommend looking for schools that are extremely likely for admission that your family can afford and that you would be happy to attend. Once you have schools meeting those criteria, then I would start looking at more selective options.
Also, I stopped posting environmental science links, but all of these schools offer related majors.