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Best Film Schools Near Amherst, MA (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Amherst, Massachusetts has 5 accredited schools offering film programs, with tuition ranging from $58,867 to $68,432 per year for indexed programs. Amherst has a population of about 40,989. In Massachusetts, the top-earning film-related role is Film and Video Editors at a median $92,130 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Film Schools to Amherst
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer film programs near Amherst, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Amherst city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Amherst.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Massachusetts schools on the Massachusetts film page.
Film Wages Near Amherst
Amherst is part of the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA metro area (BLS area code 11200). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Massachusetts statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Film and Video Editors
$92,130
MA statewide
$91,946
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
$61,320
MA statewide
$61,198
Producers and Directors
$79,700
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$79,541
Special Effects Artists and Animators
$80,640
MA statewide
$80,479
Audio and Video Technicians
$67,100
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$66,966
Sound Engineering Technicians
$63,250
MA statewide
$63,124
Writers and Authors
$65,290
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$65,160
Graphic Designers
$65,510
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$65,379
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
How many accredited film schools are near Amherst, MA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering film programs near Amherst. The closest is Amherst College in Amherst, MA (0.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Clark University (35.8 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying film roles near Amherst?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying film-related roles near Amherst are: Film and Video Editors ($92,130), Special Effects Artists and Animators ($80,640), Producers and Directors ($79,700). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Massachusetts statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Northampton instead of Amherst?
Northampton, MA is 9.0 miles from Amherst and has its own set of local film programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-2035) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
